Hall of Famer shares his thoughts on AEW stars that left to join WWE (Exclusive)

AEW has become the biggest competitor for WWE since its inception in 2019. The promotion has had a lot of big-name stars on its roster over the years, some of whom have been with the company from the very first day. Wrestlers like Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega have been with the promotion since it began.

However, many huge and up-and-coming names have left the promotion in search of something different, such as Ricky Saints, Mariah May, and Rey Fenix. Hall of Famer Bill Apter shared his thoughts on former AEW stars who find themselves in WWE currently on a recent episode of The Wrestling Time Machine.

Speaking on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, the veteran journalist pointed out how some of these former AEW stars aren't doing well in WWE. He claimed that, apart from Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and Jade Cargill, no one has made a huge impact within the promotion.

"What about Rey Fenix and Penta? They're supposed to be these incredible characters. I haven't seen Rey Fenix in quite a while. Penta has not won cleanly in quite a long time. Mariah, Blake Monroe, what's she doing? She just turned heel. Ricky Starks, Ricky Saints, he did okay in NXT, but now what's he doing? Andrade got a good push. He was used. Other than that, Teddy's girl, Jade Cargill, is probably next to Cody and CM Punk, the only three graduates of AEW that have made a huge dent in WWE," Apter said. [1:40 onwards]

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Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and Jade Cargill all sit atop their respective divisions in the WWE, and all of them have a world title match at SummerSlam. Rhodes takes on John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship, Punk faces Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship, while Jade Cargill faces off against Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women's Championship.

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About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Arsh Das