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All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is doing a great job at providing wrestling fans with a good alternative to WWE. The promotion has a solid mix of talents, ranging from those who are relatively unknown to some of the most prominent names in the business.
AEW does have a multitude of stars who were once in WWE. After all, it has been by far the biggest wrestling company in the world for around two decades now and a lot of current talents will have passed through the sports entertainment system.
Among the current AEW wrestlers who were once in WWE, the most notable names are Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley, both of whom enjoyed successful runs in Vince McMahon's company. They have even held the WWE Championship. Some of their current peers have also had the chance to do so, with varying degrees of involvement with the WWE Title.
Whether they were merely a secondary figure in a title match or came within inches of winning the belt, here are five current AEW wrestlers you may not remember featured in a WWE Championship match.
#5 Shawn Spears (OVW Six Flags Summer Sizzler Series 27/7/2007)
Shawn Spears was largely known as Tye Dillinger during his WWE career, but he never got a WWE Championship shot under that name. His sole world title match came under his current name, back when he was a part of Ohio Valley Wrestling.
This was a part of OVW's 'Six Flags Summer Series', happening during John Cena's third WWE Title reign. This was the one that lasted over a year, with Cena raising his game against a variety of opponents. Spears was one of them, albeit in a non-televised capacity.
Other stars on the card were WWE Hall of Famers, Jerry 'The King' Lawler, and Beth Phoenix. This was pretty weird, seeing a developmental talent get an opportunity to challenge for the WWE Championship.
What makes it weirder is that the developmental talent eventually became a popular star in WWE, but did not get another title shot. It was far from perfect for Shawn Spears in WWE.
#4 Mr. Brodie Lee (WWE Royal Rumble 2016)
The leader of the Dark Order was largely part of a group during his time in WWE, most notably the Wyatt Family. Mr. Brodie Lee, formerly Luke Harper, was sniffing around the WWE Championship picture in 2017, but his only shot at the title came alongside 29 other WWE Superstars.
Roman Reigns defended the WWE Title in the 2016 Royal Rumble Match, taking on all comers. And while the remaining three AEW wrestlers on this list were also a part of this match, they were a part of other WWE Championship matches beforehand. However, none of them had as impressive a showing as Luke Harper did.
The Wyatt Family dominated the middle portion of this match, as Harper entered at number 13 and eliminated 3 men from the match. He even contributed to Brock Lesnar's elimination, alongside Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman.
Luke Harper could have very easily had another crack at the WWE Championship when he played a big role in the break-up of the Wyatt Family. He was even touted to be added to the Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton match at WrestleMania 33. Unfortunately, that did not happen and Harper would never be relevant as a singles star in WWE again.
#3 Cody Rhodes (WWE Backlash 2009)
Also a part of the 2016 Royal Rumble Match, Cody Rhodes was actually eliminated from it by Luke Harper. He was still in his Stardust gimmick back then. However, Cody enjoyed more fruitful times in WWE and had a lot of potential. He enjoyed a lengthy Intercontinental Championship reign, as well as a couple of Tag Team Title runs.
But the closest he ever came to WWE's main event scene was in 2009, as part of Legacy, a stable of second-generation WWE Superstars. Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase Jr. were under the leadership of Randy Orton, who had made a fair number of enemies over the past couple of months.
Following his failure to win the WWE Championship from Triple H in the main event of WrestleMania 25, the Viper challenged The Game again at Backlash. But this time, it was in a 6-man Tag Team Match. Triple H teamed with Shane McMahon and Batista against Legacy, with the title on the line.
Cody was tasked, along with Dibiase Jr., to help Orton win the title. And it did happen. Randy Orton became the Champion, as a result of Legacy winning. He may have been slightly in the background of this angle, but Cody Rhodes was still a part of this WWE Championship match.
#2 Dustin Rhodes (WWF RAW is WAR 27/4/1998)
Dustin Rhodes has played so many variations of the Goldust character during his WWE career, with the most outrageous one being "The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust". He did some pretty questionable things during this run, all of which are better off remaining in the Attitude Era.
Goldust was particularly lower down the card at this point, making it a surprise when Vince McMahon announced him as 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's challenger on the April 27th episode of RAW is WAR in 1998. To add to the drama, Gerald Brisco was appointed the special guest referee.
This was just done to further the Austin vs McMahon feud, with the chairman stating that literally anybody would be a better representative of the company as Champion. The match was pretty fun, the standard 'babyface with the odds stacked against him' affair.
Following the partial officiating of Brisco, Goldust's opportunity at the WWE Title vanished when Dude Love showed up and attacked Austin. Amidst the chaos, the referee was knocked out and the match ended in a No Contest. Classic Attitude Era stuff.
#1 PAC (WWE RAW 3/8/2015)
PAC, better known as Neville in WWE, left the company after staying in the cruiserweight division for far too long. The 'King of the Cruiserweights' hardly got an opportunity as a regular star on RAW or SmackDown. But Neville did get a moment to shine on RAW, and what a moment it was!
In the lead-up to the title-for-title match at SummerSlam between Seth Rollins and John Cena, the former announced a WWE Title open challenge for anybody below 6 feet and 200 pounds. Neville accepted it and proceeded to have an excellent match with the 'Architect'.
He even came very close on a couple of occasions. The current AEW star almost won the match with a Jackknife cover, the same one which won Shawn Michaels his return match against Triple H at SummerSlam 2002. However, the most intense near-fall of the match came after Neville hit Rollins with the Red Arrow.
The Champion was out cold and his foot was placed on the rope out of sheer instinct. The referee nearly counted to three before spotting it, as the crowd was ready to explode. PAC attempted another Red Arrow but failed to connect, as Rollins hit a Pedigree to win the match.
This was the best WWE Championship match featuring an AEW star who never won the title before, thanks to possibly the greatest near-fall in recent memory. It's a shame that Neville was not more of a star in WWE, as this match proved how good he was and how believable he could be as a top star.
