Every WWE To AEW Defection Ranked From Worst To Best
Jon Moxley and FTR proved that they WERE misused in WWE. Certain others...?
Ever since All Elite Wrestling debuted Dynamite on TNT in October 2019, they have quickly become the number 2 wrestling promotion in all of North America and elsewhere.
They’re competing against WWE for ratings and demos and critical acclaim the way fans always clamoured and hoped TNA one day would. They’ve also attracted and caused a group of major acts from WWE to defect as well as under-utilized and under-appreciated talent to give them the platform and pay they deserve. More and more wrestlers are seeing the benefits of working for AEW rather than WWE, with lighter schedules and much more freedom. It’s well known WWE overly scripts their promos as well as banning its talents from using Twitch, OnlyFans and promoting third parties on social media, much to the discouragement of its roster.
AEW on the other hand gives its talent independence and a creative licence, which is why every few months it seems another wrestler from WWE leaves for AEW as soon as their contract expires or they’re granted a release. WWE haven’t had to deal with defections like this in over 20 years from its time battling WCW in the Monday Night Wars.
Here, every true defection - Cody and Chris Jericho were already in different promotions before AEW formed - gets ranked...
11. Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy left WWE in 2020 due to overwhelming creative differences.
He was essentially only being used on TV as an enhancement talent around this time to get over new stars like Ricochet and Buddy Murphy. Matt felt he had a lot more left in the tank, so announced his departure from the company through his official YouTube channel, leaving his brother Jeff to swim on his own in WWE.
On the March 18th episode of Dynamite, Matt debuted in AEW with his Broken character. Whilst it was nice to see him in a new setting, there was criticism online that the Broken gimmick had become stale and sluggish at this point. Nevertheless, it still produced highlights like the creative Stadium Stampede match at Double or Nothing where Matt teamed with The Elite to take on The Inner Circle, which involved a fun spot involving the stadium pool (stand-in for the Lake of Reincarnation).
Then there was the Broken Rules match with Sammy Guevara at All Out where he somehow avoided a major injury when his head hit the concrete floor from high above a scissor lift. Then there was the Elite Deletion match held between the two at the Hardy Compound which was fun and nostalgic but also very divisive.
He’s recently switched gears and gone straight with his gimmick as ‘Big Money’ Matt managing Private Party. It’s like MVP instead of Michael Hayes managing The Hardy Boyz in the late ‘90s. He’s turned heel in the process and fought with Adam Page, losing to him at Revolution.
Matt’s been entertaining in his new role, but most of his time spent in AEW has been a tiring rehash of his time as Broken in TNA.