5 AEW stars who should have won the WWE Championship - Former AEW Champion, Hall of Famer

The birth of AEW has well and truly played a major part in the rise of wrestling outside WWE. In their two-year lifespan, AEW has risen to rival WWE as the top promotion in North America. Its frequent collaborative efforts have also helped carve the way for other promotions on the rise, such as GCW.

Before the birth of AEW, talent that struggled to find their worth in WWE would have to work the unpredictable independent circuit. WWE used to represent the Premier League of professional wrestling, with no other destination offering the prestige of Vince McMahon's promotion.

However, with AEW and the independent scene growing, talents that don't fit the mold in WWE have a landing pad where they can truly show what they are capable of and craft a successful and acclaimed career.

Names like Aleister Black and Andrade have emerged in AEW following their WWE departure. In fact, AEW currently has over thirty former WWE stars on their books. A handful of names have jumped from WWE to AEW with the WWE Championship on their resume, including Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley.

But who on the AEW roster could have been a WWE Champion in an alternate timeline? There have been many potential WWE Champions who have walked through the doors of AEW, let's take a look at five.

#5 WWE Hall of Famer turned AEW legend Sting

As an icon of WCW, it never seemed like Sting was going to make his way to WWE. After WWE defeated WCW and consumed its rival, Sting was a name many expected to make the jump and carve a new legacy with WWE. Instead, Sting opted to go with TNA, who sought to fill the void left by WCW.

Sting would enjoy a successful career with the promotion, but TNA failed to live up to the hype. In 2014, Sting made his debut at Survivor Series to assist Dolph Ziggler in ousting the Authority from WWE. The debut cemented Sting as a vigilante from the off, meshing well with his status as the WCW talent that had long eluded WWE. But after his hyped debut, it was a downhill spiral.

Despite forever being touted as the WrestleMania dream match, WrestleMania 31 saw Sting face Triple H instead of The Undertaker. This turned out to be an overbooked WCW vs WWE angle featuring D-X and the NWO. Triple H defeated Sting in his WWE in-ring debut, and the Icon was absent until his return to feud with the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at the time Seth Rollins. Sting vs Seth Rollins was presented as Sting's attempt at capturing the championship that had so far escaped him.

On an episode of RAW he would earn his first win by DQ against Big Show, before winning a tag match against Show and Rollins alongside John Cena. His only shot at the WWE Title ended with a defeat at Night of Champions 2015 in defeat. This also turned out to be the final outing for Sting in WWE.

We have since been treated to the return of Sting in AEW, as he is a mentor figure and tag partner to Darby Allin. Sting has proved he still has remarkable wrestling talent despite his age. As an icon of not only WCW but wrestling, it can be considered criminal that Sting never had a run as WWE Champion. It will always be a shame that Sting didn't join WWE sooner, as he almost certainly would have slotted seamlessly into the main event scene of 2000s WWE.

#4 AEW EVP and inaugural TNT Champion Cody Rhodes

AEW may not even be around if Cody Rhodes had not departed from WWE. The now EVP had a run in Vince McMahon's promotion that included the highs of the Intercontinental Championship and the lows of his final run as Stardust.

It seemed as though Cody was set to never break through into the main event scene with WWE. It's become common that talented performers never reach the heights their talent deserves whilst with the promotion.

Following his run with the Legacy stable led by Randy Orton, Cody fluctuated throughout the midcard His Brotherhood tag team run with brother Goldust ultimately evolved into an underwhelming singles run as "Stardust." The singles run saw Cody positioned as enhancement talent, often used to progress his peers and without a creative trajectory.

Since leaving WWE, Cody has established himself as a premier name in the world of wrestling, winning world titles on the independent circuit before settling into his role with AEW. He has furthered his wrestling CV with two AEW TNT Championship reigns and remains a cornerstone to AEW programming.

Given the faith and investment, the son of Dusty Rhodes could (and should) have had the chance to continue his family's rich wrestling legacy as a break-out babyface opposite Randy Orton, as opposed to the creative indifference that would engulf the remainder of his WWE career.

#3 Self-proclaimed Strongest Pillar of AEW MJF

MJF has no issues letting the world know how highly he rates himself. He proclaims to be the strongest of the four pillars of AEW, ranking himself higher than Jungle Boy, Darby Allin, and Sammy Guevara. But how good is MJF really?

He is certainly good enough to hold the WWE Championship, which makes the fact that WWE passed on him even more of a head-scratcher. MJF auditioned for WWE Tough Enough, with WWE even releasing the video to their YouTube channel. He was used as an extra in the company, working as a security guard for former NXT Champion Samoa Joe.

Should he have been rightfully recognized for his talent, WWE could have avoided any "Bidding war of 2024" and MJF could have easily stood opposite the best of WWE with the top strap resting on his shoulder.

MJF's career may well see both AEW World and WWE Championship glory before he hangs up his boots. But it is a real shame for WWE that they didn't scope MJF in the first place.

#2 Former AEW TNT Champion Miro should have had his day as Rusev

Former AEW TNT Champion Miro has had an exceptional run with AEW thus far. Debuting as the best man to groom Kip Sabian and his bride Penelope Ford, Miro has been presented as an unstoppable and relentless behemoth. Miro has proved to be every bit the main attraction his early WWE days promised.

Rusev graduated from NXT to the main roster, amassing an unstoppable singles streak that saw him topple Sheamus for the United States Championship. Rusev defended the strap against established names like Jack Swagger (Jake Hager) and John Cena before losing to the latter at WrestleMania 31.

From there Rusev endured a downward spiral that he could never quite recover from. Despite capturing the US title twice more and reaching peak popularity with his Rusev Day gimmick, Rusev would depart WWE during mass releases in 2020.

Having seen the promise and potential of Rusev in WWE realized by Miro in AEW, it has been proven that fans were right when they clamoured for a WWE Championship run.

#1 The longest-reigning AEW World Champion Kenny Omega

If WWE recognized the star they had on their hands in Kenny Omega, then they may have prevented the birth of AEW and the transcendence of independent wrestling altogether. The former AEW World Champion has proved he is a glutton for gold this past year, defending world titles belonging to AEW, AAA and Impact Wrestling.

Before that, Omega plied his trade in NJPW, where he reigned as IWGP Heavyweight, Intercontinental, and United States Champion. It was in New Japan where Omega found mega-stardom as he battled Kazuchika Okada in a saga that ignited widespread interest in wrestling outside WWE.

Kenny Omega wrestled for WWE developmental territory, Deep South Wrestling, up until having a request for his release granted in 2006. Omega has since criticized DSW's management for his time there. WWE has shown genuine interest in bringing him back on multiple occasions and it's proven that they recognize the star they let slip.

Kenny Omega sits atop wrestling's Mount Olympus as a legitimate main event attraction along with the likes of Roman Reigns, Jon Moxley, Seth Rollins and Bryan Danielson. The difference? WWE never saw Kenny Omega as the WWE Champion he should have been.