5 Non-AEW stars who competed for titles in Tony Khan's company

AEW has always been open to working with other wrestling promotions across the globe. From TNA to NJPW, Tony Khan has done business with many of his market competitors.

The cordial relationships between different wrestling companies has significantly boosted the wrestling economy and positively impacted the industry as a whole.

The exciting collaboration between AEW and other promotions has led to a surge in the popularity of pro wrestling, with people being more and more attracted to the inter-promotional dream matches.

All Elite Wrestling's CEO Tony Khan with NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi. [Image credits: Tony Khan's Instagram handle]

With All Elite Wrestling opening the Forbidden Door, superstars from NJPW, CMLL, and many other companies are allowed to come to the Jacksonville-based promotion in search of championship glory. The interpromotional title matches are always an exciting prospect which helps elevate the prestige of a championship.

In this article, let's look at five non-AEW stars who competed for titles in the Tony Khan-led promotion.

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#5. Zack Sabre Jr. challenges for the AEW International Championship

At Forbidden Door 2023, Orange Cassidy defended his International Championship in an exciting Fatal Four Way match. Freshly Squeezed collided with three tough opponents, which included Daniel Garcia, Katsuyori Shibata, and Zack Sabre Jr.

While Shibata and Sabre Jr. were the two non-AEW performers in this match, the former eventually signed with Tony Khan's promotion by the end of 2023. However, The Technical Wizard still continues to ply his trade for New Japan Pro Wrestling.

The match was a fast-paced affair, filled with innovative maneuvers and jaw-dropping reversals. Despite having to battle a variety of opponents, ZSJ stuck to his supreme technical wrestling skills.

Unfortunately, Sabre Jr. could not take the International Championship home, as Cassidy cheekily pinned Daniel Garcia to retain his title.

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#4. Ultimo Guerrero takes on AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada in a Title Eliminator match

Kazuchika Okada arrived in AEW in March 2024. It took The Rainmaker less than a month to leave his mark, as he dethroned Eddie Kingston on the March 20 edition of Dynamite to become the new AEW Continental Champion.

Since then Okada has had a few entertaining title defenses. On the latest episode of Collision, The Rainmaker went up against the lucha libre legend, Último Guerrero, in a Continental Championship Eliminator match.

Although it was not essentially a proper title bout, the future of the Continental Championship was still on the line. A victory in this contest would have granted Guerrero a proper title match against Kazuchika Okada.

However, the leader of The New Elite somehow managed to thwart his former mentor in this contest. Okada put Ultimo Guerrero in a vulnerable position by trying to rip off his mask, which allowed him to apply the vicious Rainmaker and pick up the victory.

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#3. TNA's Rich Swann took on the AEW World Champion Kenny Omega in a Winner Takes All match

In 2020, Kenny Omega introduced the world to his Belt Collector gimmick. The Cleaner aligned himself with Don Callis, as the duo began to hunt down championships in other promotions.

At Rebellion 2021, Omega put his AEW World Championship on the line against IMPACT World Champion, Rich Swann, in a Winner Takes All match. The TNA pay-per-view had a lot of buzz around it, with top executives from both promotions present to witness the historic title bout.

It was a 23-minute long match, where Swann pushed The Best Bout Machine to his limits. While The Outlandish did get some offense in, the pressure of competing in such a high-stakes contest eventually caused his undoing.

After barely surviving Swann's Phoenix Splash attempt, Omega planted the 33-year-old with the One Winged Angel to become the new IMPACT World Champion. The Cleaner held on to the prestigious title for 110 days, before dropping it to Christian Cage on the first-ever episode of AEW Rampage.

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#2. Matt Cardona attempts to win the TNT Championship against Adam Copeland

On the last Collision episode of March 2024, Adam Copeland put his TNT Championship on the line against Matt Cardona. It was an emotional moment for The Deathmatch King, who shares a student-teacher relationship with the Rated-R Superstar.

Following years of domination on the Indie Circuit, Cardona showed up in All Elite Wrestling to add the TNT Championship to his title collection. The Indy God gave his former mentor a run for his money, making him dig deep into his bag of tricks.

Despite hitting Copeland with The Radio Silence finisher, Cardona could only secure a two count. As The Deathmatch King looked to hit his finisher again, The TNT Champion blasted him with a devastating Spear to put him down for good.

It was a great showcase of Matt Cardona on mainstream television, signifying his growth from Copeland's lackey to a top-level performer.

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#1. Hiroshi Tanahashi has challenged for the AEW World Championship multiple times in the past

At Forbidden Door 2022, Hiroshi Tanahashi battled Jon Moxley for the Interim AEW World Championship. Having won multiple titles in NJPW, The Ace of the Universe had his sights set on taking over All Elite Wrestling.

The match turned out to be an exceptional display of technical wrestling, filled with hard-hitting blows and brutal strikes. Ultimately, it was The Deathrider who prevailed in this contest, despite shedding a good amount of blood in the process.

Tanahashi returned to All Elite Wrestling again the following year to fulfill his World Title aspirations. Mr. Tokyo Dome squared off with the reigning AEW World Champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) at Forbidden Door 2023, hoping to get the job done this time around.

Unfortunately, the stars did not align for Tanahashi yet again, as The Salt of The Earth emerged victorious in this dream contest.