9 AEW Stars that were rejected by WWE

Some have criticized AEW for relying on former WWE Superstars as their leading act but in the last few months, that has changed. Thanks to Cody, The Young Bucks, and Chris Jericho, there has been a transparent thought process of getting young up and comers over with the mainstream audience on AEW Dynamite.

This has been the highlight of the company. Their plan has always been to get over the younger stars as soon as possible and they have succeeded on some level. Sammy Guevara, Orange Cassidy, Darby Allin, Jurassic Express are very much over with the audience and do get a pop for all the right reasons.

Over the last six months, several of these stars have proven that they can hang with the best while others are a work in progress. It's also true that some of these stars did try out for WWE at one point or didn't make it past their developmental system.

Some even had matches on NXT with little to no traction after that. In a sense, they were denied by WWE.

Here are 9 AEW Stars that were rejected by WWE.

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#9 Penelope Ford

She did try out for the company (Pic Source: WWE)

Back at the end of 2018, Ford did try out for WWE. It's unclear why it didn't work out or why she didn't get further than this. It should be noted that AEW was announced in January 2019, and it was confirmed that she and Joey Janela had indeed signed with the company.

While several things might have changed between the tryout and her signing, it's still unclear if WWE did or did not call her back beyond the tryout. It's possible that WWE officials were not impressed and didn't sign her.

On the other hand, her time in AEW has been interesting, especially with her pairing with Kip Sabian. The two recently announced their engagement, and things are looking up for them both personally and professionally.

#8 Jungle Boy

A king in the making (Pic Source: AEW)

One of the better success stories in AEW, Jungle Boy (Jack Perry), has come a long way over the past year. Being paired with Marko Stunt and Luchasaurus has turned them into fan favorites. But that may not have come to pass. There was interest in Jungle Boy by WWE, but as he puts it, there were certain conditions that came with it.

In an interview with The Young Bucks, Jack Perry said that WWE would offer him a job, but only if he were to put 30 pounds. He said: (H/T Wrestling Inc)

"If you put on 30 lbs. or whatever, we will give you a job, but the way it is, it's not going to happen.' And I was just so bummed. I was like, 'it bums me out that that's the one thing that it gets hung up on because I know what I can do and I can do a bunch of stuff, but I think there are a bunch of guys who are way bigger than me who are not nearly as good and it's silly to me to get so hung up on that.'"

It seems that WWE was more hung up on his look despite his in-ring ability. With that said, Jungle Boy had time to shine with his short feud with Chris Jericho, which saw him lasting 10 minutes with Le Champion.

Since then, he has been one of the young up-and-coming stars in the company and most likely will be in the main event scene sooner than later.

#7 Scorpio Sky

From Anger Management guy to Cinderella Man (Pic Source: AEW)

One of the better success stories in AEW, Scorpio Sky alongside Frankie Kazarian as part of SCU, became the first-ever AEW Tag Team Champions. He even had a short-lived feud with Chris Jericho which got him over better than anyone expected.

While his current AEW career has taken off, it wasn't an easy road to get there. He had spent time in TNA/Impact Wrestling as well as Ring of Honor (ROH) and even appeared in WWE as Harold in anger management segments alongside Kane and Daniel Bryan.

Sky said that things didn't work out in WWE simply because he had appeared in TNA a month earlier. At the time, there was a dispute between both companies over talent and contracts. To be precise, as Sky had appeared in TNA, they couldn't touch him despite him being in the Kane and Bryan skits and getting a WWE tryout.

But all things happen for a reason, and things did work out for the better as he is now a legit star in the company.

#6 and #5 The Best Friends (Chuckie T and Trent)

A unique friendship (Pic Source: AEW)

Being one of the first tag teams to be signed to All Elite Wrestling, the duo surprised most as their segments seemed to catch on with the crowd. Their pairing with Orange Cassidy has only gotten them over with the fans and that's why they're probably featured on AEW Dynamite more regularly.

The comedy-style team has interesting pasts. Trent was a former WWE Superstar featured on SmackDown and ECW. But nothing seemed to stick as injuries caught up with him. He was eventually released from the company in 2013. Trent believes that WWE didn't get his character and the injuries played a role as well.

On the other hand, Chuckie T, a.k.a. Chuck Taylor was outright rejected by WWE after a tryout. For several years, Taylor wrestled for various companies such as TNA/Impact Wrestling, Evolve, PWG, NJPW, and eventually ROH, where he formed the Best Friends with Trent.

With that said, the pair have formed an entertaining act that has worked for them so far in AEW.

#4 Britt Baker

The dentist whose smile is never upside down (Pic Source: WWE)

Britt Baker is a dentist...she's made that abundantly clear as her promos have gotten better over the last few months. But the journey towards getting over was not an easy one. Baker had her share of detractors since she began in AEW.

She has wrestled for various companies, including International Wrestling Cartel (IWC), WrestleCircus, and also for WWE RAW and NXT. Neither appearance translated into a WWE contract for her. While it's not necessarily a rejection, it's hard to overlook that her opponents were Nia Jax and Shayna Bazler, and WWE didn't see fit to look beyond that.

Baker infamously appeared on NXT TakeOver in the crowd with the camera focusing on her during her boyfriend Adam Cole's match. The masses didn't care for her as one of the first women signed to AEW, and it's fair to say that her babyface run was doomed from that moment.

But as always, AEW was smart enough to listen to their audience and turned the doctor heel. Since then, her promos have improved, and she recently had her best match in the company when she was busted open in her bout with Hikaru Shida.

This is hopefully the start of a great year in 2020.

#3 Luchasaurus

So much to like with the big man (Pic Source: AEW)

One of the more outstanding talents in AEW, Luchasaurus, along with teammates, Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt, has enjoyed a fan following that has propelled their team Jurassic Express. The team is one of the few 'homegrown' acts of the company as they have gotten over organically with the fans.

Each member brings something special, and no one is more surprising than Luchasaurus. One of the few 'Hoffs' in AEW, he has shocked many with his agility and in-ring charisma. It is therefore surprising to learn that he was with WWE for a couple of years under the name Judas Devlin.

It's safe to say that things didn't work out for him in there. He was actually told to find another line of work while he was with the company.

He said: (H/T Wrestling Inc)

"In 2013 when I was in developmental, they sat me down in a room after six months and said wrestling is not for you. You're not cut out for it, find another job. I could have taken that to heart and walked away, because their style wasn't for me. They were right, their style wasn't for me. I had to go off and find something completely different."

It's fair to say that he seemed to have found his footing in AEW...even if it took 65 Million years to get there.

#2 MJF

Been over since day 1 (Pic Source: AEW)

Easily one of the best heels in the company, Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) at 24 years of age has already proven that he belongs in the world of professional wrestling. His adherence to an old-school methodology, natural charisma, and excellent in-ring technique have gotten him over in more ways than one.

MJF's feud with Cody Rhodes saw one of the better builds in long-term storytelling that is a rarity in present-day professional wrestling. With that said, AEW was not the first destination for MJF. He did try out for WWE and even auditioned for Tough Enough. Suffice to say, MJF wasn't 'Tough Enough' for WWE in 2015.

Since then, his star has only risen. After his appearance at All In in 2018, there was a possibility that WWE could have signed him. But after a conversation with Tony Khan, MJF knew that AEW was the right place for him.

His promos on AEW Dynamite have been deadly, and it would have been interesting to see what would have become of him had he gone the route of WWE. MJF can only go up and, perhaps, become the biggest star in AEW.

#1 Sammy Guevara

A Spanish God in the making (Pic Source: AEW)

A star in the making, Sammy Guevara has only flown higher since he's been in AEW. Ever since the first episode of AEW Dynamite, Sammy has been on fire. He's part of the one hottest heel stables in pro wrestling with The Inner Circle and has allowed his creativity to flow through.

His in-ring ability is phenomenal, and he has even earned praise from Jim Ross, who compared him to Eddie Guerrero. With that said, Sammy did get a try out for WWE, but his interactions with the personnel changed his opinion of the company. Moreover, he didn't get signed. He said: (H/T Wrestling Inc)

"I don't think any wrestler got signed. I think a collegiate wrestler got signed. It felt that if you want to do this for a living f**k you, but these models, ex-Football players they treated them really good and almost shame on you for actually wanting to be a wrestler."

Since then, Sammy hasn't looked back. He's improving with every moment he gets on TNT and will hopefully be destined to be one of the biggest stars in AEW.

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