Ever since its inception, All Elite Wrestling has signed a ton of talent, which also included several former WWE wrestlers. Some fans think that AEW is repeating WCW's mistake by signing so many ex-WWE wrestlers, but so far, they have handled their talent wisely. Although Tony Khan did say that it's time to be "more discerning than ever in talent acquisition.RELATED: 5 Current WWE Women's Wrestlers Who Would Thrive In AEW (And 5 Who Wouldn't)In 2021, a bunch of WWE wrestlers jumped ships to AEW. While not every one of them was pushed to the top, most of them joined AEW to have a better career than they did in WWE. It was an important year for AEW as they even managed to bring some wrestlers fans never thought would work for them.Updated On March 23rd, 2022, By Andrew Kelly: With WWE being the biggest wrestling promotion of all time, they often house the best of the best that the professional wresting world has to offer. When those talents are let go, it is just a matter of time before they end up somewhere else. There is certainly a vocal group of fans that lend out criticism when AEW signs former WWE talents, but It's easy to see why they sign them, and that is due to some of these names being truly great all-around performers. Whether it be a case of a performer getting released, or AEW managing to outbid WWE to land them, several former WWE superstars ended up debuting for AEW in 2021, as they continue to grow an ever-expanding roster, as the company reaches a wider audience.
13 * Jake Atlas
Jake Atlas is a talent who wasn’t properly utilized during his time in NXT, despite being a tremendous performer. He made an unannounced debut on AEW Dark towards the end of 2021, which was unexpected, due to previously announcing his retirement, but his debut was welcomed. It wasn’t long until he was signed to a deal.
Atlas’ AEW career looked to be getting off to a strong start with a match against Adam Cole on Rampage, but he would suffer an injury, ruling him out for the foreseeable future.
AEW Win/Loss Record (As of March 23rd 2022): 1-1
12 * Tony Nese
To date, Tony Nese remains to be one of AEW’s most peculiar signings out of WWE’s wave of releases. Nese wasn’t able to showcase much charisma in WWE, due to being stuck in 205 Live, so fans hadn’t really seen much in him that would scream “star”.
When AEW signed him, it was certainly a surprise to fans. It is even more so strange considering he has barely been featured on TV, with a couple of appearances here and there, but mostly being contained to appearing to Dark and Elevation.
AEW Win/Loss Record (As of March 23rd 2022): 9-2
11 * Mercedes Martinez
Back in 2019, Mercedes Martinez actually appeared in a Casino Battle Royal, before being signed by WWE. In the two years she spent there, she didn’t achieve much success. A couple of feuds in NXT, a title challenge, and a disastrous appearance in the Retribution stable, made for her time to be very forgettable.
After being released, Martinez showed up in AEW in December 2021, briefly aligning with Britt Baker before their partnership came to an end.
AEW Win/Loss Record (As of March 23rd 2022): 2-3
10 Paul Wight
Paul Wight left WWE in 2021 and later signed with All Elite Wrestling. He was one of the wrestler fans didn't think would ever leave the company, but when the opportunity came up, he decided to sign with AEW. He serves as a commentator for AEW Dark: Elevation on YouTube. As part of the AEW roster, Wight also wrestled a few matches.
*AEW Win/Loss Record (As of March 23rd 2022): 3-0
9 Christian Cage
After a seven-year hiatus from wrestling, Christian Cage made his return to the ring at Royal Rumble 2021. A few weeks later, Christian joined All Elite Wrestling and made his first appearance at the Revolution pay-per-view. Cage had previously said that he can't return to the ring due to concussion issues.
RELATED: 5 Wrestlers Who Will Retire In WWE (And 5 In AEW)
But now, he is here and better than ever. In the past few months, Christian has had several great matches and even a World Championship reign. He wanted to end his career on his terms and help out the younger generation, both of which he could easily do in AEW, as he has aligned with Jurassic Express.
*AEW Win/Loss Record (As of March 23rd 2022): 13-5
8 Malakai Black
When WWE released Aleister Black in June 2021, many fans were surprised. Black had just debuted a new gimmick and it seemed as though the company had big plans for him.
A month after his release from WWE, he made his AEW debut under the ring name Malakai Black. It turned out that WWE had made a mistake with Black's contract which allowed him to sign with AEW after just 30 days.
*AEW Win/Loss Record (As of March 23rd 2022): 12-3
7 Adam Cole
Adam Cole reunited with The Elite at All Out 2021. Fans were surprised when Cole chose to not renew his WWE contract, but they knew he was coming to AEW. After Kenny Omega beat Christian Cage for the AEW Championship, The Elite came to celebrate Kenny's victory.
They attacked Cage and the Jurassic Express (who had come to save him), and then Omega cut a short promo. This led to Cole's music and the fans went crazy. But it was only a matter of time before AEW gave the audience another shocker.
*AEW Win/Loss Record (As of March 23rd 2022): 18-5
6 Bobby Fish
Bobby Fish was released by WWE in August 2021. After two months, he signed with AEW and debuted against Sammy Guevara. A few weeks later, Fish joined The Elite alongside Adam Cole. Fish is a great wrestler and has two decades' worth of in-ring experience, so it wasn't a surprise that AEW signed him after he became a free agent.
*AEW Win/Loss Record (As of March 23rd 2022): 9-7
5 Kyle O'Reilly
After Adam Cole and Bobby Fish joined AEW, it was only a matter of time before Kyle O'Reilly did too. He debuted on AEW Dynamite: Holiday Bash where Cole faced Orange Cassidy in a singles match. Kyle helped Cole win his match against Cassidy, and reunited The Undisputed Era. On AEW Dynamite: New Year's Smash, this trio wrestled their first match together since leaving WWE and defeated The Best Friends.
*AEW Win/Loss Record (As of March 23rd 2022): 2-1
4 Ruby Soho
Another wrestler to debut at All Out 2021 was Ruby Soho, who showed up during the Casino Battle Royal match and won it. She was also released by WWE last year alongside several other wrestlers. Ruby was enjoying a rise toward the top of the AEW Women's division, which is something that seemed unlikely to happen in WWE, though her momentum has slowed since her debut.
*AEW Win/Loss Record (As of March 23rd 2022): 19-4
3 Andrade El Idolo
Andrade's run in WWE was very underwhelming. He asked for his release in 2021, which was eventually granted. Some months later, Andrade El Idolo joined AEW with Vickie Guerrero as her manager.RELATED: 5 Current WWE Superstars Who Would Be Better In AEW (And 5 Who Would Be Worse)Since joining AEW, Andrade hasn't really done anything significant. But AEW knows he's a great talent, and it's likely that they will find a way to utilize him properly in 2022.
*AEW Win/Loss Record (As of March 23rd 2022): 11-7
2 Bryan Danielson
Moments after Adam Cole debuted at AEW All Out 2021, Bryan Danielson showed up too. Bryan's signing was shocking for many fans because nobody thought he would ever leave WWE. In fact, some fans thought that him leaving WWE was a work. AEW knows Danielson is one of the biggest wrestling stars in history, and they are treating him like one.
*AEW Win/Loss Record (As of March 23rd 2022):​​​​​​​ 17-3-2
1 CM Punk
There's no doubt that CM Punk is AEW's biggest signing to date. The Cult of Personality retired from wrestling after disputes with WWE and vowed to never return again. AEW made several offers to Punk initially, but he didn't accept them. But after seeing AEW's work for a few months, Punk decided to get back into the ring.
He made his debut on AEW Rampage: The First Dance. His return match was against Darby Allin who he defeated at All Out 2021. Punk's return is a huge deal and AEW knows how important he is to them.
*AEW Win/Loss Record (As of March 23rd 2022): 13-1
