10 AEW Wrestlers Who Teamed With WWE Champions
Which current AEW Dynamite regulars have previously mixed it up with WWE's top tier stars?
"[Insert AEW wrestler here] is just a WWE cast-off" is a take as bullsh*t as it is brainless.
Wrestlers can and should work anywhere and everywhere to hone their craft rather than get stuck in ruts, with almost no performers in WWE's rich history arriving having never taken a bump for somebody else. All Elite Wrestling's mere existence gives wrestlers more places to work, and - louder for those stubborn to the reality - this is a good thing.
However, the company does need to exert caution. The recently-released Andrade could and should be an amazing pickup, but Tony Khan's hirings of Sting, Paul Wight and Christian in quick succession (and arguable misuse of Miro since last summer) has made the timing of such a decision difficult, if not the logic.
AEW can easily stave off TNA comparisons by continuing their good booking and carefully-plotted stories, but a few more star signings in quick succession may ramp up use of the old "XYZ's in the Impact Zone" memes.
They've got enough for now that have been high level Champions elsewhere, or at very least mixed with them on Vince McMahon's stage. All experience is theoretically good experience, even if some of these tandems left a bit of a bad taste...
10. Chris Jericho/Paul Wight
Where better than to start with the former Jeri-Show?
Both men fit both criteria here, with Paul Wight's recent AEW signing reuniting unlikely partners that became one of the few new acts to get over in a significantly stagnant 2009 WWE.
Jericho and Show were ultra-effective as Tag Team Champions for most of the year, having both held World Titles before that point and thus carrying an air of credibility obscuring their thrown-together tandem. Their committment to the unit made the act feel so much greater than the strong sum of its parts, too.
Though Wight has yet to don the singlet in AEW (but based on interviews about the end of his WWE stint, it sounds like something he aspires to do), Jericho's proven a vital component in helping launch the company as a credible alternative to the accepted market leader. The former Big Show - in small doses - would likely do the same, especially for the sought after (and once-thought lost forever) casual viewers.