A belt collector, First-time World Champion - 5 former WWE stars who went on to win major titles in other companies
WWE is the biggest wrestling promotion in the world. The impact is so great that the stars that leave the company are often treated as big deals in different promotions.
Christian, Jeff Hardy, and Kurt Angle all left WWE in the mid-2000s. Each star won the IMPACT World title (then known as the TNA World Heavyweight Championship). Angle was already one of the best wrestlers in the world, but Christian saw his stock rise in a different company.
Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho departed WWE before the mass releases of 2021. Both joined AEW and won the AEW World Championship. They have maintained top star status in both promotions.
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Some stars that have been released have won mid-card Championships, like Miro and Brodie Lee. Over the last few years, there have been a handful of former WWE stars who have won major titles in other promotions. Here are five such stars.
(Note: A major title refers to the World Championship or Women's Championship in promotions like ROH, AEW, or IMPACT. A prior Sportskeeda piece highlighted former WWE stars like Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho who left and won the AEW Championship. This will focus on stars other than those two).
#5 Rich Swann won the IMPACT World title
Swann joined WWE when the Cruiserweight Classic took place back in 2016. The promotion created a title for stars under 205 pounds, and Swann was one of the performers to win the Cruiserweight Championship.
He was released in 2018 but joined IMPACT Wrestling later that year. Swann captured the IMPACT World Title by defeating another released star, Eric Young. Young won the belt well before joining WWE.
The former Cruiserweight Champion will always have a place in the IMPACT Championship lore. Swann lost his title to AEW's Kenny Omega, signaling the opening of the Forbidden Door in wrestling.
#4 Mercedes Martinez is the current ROH Women's Champion
Martinez spent most of her time in NXT during her WWE tenure. She didn't win any gold in NXT but was a featured performer. She had an extremely brief tenure on the main roster as a member of RETRIBUTION.
After leaving WWE, Martinez appeared for both IMPACT and AEW. While she didn't win any gold in AEW, Martinez is the current ROH Women's Champion.
With ROH's future in doubt, she won the Interim ROH Women's Championship. Rok-C dropped her Championship to Deonna Purrazzo as she was about to sign with NXT. Martinez defeated Purrazzo in a unification match.
#3 Former WWE superstar Cesaro won the ROH World Championship
The Swiss Superman is the latest former star from WWE to win a major title outside of the company. Cesaro was long used as a mid-card star and tag team specialist. He won the US title and many tag team Championships as Cesaro.
His lone shot at a major title in the company came last year during Roman Reigns' run as the Universal Champion. Crowds didn't fully return to events after COVID, so they couldn't cheer him on from the arena.
After leaving, he became a member of AEW's Blackpool Combat Club. He feuded with Jonathan Gresham over the ROH World Championship as both stars thought they were the 'Best Technical Wrestler' in the world.
Castagnoli captured the title at ROH's last event, Death Before Dishonor. If there was a time when the "You Deserve It" chants were truly earned, it had to be that moment for the Swiss Superman.
#2 Deonna Purrazzo won both the ROH and IMPACT Women's titles
Like Martinez, Deonna Purrazzo spent most of her time with WWE on NXT. She had a few matches on the main roster but was sparingly used during the black-and-gold era of NXT.
Once she left, her career truly skyrocketed. She won the Knockouts title on two occasions as well as the AAA Reina de Reinas title. Purrazzo also had a brief run as the ROH Women's Champion. Rok-C (now known as Roxanne Perez) was headed to WWE, so she dropped the belt to Purrazzo.
Some wrestlers had a lot of experience but were not priorities in NXT or the main roster. The Virtuosa has certainly improved her stock as one of the best female wrestlers in the world.
#1 CM Punk won the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing
One day I road my schwin bike to some dirt hills I used to jump and ride when I was a kid. When I got there, there were two kids on their bmx bikes. They told me to leave. I didn’t. We scrapped. Black eyes. Bloody lips. Next day and the whole summer we rode bikes TOGETHER. CMFTR https://t.co/fJT2zxYl0z
CM Punk returned to the industry last summer after seven years out of pro wrestling. He has been a featured part of AEW programming and has had prominent feuds with MJF, Team Taz, and Hangman Page.
Part of Punk's appeal was his willingness to speak up both in and out of the ring. Sometimes, it was needed, while other times, it might have been seen as speaking out of turn.
Despite being a polarizing figure, Punk defeated Hangman Page for the AEW Championship. He sustained an injury following his title win but was not stripped of the title. Punk returned on the latest episode of Dynamite to confront Interim AEW Champion Jon Moxley.