5 WWE Superstars who recently missed out on the opportunity to jump ship to AEW

These WWE superstars could have joined AEW

AEW has recruited a number of former WWE Superstars to its roster since its inception. From former WWE Champions Bryan Danielson, CM Punk and Jon Moxley to underutilized talents like Ruby Soho and Malakai Black, Tony Khan has made a habit of picking up talent just as their contracts have expired to expand his own roster.

Despite the lucrative payday and the potential for more creative freedom, not all wrestlers have decided to make the jump. While many seem perfectly happy with their positions in WWE, some have managed to overcome creative or professional frustrations in order to provide more for their families or chase their WrestleMania dreams.

Perhaps their negative experiences in WWE were directly related to Vince McMahon's leadership. With Triple now in charge of Creative, the organization has suddenly become a much more attractive workplace for these disgruntled wrestlers.

While they might have considered Tony Khan's offer, these five WWE Superstars ultimately re-signed with the company, even if some of them were let go earlier.

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#5. Former WWE Champion AJ Styles has ties to The Elite in AEW from their time in NJPW's Bullet Club

AJ Styles is a bonafide legend in the wrestling industry. For the longest time, he was the biggest star not to sign with WWE, finding success in IMPACT and NJPW.

But since joining the company in 2016, he has managed to carve a Hall of Fame-worthy career, winning the WWE Championship multiple times and producing memorable matches with John Cena, The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar. He's now a locker room veteran and can be counted upon to mentor the younger wrestlers in the company.

Styles has been treated well in WWE since his 2016 debut. However, when AEW became a true alternative, there were rumblings that The Phenomenal One could make the leap to Tony Khan's promotion and link up with his former Bullet Club buddies The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega.

Speaking with Alex McCarthy for Inside the Ropes, Styles put those rumblings to rest:

"I didn't really sign a new deal, I had a player option and I just used that option. So I had no plans really looking back, I want to be with WWE and as much as I'd like to be with my friends, this is what I know. This is what I know is expected of me, I understand what they need here in WWE and I want to be a part of it." (16:38)

For now, Styles doesn't intend to make the switch, and it seems likely he will end his distinguished wrestling career in WWE.

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#4. Former NXT Superstar Dexter Lumis

Dexter Lumis departed WWE earlier this year after a noteworthy run in NXT. In September last year, the silent superstar married his on-screen partner and fellow NXT wrestler Indi Hartwell in one of the best-received storylines of the developmental brand.

However, InDex was forced to break up on April 29, 2022 when Lumis was released from the company. With his 90-day non-compete clause expiring, the NXT star could have easily joined AEW and reinvented himself in a new environment.

Lumis kept himself off the radar with little news about his future plans up until three weeks ago on Monday Night RAW, when he finally made his return. He was seen being dragged away by security in one of the more intriguing main roster debuts.

He has been attempting to disrupt matches during RAW since then, most recently kidnapping The Miz. He even re-emerged on NXT 2.0 and reunited with Indi Hartwell in a sweet moment to continue their storyline romance.

While Lumis would have been an interesting addition to AEW, there is still so much storytelling potential for him in WWE, and that has been proven true so far under Triple H's creative direction.

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#3. WWE Superstar Kevin Owens could have joined his friends the Young Bucks in AEW

Another WWE Superstar whose contract was set to expire this year is Kevin Owens. The former Universal Champion has had a mixed career on the main roster thus far, despite being a regular presence in WWE programming.

He has shown that he can thrive in any scenario and be trusted to deliver anything WWE creative throws at him. In 2022 alone, he wrestled Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania and then went on to put Ezekiel over as a character.

But the Prizefighter might feel compelled to explore other opportunities elsewhere, as he wasn't Vince McMahon's favorite and wasn't pushed consistently despite his considerable talent.

There was speculation that he might join AEW, where his close friends The Young Bucks are EVPs. The rumor mill was especially rampant during the Owen Hart Cup Tournament as the Canadian would have been the perfect candidate to win the inaugural event. Ultimately, he decided to stick with WWE.

In an interview with Canadian website TVA Sports, Owens discussed the terms of the new five-year contract and went on to say that he would stay in WWE possibly until retirement:

"Hopefully I do not see why I will not finish my career with WWE. I just recently signed a new five-year contract with them. I do not intend to go anywhere (until) my contract is up. If the WWE wants to continue, if I want to continue and my family is ready for me to continue, I do not see why it would not happen."

Triple H is a big believer in KO and it seems like he is reverting back to the ruthless individual who thrived as NXT Champion. We could be seeing Owens finally return to the main event scene and become a world champion in the near future.

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#2. Former NXT Champion Johnny Gargano could have followed former rival Adam Cole to AEW

Johnny Gargano's return was one of the most unexpected highlights of Monday Night Raw this past week. The Rebel Heart opted not to renew his WWE contract late last year when he decided to take time off to become a father.

He has done everything that could be done in NXT 2.0, with multiple NXT Championships and a Triple Crown accolade to his name. The time was right for the veteran to leave the developmental brand.

But with Vince McMahon in charge, it didn't seem likely that he would have succeeded on the main roster, given his smaller size. Instead, AEW felt like a more logical fit.

In a recent Twitch stream, Johnny Gargano shared his thoughts on a number of AEW stars, including former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega. He revealed that having a match with Omega was one of his dreams and that The Cleaner would make a great opponent.

Towards the end of 2021, Wrestling Observer Radio reported that Johnny Gargano was considering joining AEW. It would have been a great landing spot for the accomplished veteran who could have competed against many of his former NXT rivals, such as Adam Cole, Andrade El Idolo and Malakai Black.

Instead, Gargano has chosen to re-sign with WWE, with reports noting that he has a good relationship with Triple H and that AEW did not heavily pursue him. Johnny Wrestling is now primed to start a rivalry with his former protege Theory on RAW.

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#1. Karrion Kross & Scarlett Bordeaux were highly-coveted free agents before re-signing with WWE

Karrion Kross and Scarlett were two of the biggest free agents in the market before rejoining WWE. They were a main event act in NXT and there were high hopes for the Doomsday couple to make a huge impact on the main roster.

But alas, Kross's main event debut on RAW last year didn't go to plan as he lost to Jeff Hardy and was no longer accompanied by his valet. By the time he had to wear weird BDSM attire as part of his entrance, he was doomed to fail.

WWE Superstar Karrion Kross reflected on his first stint with the company during a recent chat with Corey Graves on the After the Bell podcast:

"The most important thing for me, for my fans, was to be able to create continuity. One of the biggest criticisms of the transition between Kross on NXT and Kross on RAW was that there was no continuity, it was just missing things. It was an amputated presentation." [26:25 - 26:43]

The former NXT Champion became a free agent when his 90-day WWE non-compete clause expired on February 2nd. He had previously said that he had unfinished business to handle with current AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.

The two wrestlers had their one and only match back in July 2019 at an independent event, shortly before Kross signed for WWE. Mox had just left the company and signed with AEW. Kross would have had a ready-made main event feud in AEW if he had decided to sign with them.

However, he shocked the wrestling community a few weeks back as he made his return to WWE, attacking Drew McIntyre before sending a message to Roman Reigns through Scarlett.