Paige (aka Saraya) and 4 other recently departed WWE women who have joined AEW

Several recently released WWE Superstars have joined AEW over the past two years. For example, the company let Samoa Joe go last January. About three months later, he debuted in Tony Khan's promotion in April. He is currently the ROH World Television Champion.

Likewise, a few recently departed WWE female superstars have also joined AEW. Recently, a former two-time Divas Champion made her debut on Dynamite: Grand Slam.

Here are five recently departed WWE women who have joined AEW.

#5. Ruby Soho

After wrestling for nearly six years on the independent circuit, Ruby Soho (fka Ruby Riott) signed a developmental contract with WWE. The 31-year-old then spent almost two years in NXT before making her main roster debut as the leader of The Riott Squad in November 2017.

During her main roster run, Soho had a few shots at the RAW Women's Championship and the SmackDown Women's Title. However, she failed to capture any of them. Soho and her Riott Squad teammate Liv Morgan also chased the Women's Tag Team Championship. Nevertheless, they also came up short.

In June 2021, WWE released Soho from her contract, ending her five-year tenure in the company.

After nearly three months of inactivity following her release from the Stamford-based company, Soho made her AEW debut in September 2021 at All Out. The former leader of the Riott Squad is currently an active competitor in Tony Khan's promotion.

#4. ROH Women's World Champion Mercedes Martinez

In 2017, Mercedes Martinez participated in WWE's Mae Young Classic Tournament. Although she made it to the semi-finals, the 41-year-old got eliminated at the hands of Shayna Baszler.

Martinez again competed in the same tournament the following year. However, she lost in the second round to Meiko Satomura.

In 2019, Martinez made a few appearances in AEW before returning to WWE to sign an official contract in January 2020. She spent about a year and eight months in the company, during which she was briefly a member of RETRIBUTION. WWE then released her from her contract in August 2021 due to budget cuts.

Following her release, Martinez joined IMPACT Wrestling, where she spent only a few months before returning to AEW. Last December, Tony Khan's promotion announced that the former NXT star had signed an official contract.

Martinez is currently an active competitor in AEW. She is now the ROH Women's World Champion.

#3. Former NXT Women's Champion Athena (Ember Moon)

Athena (fka Ember Moon) signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2015 after wrestling on the independent circuit for several years. She then spent three years in NXT, during which she held the NXT Women's Championship for 139 days between November 2017 and April 2018.

Later that same year, Athena made her main roster debut, where she spent about two years before returning to NXT in October 2020. During her time on the main roster, the 34-year-old received only one shot at the SmackDown Women's Championship but failed to capture the title.

Athena's second run on NXT lasted about a year, during which she won the NXT Women's Tag Team Titles alongside Shotzi. Last November, however, the company released her from her contract due to budget cuts.

Following her release, Athena briefly returned to the independent circuit before joining AEW last May at Double or Nothing. She has since been an active competitor in Tony Khan's promotion.

#2. Interim AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm

After participating in the 2017 Mae Young Classic Tournament, Toni Storm officially signed with WWE in May 2018. The 26-year-old spent about four years competing on NXT and NXT UK, during which she won the 2018 Mae Young Classic Tournament and the NXT UK Women's Championship.

In July 2021, Storm made her main roster debut, joining SmackDown. However, she competed only a few times on the Blue Brand before requesting her release last December, which the company immediately granted.

About three months after her departure from the Stamford-based company, Storm made her AEW debut. She is currently the Interim AEW Women's World Champion.

The New Zealand native recently retained her title after defeating Athena, Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., and Serena Deeb in a Four-Way Match at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam.

#1. Former WWE Divas Champion Saraya

After joining WWE in 2011, Saraya (aka Paige) became one of the top female superstars in the company. The 30-year-old became the inaugural NXT Women's Champion after defeating Emma (Tenille Dashwood) in the finals of an eight-woman single-elimination tournament in 2013.

The Anti-Diva then had to vacate the title after making her main roster debut in 2014 and winning the Divas Championship on her first night on Monday Night RAW.

Between 2014 and 2018, Saraya held the Divas Championship twice. However, she announced her retirement from in-ring competition in April 2018 due to injury. Over the next two years, the English wrestler played a few non-wrestling roles on WWE television, including being SmackDown General Manager and manager of the Kabuki Warriors.

However, after more than a year of absence from television, Paige departed the company last July after her contract expired. On the Grand Slam edition of Dynamite, the 30-year-old made her return to the wrestling ring, debuting in AEW.

The Anti-Diva made a surprise appearance on AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam after Toni Storm's victory in the Interim AEW Women's World Championship Four-Way Match.

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