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As successful as they are inside the squared circle, several AEW Stars are also well educated.
Before becoming well-known pro wrestlers, many AEW Stars went to college and graduated with degrees in several different fields, including communications, theatre, and marketing.
Some stars decided not to work with their college degrees, preferring to head straight to the wrestling ring after graduation. Nonetheless, a few other AEW stars worked in their respective fields for a short time after getting their degrees. However, they later decided to leave their jobs and focus all their attention on their pro wrestling careers.
Here are ten AEW Stars who have a college degree.
#10. AEW Star Adam Page
Adam Page is one of AEW's top stars. Since his debut in 2019, he won the AEW Tag Team Championships once and was very close to becoming AEW Champion a few times.
Page is also a well-educated individual. The 30-year-old attended Virginia Tech and graduated with a degree in communications. The former AEW Tag Team Champion went into college with the dream of one day working in the film industry after making two films with his high school friends. However, he lost that passion later on during his college days.
"I didn't realize that [making Hollywood movies] didn't just mean messing around with your friends and making jokes and filming them and putting together little videos. Somehow, in wrestling, that's what I ended up doing. Making these stupid little 10-minute videos and joking around and it's worked," he told ESPN.
Following his graduation, Page worked as a high school teacher in Virginia while continuing to wrestle. He taught graphic design and journalism classes for five years. Nonetheless, he later quit his job to become a full-time pro wrestler.
#9. AEW Women's World Champion Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.
Britt Baker is the top female wrestler in AEW today. She is the AEW Women's World Champion and has been holding the title since May. Although she works hard inside the squared circle, the 30-year-old has another full-time job away from the wrestling business.
In 2014, Baker started learning the ropes. Around the same time, she also enrolled in the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. Baker graduated in 2018 to become a certified dentist.
After graduation, Baker became a full-time wrestler and a full-time dentist, too. Unlike most wrestlers, she decided to keep both jobs.
"It’s kind of hard to believe that I get to live out both of my dreams. Both of my dreams are a lot of people’s Plan A; I don’t have a Plan B, I have two Plan As. I’ve been given the greatest gift imaginable,” she told Pittsburgh Magazine.
Baker recently defended her AEW Women's Championship against Kris Statlander at AEW All Out. She successfully retained her title.
#8. AEW Star Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho is a legend in the wrestling business. He is also a well-educated man.
Jericho was 17 years old when he graduated from high school. He then had to wait another year before he could go to a wrestling school. During that year, the 50-year-old joined Red River Community College to study Creative Communications. Two years later, he graduated with honors.
The former AEW Champion started learning about wrestling during his college days. Following his graduation, he left home to embark on his wrestling journey.
"I graduated with honors from Red River Community College (I'm a freakin' genius), I packed up all my belongings into the trunk of my '76 Volare and left the nest. I was nineteen years old. After kissing my crying mother goodbye, I pulled out of the driveway fully intending not to come back until I'd made it," Jericho wrote in his book A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex.
The 50-year-old performed in several promotions throughout his 30-year career, including ECW, WCW, and WWE. He joined AEW in 2019, where he is now a former AEW World Champion and the leader of The Inner Circle.
#7. AEW Star Leva Bates
AEW Star Leva Bates kicked off her wrestling career nearly a decade and a half ago. Before she became a wrestler, Bates went to college and worked in a few different jobs.
The 38-year-old graduated with a degree in theater and radio/TV production from Murray State University. She double majored, with a minor in dance. After graduating, Bates worked at a few dude ranches and theme parks before landing a job at the Universal Orlando theme park as an entertainer, doing characters and dance shows.
"A couple of my friends I met working through Universal were involved with TNA, and so I would go to the TNA shows that used to be taped here. They said, “You do all this other stuff – acting, dancing – maybe you’d like wrestling.” And I was into the idea. So I looked for some wrestling schools, and found FXE," she told Rolling Stone. "From there, you train, you start doing local shows, and the next thing you know, you keep working at it, and the magic happens," she added.
Bates joined AEW in 2019. She has not competed since March. In her last match, she teamed up with Madi Wrenkowski to face Big Swole and Red Velvet but came up short.
#6. AEW Star Matt Sydal
AEW star Matt Sydal was a wrestling fan growing up and wanted to become a pro wrestler himself. At the age of 17, he obtained a wrestling license in St. Louis. However, the former WWE Tag Team Champion was unsure if he could make a living out of wrestling, so he decided to get a college degree.
While still wrestling, Sydal started studying marketing at the University of Missouri in 2001. The 38-year-old graduated with a degree in marketing in 2005. He then moved back to St. Louis to become the vice president of sales and marketing for a mailbox company.
Later, Sydal quit his job to become a full-time pro wrestler. In the following years, he performed in several promotions, including Impact Wrestling and WWE.
Sydal signed an official contract with AEW last year. The 38-year-old teamed up with Dante Martin last Wednesday on Dynamite to face Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood. Sydal and his partner lost the match.
#5. AEW Star Serena Deeb
Serena Deeb is one of the most experienced female wrestlers on the AEW roster. She is also one of those who hold college degrees.
The 35-year-old started pursuing a wrestling career when she was just 18 years old. At the same time, she enrolled in Indiana University Southeast and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish in 2008.
Deeb wrestled in several promotions throughout her wrestling career, including WWE. In 2015, the 35-year-old announced her retirement. However, she returned to the ring nearly two years later to participate in the first Mae Young Classic tournament. In 2018, she signed a contract with WWE to become a coach at the performance center.
WWE released Deeb from her contract in April 2020. Later that same year, she joined AEW as an in-ring competitor.
#4. AEW Star Brian Pillman Jr.
AEW Star Brian Pillman Jr. entered the wrestling business just four years ago. Before that, the 28-year-old focused on earning a college degree. He earned a degree in business information systems from Northern Kentucky University.
"I took a route that most that become wrestlers don't. A lot of people just say, 'Oh, I’m gonna be a wrestler,' and they're not gonna do anything to better themselves outside of wrestling. I think I'm a more well-rounded person because of the adversity I've faced and also the education and the things I’ve undertaken," he told cincinnati.com.
Pillman Jr. trained at the hands of former WWE Superstar Lance Storm. The 28-year-old kicked off his wrestling career in 2017, competing on the independent circuit. In 2019, he started wrestling in AEW.
Pillman Jr. and his Varsity Blondes partner Griff Garrison recently defeated The Wingmen on AEW Dark.
#3. AEW Star Thunder Rosa
Although she only kicked off her wrestling career seven years ago, AEW Star Thunder Rosa has wrestled in several promotions. The 35-year-old also held a few championships.
A few years before entering the wrestling business, Thunder Rosa graduated with a degree in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. Before she became a full-time wrestler, Rosa worked at a rehab facility for teenagers called Thunder Road.
"I was there for two years, then it just got a little crazy because my wrestling schedule was getting, you know, I was getting more busy, and training was crazy, and I needed something more flexible. So, I went to another place called youth home. So I used to work at home with clients that were kids and then like older adults between 18 and 25. They have like severe mental health problems (...) and I have to help them get back into society," she told Chris Van Vliet.
A few days ago, Thunder Rosa defeated Kaia McKenna via pinfall on AEW Dark: Elevation.
#2. AEW Star Austin Gunn
Like several AEW Stars on this list, Austin Gunn started his wrestling training after graduating from college. The son of WWE Hall of Famer and current AEW Star Billy Gunn went to Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He graduated with a degree in elementary education in 2017.
That same year, the 27-year-old started his wrestling training under his father at the Team 3D Academy. After only two months of training, Gunn made his wrestling debut at an independent show teaming up with his father to win a three-on-two handicap match.
"Our deal was if you graduate college you can do whatever you want. My youngest, Austin, came to me the day before graduation (Rollins College) and said I want to give this a shot. I went 'oh I thought I dodged it,'" Billy Gunn told Spectrum News. "The bad part is, he is really good," he added.
Gunn joined AEW in January 2020. He is now part of the Gunn Club stable, alongside his father, Billy, and brother, Colten.
#1. AEW Star Jade Cargill
Before becoming a pro wrestler, AEW Star Jade Cargill played basketball in high school. She then went to Jacksonville University in Florida to study social science. The 29-year-old continued to play basketball in college. Despite being a skilled player, Cargill did not want to pursue a professional career in the sport following her graduation.
After earning her college degree, Cargill worked in the fitness industry. She also earned a master's degree in Child Psychology.
In 2019, the 29-year-old started her wrestling training and attended a WWE tryout. On the Wrestling With The Week podcast, Cargill claimed she turned down an offer from WWE.
"My brother and I loved wrestling growing up. Got away from it and then the opportunity came up with Mark Henry. He set me up with a (WWE) tryout. It went well, I was asked to come, turned it down, and here I am in AEW," she said.
Cargill joined AEW in November 2020. She recently defeated Leyla Hirsch on AEW Dynamite.
