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Many current prominent names from the wrestling business have evolved and trained at independent promotions before making it big in their careers.
Over the past few years, while quite a few WWE Superstars were released or unhappy with their crafts, they soon left and joined AEW.
Last year, CM Punk shocked the wrestling world with his return to in-ring action after seven years and signing with Tony Khan's company. Many names like Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, and Chris Jericho, among others, have also signed with AEW.
Below are five times when the current AEW stars who clashed during their tenure with WWE.
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#5 AEW star Christian Cage and Matt Hardy's off-and-on feud in the tag team division in addition to the Intercontinental Championship
In the mid-90s, Matt Hardy and his brother Jeff Hardy made a name for themselves for their 'extreme' performances in the tag team division.
They feuded with their real-life friends, Hall of Famers Edge and Christian, for the Tag Team Titles, and all four superstars have etched a name for themselves by being pioneers in ladder matches. Over time, the tag teams broke up and participated in singles competitions.
The two iconic talents from the Attitude Era left the McMahon-led company in mid-to-late 2000s. Additionally, they had brief stints on IMPACT Wrestling and the independent circuit before joining All Elite Wrestling.
A few weeks ago, Matt Hardy and Christian Cage clashed on AEW Dynamite in their on-and-off feud spanning nearly two decades.
In an exclusive interview with Riju Dasgupta of Sportskeeda Wrestling, Matt Hardy spoke about how he and Christian helped build each other's careers and how it was "fun" to tear the house down with Captain Charisma on AEW Dynamite.
"We helped build each other's careers in many many ways," said Matt Hardy. "So to be able to be in the ring with him on Dynamite and rock the house and have a killer match was so much fun. And it also feels very rewarding for both of us being the older guys to just show them that we could still go out there and do that."
#4 Chris Jericho clashed with Christian in a singles match at WrestleMania 20
On the independent circuit, Chris Jericho and fellow Canadian stars Edge and Christian commenced their careers in the industry in 1990.
In early 2000s, a feud broke out between him and Christian when Jericho was shifted to RAW. At the Armageddon event, The Wizard and Captain Charisma teamed together in a 'Battle of the Sexes' match against Hall of Famers Trish Stratus and Lita in the now retired WWE event. Jericho tried to woo Stratus while Cage attempted to get on Lita's good side.
On an episode of RAW following the event, Stratus and Lita came to know of their 'bet.' This led to Christian putting the Walls of Jericho submission maneuver on Stratus, much to Jericho's dismay.
The intensity of their rivalry resulted in a singles match at WrestleMania 20, where Captain Charisma defeated Jericho.
Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, The Wizard of AEW opened up on avoiding nostalgic matches and promoting the culture of veterans working with younger stars.
"All my programs here in AEW have been with younger guys. I could work with Matt, I could work with Christian, we don't have to. We've done that before. This is not f****** nostalgia hour. This is continuing to strive to evolve and build and make new stars," said Jericho. (H/T: Fightful)
#3 Chris Jericho faced CM Punk in a Chicago Street Fight for the WWE Championship
Upon his second return to WWE in 2011, Chris Jericho assaulted the then WWE Champion CM Punk by interrupting his match with Bryan Danielson.
The rivalry grew over time, and on an edition of RAW, Jericho became the number one contender for Punk's title by winning a ten-man battle royal.
The two continued to interrupt each other's matches, leading to a Chicago Street Fight at Extreme Rules in 2012, where CM Punk retained his title.
Both men have been actively competing in All Elite Wrestling. The reigning AEW World Champion recently returned after suffering a foot injury in June 2022 and confronted Moxley on AEW Dynamite.
During an interview with Uproxx, Jericho spoke about Punk's return and said that he could have gotten five million viewers instead of the 150,000 viewers WWE Backstage received.
"We knew there would be a Mötley Crüe reunion and we knew CM Punk would come back to wrestling. It was just a matter of time. I think he came back with more of a sigh than a scream. It seems kinda funny that he came back on a show that drew 150,000 viewers where it could have been five million viewers. But if it’s part of the process to slowly wean him into the wrestling business, then good." stated Jericho.
#2 Bryan Danielson competed against Jon Moxley (fka Dean Ambrose) in a singles match on RAW
The wrestling world was first introduced to Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Jon Moxley (aka Dean Ambrose) was at Survivor Series 2012. The trio interrupted a title match between CM Punk, John Cena, and Ryback for the WWE Championship.
The first time Moxley and Danielson faced each other in a WWE ring was at the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs event in a tag team match.
Over time, The Shield would interrupt Bryan's matches. Moxley held the United States Championship while Reigns and Rollins had tag team gold.
Additionally, Moxley and Bryan Danielson squared off in singles matches on RAW on a couple of occasions. Moxley is currently the Interim AEW World Champion.
"For my money, and my opinion, the greatest professional wrestler to ever live, to ever do it in the ring, is Bryan Danielson and it's crazy... he's my partner," said Moxley. "I get to tag-team with him, you know? Also, he's one of my favorite wrestlers ever, like legit, on my top list of two or three or four whatever, he's in that group of my favorite wrestlers to watch ever." stated Jon Moxley.
#1 Bryan Danielson's on-and-off feud with CM Punk for the WWE Championship
In 2012, Bryan Danielson set his eyes on CM Punk's WWE Championship. At the time, Bryan and former Divas Champion AJ Lee were involved in a romantic storyline.
But as their love in the ring continued, Lee would start to have feelings for the then WWE Champion. This later led to a match at Money in the Bank 2012 with AJ Lee as a guest referee.
The two men first clashed for the WWE title at the now retired Over the Limit event in 2012. After a hellacious bout, Punk managed to reverse his opponent's submission move to retain his title.
During his appearance on Casual Conversations with The Classic, the AEW star spoke about how he would love to tag with Punk again and was surprised he never got to wrestle The Straight Edge Superstar at WrestleMania.
"Who better to team with than Punk? Right?" Bryan Danielson asked. "Although, you know, and so I also, and I always kinda thought this, and I’ve said this, even when I was in WWE, it felt to me like Punk and I were destined to do a WrestleMania match. And then it just never happened," said Bryan Danielson.
While a plethora of WWE talent have signed with AEW, many talents who have collided previously in minor segments to intense matches and feuds with each other.
