10 MORE Secret WWE Pasts Of AEW Wrestlers

1. Tay Conti

Ricky Starks
WWE

Tay Conti's match with Hikaru Shida made something of a mockery of the WWE system, and not just the one that was so roundly criticised for years that Triple H overhauled it. Her gripping and gutsy loss against the AEW Women's Champion made a mockery of 'The Game's own teachings - or at very least those that have gone on under his stewardship.

It would have been generous to call Conti a rough diamond in NXT, but then the company so rarely gave her chances to sparkle anyway. Appearing first in 2017, she worked right up until the pandemic hit in 2020, losing a March house show match against Shotzi Blackheart before getting released the following month.

Arriving in AEW via their partially positive Deadly Draw women's tag team tournament, Conti has soared in her first solo run. The wins weren't just racked up on Dark or Dark Elevation, but earned in awesome battles that brought out the best in somebody who'd obviously been told to hold back for a long time.

As many have away from the multi-million dollar Florida facility, Conti's confidence progression has damned the entire Performance Center process.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett