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Before joining AEW, a few stars had wrestled in WWE. Nonetheless, many wrestling fans might not remember their WWE appearances.
The AEW roster is full of former WWE champions and legends like Paul Wight, Sting, and CM Punk. The latest names to join the AEW family are former NXT Champion Adam Cole and former WWE Champion Bryan Danielson.
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In the past few years, a few other AEW Stars have also stepped inside the WWE ring. However, their WWE stints were very short. Some of these current AEW Stars wrestled only once in WWE before continuing their careers elsewhere.
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Despite failing to become WWE Superstars, some of these wrestlers have found success in other promotions. Today, they are well-known AEW Stars.
Here are five AEW Stars you may not know wrestled in WWE.
#5. AEW Star Rebel
In August 2019, Rebel signed a contract with AEW. The 43-year-old joined Tony Khan's company to become a hair and makeup stylist for the women’s division. The licensed cosmetologist later became an in-ring competitor in AEW, too.
Just a few months before joining AEW, Rebel wrestled in a WWE ring. She teamed up with Amber Nova to take on Io Shirai and Kairi Sane on NXT in January 2019. Shirai and Sane came out victorious. Rebel, who competed under her real name Tanea Brooks, never wrestled again in WWE.
The experienced wrestler has performed in several promotions since kicking off her career nearly a decade ago. In 2013, she joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (Impact Wrestling). She spent three years in TNA before moving to OVW, where she spent another three years.
Between 2017 and 2019, the 43-year-old moved between OVW, Impact Wrestling, and World Wonder Ring Stardom. Rebel made her AEW in-ring debut in July 2020. She competed against Big Swole on AEW Dynamite but came up short.
Rebel's first match in AEW came after more than a year of absence from in-ring performance. The idea to get her back in the ring came from Cody Rhodes, AEW's executive vice president. In an interview with Sunday Night’s Main Event, AEW Women's World Champion Britt Baker revealed how Rebel's in-ring return came about.
"When the pandemic first started, we had to do a lot of vignettes at home. Tony Khan had the idea to start doing Rules of Being a Role Model, so we were filming in the dental office. Rebel, who was a makeup artist for AEW, she was on the set to do my hair and makeup. Then, it was Cody who wrote her into the script and said, 'Hey, let’s play around with it and call her Reba,'" Baker said.
Last Friday, Rebel teamed up with Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker to face Kris Statlander, Riho, and Ruby Soho on AEW Rampage. Rebel's team lost the match.
#4. AEW Star Sammy Guevara
Sammy Guevara joined AEW in February 2019, nearly four years after appearing in WWE.
Many fans might not know that Guevara has previously stepped inside a WWE ring. In April 2015, the current AEW Star teamed up with Tony Guevara to face Diego and Fernando in a dark match at WWE Main Event. Sammy and Tony Guevara lost the match and never returned to WWE.
Sammy Guevara's WWE appearance came only two years after his first major promotion debut in NWA. Following his only WWE match, the 28-year-old wrestled in different promotions, including Impact Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide.
Guevara made his AEW debut in a dark match against Kip Sabian at AEW Double or Nothing 2019. Sabian came out on top. At Fight for the Fallen 2019, Guevara had his first-ever AEW televised match. He teamed up with MJF and Shawn Spears to defeat Darby Allin, Jimmy Havoc, and Joey Janela.
Later, Sammy Guevara joined Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, and Santana & Ortiz to form The Inner Circle. The 28-year-old currently has an ongoing four-match winning streak in AEW.
#3. AEW Star Jamie Hayter
Jamie Hayter made her AEW in-ring debut in October 2019, losing to Britt Baker on Dynamite. Her AEW debut came six months after her only appearance on WWE TV.
Hayter had a single match in WWE. She went one-on-one with Piper Niven on the May 15, 2019, episode of NXT UK. The 26-year-old lost the match and was never seen again in a WWE ring.
The current AEW Star kicked off her wrestling career nearly six years ago. She wrestled on the independent circuit for several years before joining AEW in 2019. The 26-year-old wrestled only two matches in AEW in 2019 before disappearing from the wrestling scene for nearly two years.
Following her long hiatus, Jamie Hayter officially returned to AEW in August 2021. In her first match since her return, Hayter defeated Red Velvet on Dynamite. Since then, the English wrestler failed to taste victory again.
Last Wednesday, Hayter went head-to-head with AEW's newest addition to the women's division, Ruby Soho. Soho pinned the 26-year-old. Hayter is currently on a four-match losing streak in AEW.
#2. AEW Star Q.T. Marshall
AEW Star Q.T. Marshall kicked off his wrestling career nearly 15 years ago. Throughout his long wrestling career, he made a few appearances in WWE.
In August 2013, Marshall appeared for the first time on NXT. He faced Aiden English but lost the match. Nearly five months later, he teamed up with John Icarino to take on The Ascension. Again, Marshall and his partner suffered defeat.
In January 2016, the 36-year-old made his third appearance on NXT. This time, he faced Baron Corbin but again failed to score a victory. Marshall's last WWE appearance came a year later when he teamed up with Jonathan Ortagun to face Heavy Machinery. Marshall tasted his fourth defeat in WWE.
Two years following his last WWE appearance, Marshall joined AEW. He made his AEW in-ring debut in October 2019. He teamed up with Peter Avalon against Dustin Rhodes and Sonny Kiss on Dark but came up short.
Q.T. Marshall recently lost another bout against Paul Wight, who made his AEW in-ring debut at the All Out pay-per-view.
#1. AEW Star Kris Statlander
Kris Statlander debuted in AEW in November 2019. Earlier that same year, she made an appearance in WWE.
In April 2019, Statlander teamed up with Karissa Rivera, as The Brooklyn Belles, to take on The IIconics in a WWE Women's Tag Team Championships match on SmackDown. The IIconics crushed The Brooklyn Belles in just a minute and a half.
Statlander never wrestled again in WWE. She made her AEW in-ring debut on the November 13, 2019, episode of Dark, teaming up with Big Swole in a losing effort against Britt Baker and Riho.
Kris Statlander has been chasing the AEW Women's World Championship since joining the company. The 26-year-old had three opportunities to capture the title. Her first Women's Title shot came against Riho on Dynamite in January 2020. However, she lost the match due to outside interference from Brandi Rhodes, Awesome Kong, Mel, and Luther.
A month later, Statlander received another shot at the title. She faced the new champion, Nyla Rose, at Revolution but again came up short. The 26-year-old recently went one-on-one with Britt Baker for the AEW Women's World Championship at All Out. For the third consecutive time, Statlander failed to capture the title.
