6 AEW stars who idolize WWE Superstars

A few AEW stars idolize current WWE Superstars despite the competition between the two companies.

Several AEW stars grew up watching WWE and admiring its superstars from different generations. A few even met their childhood heroes before following in their footsteps and entering the wrestling industry.

Other AEW stars also have a lot of admiration for some of the current generation of WWE wrestlers. In recent interviews, a few AEW stars confessed that they idolize some WWE Superstars despite the competition between their promotions.

Here are six AEW stars who idolize WWE Superstars.

---

#6. AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes

AEW's EVP Cody Rhodes kicked off his wrestling career nearly a decade and a half ago by joining WWE. He spent ten years in Vince McMahon's company, where he shared the locker room with his idol, Triple H.

In an interview with Inside The Ropes Magazine, Rhodes disclosed that The Game is his favorite wrestler.

"So, I don’t know if I should share this, but, at some point, it’s going to come off my chest: Triple H is probably my favourite wrestler and was a role model. I only watched from a distance, but he reminded me a lot of my dad in the sense that I watched him do all the work, be this executive, and then go out there—and he was only part-time for the most part other than when I first started and had that run with him and Teddy and Shawn. He really was a model in terms of, 'OK, you can do both, you can do both, but you have to be really disciplined. You have to take it really seriously,'" said Cody Rhodes.

Triple H is currently WWE's Chief Operating Officer. He's also been running NXT for several years. Between October 2019 and April of this year, The Game's NXT went into direct competition with Rhodes' AEW Dynamite as they aired simultaneously in what became known as the Wednesday Night Wars.

In addition to being a WWE executive, Triple H is also a part-time in-ring competitor. Nonetheless, he hasn't competed since facing Randy Orton in a Street Fight on WWE RAW last January.

#5. AEW star MJF

Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) is another AEW star who idolizes WWE COO Triple H. The 25-year-old was a huge WWE fan growing up. During a Q&A session on Twitter, a fan asked the AEW star to list the personalities he grew up admiring. MJF named The King of Kings among his idols.

Before he became a famous wrestler, MJF wanted to participate in WWE's reality show Tough Enough. He sent in an audition video that WWE posted on YouTube in 2015. In his audition video, MJF called out Triple H.

"Triple H, you asked me if I'm tough enough. Well, Trip, is it ok if I call you Trip? You must not have gotten the memo. My name is Maxwel Jacob Feinstein. I'm a former all-state middle linebacker, a former all-state amatuer wrestler, and a present-day lady killer. But these are just facts Trip. I know what you are really looking for. You are looking for that next big thing. You are looking for the guy with the physical prowess, the charisma, and the attitude. So Trip, the question isn't if I'm tough enough, no. The question is: are you smart enough to know when the future of your company is looking at you dead in the face. Because my name is Maxwel Jacob Feinstein and I'm better than you and you know it," MJF said.

Despite calling The Game out, WWE did not select MJF to participate in Tough Enough. The 25-year-old then performed in a few different promotions before signing a contract with AEW in 2019.

MJF is currently one of the best heels in wrestling. He's the leader of The Pinnacle, which includes Wardlow, Shawn Spears, Tully Blanchard, and FTR. The 25-year-old recently defeated Brian Pillman Jr. on AEW Dynamite

#4. AEW Women's World Champion Britt Baker

AEW Women's World Champion Britt Baker has four idols in the wrestling industry. All of them are currently active competitors in WWE.

In an interview with the Throwing Down podcast, Baker revealed that her idols are WWE Superstars Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, and Bayley.

"When I first started training, when I first said this is something I wanted to do while I’m in dental school, what really motivated me was when I started watching the Sasha, Bayley, Becky, and Charlotte matches that were happening on NXT at the time. It’s crazy because we are now, ‘competing against each other.’ Those are my idols. Those were the girls I enjoyed watching," said Britt Baker.

The Four Horsewomen are currently the top superstars in WWE's women's division. Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch are now RAW Women's Champion and SmackDown Women's Champion, respectively.

Likewise, Baker is currently the face of AEW's women's division. She captured the AEW Women's World Title last May after defeating Hikaru Shida at Double or Nothing. The 30-year-old recently defended her championship against Ruby Soho on AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam.

#3. AEW star Adam Cole

Before joining AEW, Adam Cole spent a few years in WWE, where he had the opportunity to work with his idol, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels.

Although he retired from in-ring action a few years ago, Michaels is still working in WWE. He's now Triple H's right-hand guy in NXT.

Cole had a lot of success under Michaels' supervision. He won the NXT Championship, North American Title, and the NXT Tag Team Championships to become the second-ever NXT Triple Crown Champion.

In a recent interview with TV Insider, Cole spoke about his relationship with The Heartbreak Kid.

"I’ve been so open with how much of a relationship I formed with Shawn Michaels. He is an idol of mine. A guy I look at as the greatest professional wrestler of all-time. To have the chance to work under him was really cool," he said.

Cole left WWE last August after his contract expired. On September 5, he made his AEW debut at the All Out pay-per-view. The 32-year-old recently teamed up with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks to defeat Jurassic Express, Christian Cage, and Bryan Danielson on AEW Dynamite.

#2 & #1. AEW Executive Vice Presidents The Young Bucks

Like their Elite teammate Adam Cole, former AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks also idolize Shawn Michaels. Although Matt and Nick Jackson never officially joined WWE despite attending a couple of tryouts, they got the opportunity to meet HBK a few years ago.

Before gaining popularity, The Young Bucks worked as extras on WWE television. During that time, they met their idol Shawn Michaels backstage. They spoke about that encounter in an interview with The Wrestling Inc last year.

"It’s funny. We befriended Marty Jannetty because we booked him on our independent show (...) I remember him calling us and saying, ‘Hey, I heard you guys are going to WWE to do extra work. We’re like, ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, ‘alright, well, I’m gonna tell Shawn that you guys are coming, and hopefully, he can talk to you guys," Matt Jackson said.

At first, the Jackson brothers didn't believe that Shawn Michaels would talk to them. Nevertheless, they were later surprised by how friendly HBK was to them.

"So, sure enough, we’re sitting there in catering, and we see all these big stars. We’re kind of star struck and then, finally, we see THE guy, and it’s Shawn Michaels. He’s our hero. He’s sitting at one of the tables alone with Jesse Hernandez (...) So Jesse sees us, and he waves us over (...) we head over there, and Shawn is just sitting there looking up at us. And we’re just like, ‘What is this?’ It was so surreal, and he knew our names. And sure enough, Marty came through and called Shawn that morning and said 'Hey, these kids, look out for them.' And he described what we look like, and we sat there," he added.

The Young Bucks revealed that Shawn Michaels helped them a lot during that time. He even got them a small bonus.

Despite making a few appearances on television in 2008, WWE decided not to sign the Jackson brothers. They competed in a few different promotions over the years before signing with AEW in 2019. In addition to being in-ring competitors, The Young Bucks are currently AEW's EVPs.

The Young Bucks recently lost their AEW Tag Team Titles to the Lucha Brothers at AEW All Out.