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

#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.