5 Current AEW stars who rejected WWE contracts

#3 Adam Page turns WWE down, shortly before signing a contract with AEW

Adam Page

An interesting aspect of Adam Page is that he is one of those AEW talents who are homegrown, and not already-established megastars from other promotions, like Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega. As in, he wasn't much of a big name when he signed with AEW. It was clear as day from the beginning that AEW had big plans for him. Page rejected a WWE offer not too long before signing a deal with AEW. Here's Page opening up on the same:

"That was an option for me at one point. It was something for me that I heavily considered, but you know, it didn't feel right for me at that time, and I really couldn't say enough how pleasant everyone was to deal with the talks and negotiations."

"They were more after me than most I would say. They put a lot more effort into me and time than others did, so it was a real consideration, but I guess when I was a kid that was [what] you wanted to do—you wanted to grow up and be in the WWE because it's the biggest thing ever—but it just didn't feel right and didn't become a goal for me anymore."

Hangman Page was pushed from day one in AEW

Hangman Page was a surprise entrant in the Casino Battle Royale at AEW Double or Nothing 2019. He ended up winning the whole thing by last eliminating MJF. Page was thus given a shot at the newly-formed AEW World title, but failed to defeat Chris Jericho at All Out. He later won the AEW World tag team titles with Kenny Omega, and many believe that he will be the one to take the AEW World title off Omega in the near future.