5 AEW Signings (With WWE Histories You Didn't Know About)

All Elite Wrestling (AEW), the brainchild of Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, made an immediate impact on the wrestling scene with its debut event, Double Or Nothing, last weekend. Having filled the capacity of Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Arena within four minutes of tickets going on sale, expectations were high for the near five-hour show. It didn’t disappoint, with almost every match succeeding at having the crowd on the edge of their seats.

Backed financially by billionaire Shahid Khan and his son Tony, AEW is being widely cited as the first wrestling company to have the potential to challenge the might of the WWE in decades. Vince McMahon’s behemoth has reigned supreme over the industry since he bought out his biggest competition (WCW) in 2001, dwarfing competitors such as Total Nonstop Action and Ring Of Honor and only being matched in terms of audience by the likes of NJPW and AAA in their home countries of Japan and Mexico respectively.

Time will tell whether they live up to this potential, but with a forthcoming weekly TV deal and a roster that already boasts 44 wrestlers at the time of writing you wouldn’t be inclined to bet against them. Many of these have a history with WWE, most notably Cody and Dustin Rhodes (Goldust), Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose) and Pac (Neville).

5 other performers from this mix of veterans and up-and-comers have also played far lesser-known roles in WWE. They’ll be profiled here.

If you had tuned into NXT, WWE’s Florida-based developmental program in late 2014, you might have been taken aback by the rapturous reception given to a woman who came to the ring to the tune of an acapella version of The Price Is Right theme.

Christened Blue Pants solely for the colour of her wrestling attire, Leva Bates was introduced by Enzo Amore and Colin ‘Big Cass’ Cassady as an enhancement talent for the debut of their associate, Carmella.

Swiftly dispatched by the ‘Princess of Staten Island’, Bates was brought back for two further matches after being warmly received by the crowd at Full Sail University, known for their ability to latch onto the most ridiculous chants and characters. Despite winning the final match, she was not signed to a deal and was only used throughout the first half of 2015 as an opponent for Emma, Dana Brooke and Sasha Banks.

A surprise appearance at the inaugural NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event saw her join forces with The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) to counter the presence of Alexa Bliss’ association with then-champions Blake and Murphy. No further appearances followed this bar a loss to Bliss and a squash at the hands of Nia Jax, however.

Now one of 11 individuals signed to AEW’s women’s division, Bates sports blue hair and a librarian gimmick that will likely be played for laughs in a forthcoming program with fellow librarian Peter Avalon.