"It's like a gamble" - WWE legend reveals why former AEW wrestlers are struggling in WWE (Exclusive)

AEW has firmly established itself as one of the biggest wrestling promotions in the world in the last few years. Having been founded in 2019, the promotion has grown exponentially and has become the place where some of the best wrestlers of the world compete.

The roster is filled with huge stars like Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, and Will Ospreay. Some of them have also left the company to join WWE, but not all of their moves have worked out well. WWE legend Teddy Long revealed why some of these former AEW stars are struggling in the Stamford-based promotion.

Speaking on The Wrestling Time Machine on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, Long claimed that a lot of these stars have struggled as they appeared on the main roster directly. Long felt that wrestlers like Andrade, Rey Fenix, Penta, all of whom have either not wrestled for or have been away from WWE for a long time, should've been in NXT, or trained at the Performance Center for a while before moving up.

"Bringing them up to the main roster, when sometimes you know that they're not ready, but you take a chance on it anyway, you know what I mean? It's like a gamble. But like I said, to go through that Performance Center, I think that's the best way to go. And then once they clear you there, then when you come to the main roster, you know you got no problem," Long said. [3:12 onwards]

Major WWE secrets leaked! Watch Here

While former AEW wrestlers like Jade Cargill, Cody Rhodes, and CM Punk are all obvious successes in WWE, others haven't had similar levels of success. However, some down in NXT are enjoying their time, with Ethan Page and Ricky Saints having already been champions in WWE.

Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the YouTube video if you use the quotes from this article.

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.

Know More

A top professional wrestler opened up on Goldberg HERE

Edited by Arsh Das