AEW Dark has proven to be a successful show for the company, providing a lot of great wrestling for fans to enjoy. This has mainly been a series of episodes for Tony Khan to develop talent, with younger, lesser-known wrestlers working things out and developing their style to eventually move on to Dynamite.
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However, sometimes Tony will throw in some surprise names to keep audiences on their toes and to bring in more fans. This can be a surprise from the independent scene, or a big star from AEW's existing roster, there are names that pop up when people least expect it.
10 Marina Shafir
Marina Shafir is someone who has worked for WWE and built up a great reputation for herself. She is a top star who showcased great promise within NXT, and people expected her to kick on and become a much bigger name. She was surprisingly let go, despite the fact she has genuine star power from her MMA career.
She has worked quite a lot of matches on AEW Dark at this point, becoming a regular on the show which is something that has built her reputation. It remains to be seen if she will make the jump to AEW Dynamite, but she is obviously someone that the company likes.
9 Jake Atlas
Jake Atlas is an exciting wrestler who fans are well aware of due to his time in WWE. He has put together some great moments and matches, but ended up being released by the company. He was a big name that then decided to retire from the business, so seeing him appear in AEW on an episode of Dark was a shock.
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He randomly turned up and competed against Serpentico, putting on a great performance. This then led to him being signed by the company, but his main roster debut sadly saw him suffer an injury. Regardless of that, his appearance on the YouTube show was a great moment.
8 Vanessa Borne
Another former WWE Superstar that randomly appeared on AEW Dark was Vanessa Borne. Because of her history in her former company, Borne does bring a certain level of star power to the ring that some other names on the show cannot provide.
Even though she never had a featured storyline for the company, her name value is slightly higher. Borne got the chance to compete against Marina Shafir and was defeated on her debut. However, AEW could choose to bring her back to the company at some point.
7 Blue Meanie
Blue Meanie has appeared on AEW Dark: Elevation at one point in his career, bringing a little ECW flavor to the show. Tony Khan is a big fan of ECW, which is something that provided a fun moment for the wrestling fans. He didn't physically wrestle on the show, but he did get involved in an angle.
This took place with Joey Janela, who had trash-talked Philadelphia at the time. However, after that, Blue Meanie was on hand to stop him running away, sending Janela back into the ring for a beat down to pop the crowd.
6 Tony Nese
Tony Nese is a former Cruiserweight Champion, and someone who spent several years working on WWE television, including on the main roster. He has competed at WrestleMania in a featured title match, making him one of the biggest names that has ever appeared on AEW Dark.
He has since worked on the show several times, competing against a variety of talents. This eventually led to him getting a few shots on the main roster, including a TNT Championship match against Sammy Guevara, which he lost.
5 Cody Rhodes
While Cody Rhodes has not officially competed on AEW Dark under his own name, he has been involved in the show. He partnered up with Fuego Del Sol underneath a mask, with the duo being known as Too Fast, Too Fuego. While Cody never confirmed it was him, the entire wrestling world knew that it was.
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It was cool to see Cody pop up on this show, and do so differently than what people would expect. Having him underneath a mask allowed him to act in a slightly different manner, and it was just a fun moment, which is what AEW Dark should be.
4 Ariya Daivari
Ariya Daivari is another 205 Live alumnus that has worked on AEW Dark since his time with WWE came to an end. He had a good run within WWE and was a key part of 205 Live, putting together some great moments during that spell which built up his name and star value.
He got the chance to appear on AEW Dark twice, working in tag team matches. He is someone that could be brought back once again as he is a solid hand to have on the show, and someone who is a bigger name that people are aware of.
3 Josh Woods
It isn't just former WWE stars that Tony Khan has pulled in, as Josh Woods has also appeared for the company while still being the Ring Of Honor Pure Champion. It was a cool moment to see him appear with the title, working against Shawn Spears, although he fell short at that time.
Since then Woods has worked again, this time losing against Daniel Garcia. It was a surprise to see him appear, simply due to his ROH connection. However, this is the type of moment that brings excitement to the show overall, as it is unpredictable.
2 Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is one of the biggest wrestling names in the world, so seeing him appear on a free YouTube show is not something people expected. However, he is someone who just loves to wrestle, and that was clear by the fact that he popped up on AEW Dark in October.
Danielson worked in the main event against Aaron Solo, picking up a routine victory. While the result was never in doubt, it showcased how much Bryan cares about the company that he was even willing to be involved in the show, which he doesn't need to do at this stage in his career.
1 Kenny Omega
Kenny Omega is another one of AEW's top stars, and someone who does not need to appear on AEW Dark at all. He is one of the main featured workers in the company, and that is why him being part of AEW Dark adds a lot of star power. Nobody ever expects him on that show, but he has competed several times.
Omega has had quite a few great matches on the show, particularly during the start of its run. He helped to put the show on the map in order to get people excited about it. It remains to be seen if he will ever be back after he returns from injury.
