5 Current AEW stars who rejected WWE contracts

#1 Jon Moxley turns down a lucrative five-year deal offered by WWE

Current AEW star Jon Moxley was fed up with the way he was being handled on WWE TV, by the time 2018 was approaching its end. He had made a decision, and was going to stick with it, no matter what. In early 2019, Wade Keller of PWTorch reported that Moxley had a meeting with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. Moxley had been offered a five-year WWE deal, which included a raise, but he ended up rejecting the same. Reportedly, his deal was worth around a million dollars per year. Moxley didn't flinch one bit, and parted ways with WWE months later.

Jon Moxley made an explosive debut at AEW Double Or Nothing

Moxley came out following Chris Jericho's win over Kenny Omega at AEW's first show, and attacked both stars. Last year, Moxley defeated Jericho to become the second-ever AEW World Champion, and held it for several months. Moxley finally lost the belt to Kenny Omega on AEW Dynamite, but it's safe to say that he doesn't regret his decision to reject WWE's offer and sign with AEW, at all.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Kaushik Das