5 WWE stars you didn't know wrestled for AEW

AEW has several wrestlers on their roster who enjoyed a dominant run in WWE. While you will find several lists that talk about those wrestlers, there is a small, but growing number of wrestlers who have wrestled for the Jacksonville-based earlier and are now with WWE, either on their main brands or NXT.

To be clear, some of these wrestlers have not wrestled on any of TK's three main shows, namely Rampage, Collision, and Dynamite, but have wrestled in a handful of matches at AEW: Dark. Here's the list:

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#5. Nathan Frazer was Ben Carter for a while on AEW: Dark in 2020

Back in 2020, Nathan Frazer, who's having a decent run in NXT, competed against Ricky Starks and was defeated on the #51 episode of Dark. That wasn't the only match that Frazer had in Tony Khan's company.

During the same year, he lost to Scorpio Sky on Late Night Dynamite but defeated Lee Johnson on Dark #53. The Prodigy of Pro Wrestling made his NXT UK debut a few months later, in January 2021, and hasn't looked back since.

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#4. Thea Hail was Nikita Night for AEW: Dark

Thea Hail is having a great time in NXT, but she has been in the ring for a while now. The trained gymnast faced Thunder Rosa on AEW: Dark in 2021, and she was dubbed The Spartan Warrior. She also faced Julia Hart on the Dark during her stint.

Hail made her NXT debut in 2022 as a member of the stable Chase U, with Bodhi Hayward and Andre Chase.

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#3. Kiana James made her AEW: Dark debut as Xtina Kay and lost to a former AEW wrestler

Kiana James is currently signed up with NXT. However, she made her in-ring debut in AEW under the name: Xtina Ray. She locked horns with The Bunny in a losing cause on a September 21, 2021, episode of AEW: Dark.

A few months later, in 2022, she made her NXT debut. She has since gone from strength to strength in the wrestling franchise. Her achievements include defeating Roxanne Perez in a Steel Cage match.

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#2. Before NXT, Dragon Lee wrestled in AEW and ROH

Dragon Lee is one of those rare wrestlers who has competed in Ring of Honor (ROH), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Lee established himself in the wrestling business during his stints with ROH, NJPW, and the independent circuit before joining the Tony Khan-led promotion in 2022. He also wrestled at the 150th episode of Dynamite: House of the Dragon.

Lee featured in a six-man tag team match that had him team up with Andrade El Idolo and Rush against Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson.

The 28-year-old made his WWE debut in early 2023.

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#1. Cora Jade lost a singles match and a tag team match at AEW Dark before her WWE debut

Cora Jade has clawed her way up the WWE roster ever since she made her debut on ''WWE 205 Live'' in January 2021.

Since then, the former NXT Tag Team Champion has been in feuds with the likes of Fallon Henley and Mandy Rose.

But before all this, Jade had an outing on AEW: Dark in October 2020, under the ring name: Elayna Black. During her stint, Cora lost to Red Velvet. Later, she teamed up with Leyla Hirsch for a tag match against Brandi Rhodes and Red Velvet, only to lose again.

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What do you think? Did these individuals get a better deal in NXT as compared to AEW? Tell us in the comments section.