Mariah May and other stars left AEW for WWE due to one big reason, says wrestling veteran

A wrestling veteran recently spoke up about why he thinks many former AEW stars have signed with WWE lately. Ethan Page, Ricky Saints, Lexis King, Jade Cargill, and plenty of names have joined the locker room of the Stamford-based promotion.

One of the huge names WWE recently acquired from Tony Khan's company is Mariah May, now known as Blake Monroe. Tony Khan has lost out on some significant names to the global sports entertainment juggernaut.

As WWE has been running on TV for decades, it is a childhood dream for a wrestler to become a WWE star. Therefore, when WWE offers them a contract, often when their previous contract expires, they seem to accept it without giving it a second thought.

While speaking on The Experience podcast, veteran commentator Jim Cornette claimed that wrestlers go from AEW to WWE as they receive huge contracts and don't have to be the 'game changers' on the show.

"The guys and girls that they have gotten from AEW are of all ages, potential, and capability. (...) But the age and etcetera, and the talent level and the look that they can make stars in two to five years. They don't need to find any game changers because they don't even change the game, they're making a fortune. They want people for the future. Tony has to wait until somebody, some name, for some reason, that still has some appeal to the general public gets sideways with the WWE, and those have become fewer and farther between. So, it's a completely opposite situation where young guys or girls with a future are flowing from AEW to WWE," he said. (07:09 - 08:16)

WWE's Natalya praises Blake Monroe's AEW work

The Glamour has been the talk of the town since joining WWE. Her new name Blake Monroe has only added more fire to the topic.

While speaking on Busted Open, Natalya claimed that she loved Blake's work in the Jacksonville-based promotion and remarked that she wouldn't be in WWE if she hadn't done her job well.

"She has done amazing work in the past. I mean, she wouldn’t be in WWE had she not done great work prior. Her stuff with Toni [Storm] was some of my favorite stuff," she said.

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It remains to be seen which other stars might switch companies soon.

Please credit Jim Cornette's The Experience podcast and add an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use any quotes from the first half of this article.

About the author

Tejas has been an AEW writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling since 2021. Possessing a degree in Food Processing Technology, it was his brother who introduced him to Sportskeeda, and he has never looked back since.

Tejas’ writing style is analytical and descriptive style, mostly sticking to statistics. He believes in thoroughly checking all statistics and information before using them in his articles to ensure his readers get nothing but the best and most accurate stories. He also does not indulge much in speculation in his content.

His all-time favorite wrestler is Roman Reigns for his journey from being one of the most unlikable babyfaces at the start of his career to one of the greatest modern WWE superstars. If Tejas ever got the chance to go back to the Attitude Era and manage a superstar, it would choose high-flying, risk-taking diminutive entertainer Spike Dudley. Tejas would assure him that he would be involved in long-term storylines, something that he wasn’t part of during his time.

In his free time, Tejas enjoys singing and learning new things.

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Edited by Harish Raj S