'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
AEW currently has a wide range of wrestlers -- from young stars who have been in pro wrestling for just a couple of years, to legends of the business. The incredibly diverse roster has high-flyers, big men, and old-school wrestlers.
The wrestlers in AEW are also different in their backgrounds, with some coming through the indies, while others who have come through the ranks at WWE before making the switch to AEW.
A few AEW stars, at the start of their pro wrestling careers, could not quite make the cut at WWE or left the company due to other reasons. Here, we take a look at 6 AEW stars you may have forgotten were in WWE developmental
Trending
#6 Christopher Daniels has been with AEW since 2019
Christopher Daniels was, for a long time, a key player in TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, having been a part of the company when it was first formed. Daniels, who joined AEW in 2019, is currently in his third stint in IMPACT Wrestling.
But before he joined TNA in 2002, the 51-year-old was a part of WWF (as WWE was then known), having signed a developmental deal with them in 1998. He made a few appearances on WWE shows like Jakked and Sunday Night Heat.
He also briefly wrestled in WCW, just a few months before the company wound up.
Daniels, in an interview in 2017, stated that he wasn't disappointed to have not featured in WWE and was happy with the promotions he had worked in.
“I don’t think so man. Honestly, I’m sure the WWE’s not looking for 47-year old rookies and that’s fine with me. The timing of my career worked out where when I might have been interesting to them, were times that I was under contract with TNA," said Daniels.
Bruce Prichard revealed on his podcast a few years ago that he had pitched for Daniels to be the "Higher Power" in Vince McMahon's feud with The Undertaker. McMahon, though, rejected those plans as he felt that Daniels was too small for the character.
#5 Frankie Kazarian was one-half of the inaugural AEW Tag Team champions
Inaugural AEW Tag Team champion Frankie Kazarian was also briefly a part of WWE in the mid-2000s, sandwiched between two runs in TNA. Like Christopher Daniels, Kazarian too was a part of TNA right when it was founded and was a part of the company during its glory years.
His first stint with TNA came between 2003 and 2005 following which he joined WWE and was moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE's then developmental territory. He had a few matches on WWE's Velocity show, and prior to being signed, featured on Sunday Night Heat.
While speaking about his developmental stint with WWE, the AEW star stated that he wasn't mature enough to handle the pro wrestling business back then.
"When I got to WWE, I realized quickly, ‘Oh, this is a business.’ At that time of my life, I don’t think I was mentally mature enough to handle the professional wrestling business on that level. WWE is -- they’ve been around forever. They have it nailed. WWE is never going anywhere. I wasn’t ready to be the businessman that I needed to be," said Kazarian. (H/T Fightful)
Kazarian had also been a part Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he became friends with the likes of John Cena and Samoa Joe.
#4 Trent
AEW star Trent, who is a part of the tag team Best Friends with Chuck Taylor, was in WWE from 2007 to 2013. He was first a part of FCW, then WWE development territory, and wrestled under the ring name Trent Beretta. In FCW, he won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championships twice, once with Curt Hawkins.
He was then a part of ECW and later the main roster, before moving to NXT. Trent was released by WWE in 2013, following which he wrestled in the indie circuit and promotions like TNA/IMPACT.
He joined AEW in 2019 and has been a key player in their tag team division.
#3 Lance Archer has been with AEW since 2020
Like Trent, Lance Archer, who is also currently a part of the AEW roster, was in WWE in the 2000s. Archer was signed by WWE in 2009 and was also a part of FCW.
He, too, featured on ECW and was also in the WrestleMania XXVI pre-show, when he was a part of the battle royal.
But, unlike Trent, his WWE run lasted just a year as he was released a year later in 2010. Archer was signed by AEW last year and has wrestled the likes of Cody Rhodes and Jon Moxley.
#2 Brian Cage - Former AEW FTW World Champion
AEW star Brian Cage had a brief stint in WWE, first featuring in Deep South Wrestling (DSW), a then WWE developmental territory and later FCW. He was not signed with WWE but still featured in DSW and was then offered a contract to be a part of FCW. He was a one-time FCW Florida Tag Team Champion with Justin Gabriel in the promotion.
The former AEW FTW World Champion was a fan of WWE and was determined to join the company by the age of 24, which he did.
"I told everyone through high school and junior High I guarantee by time 24, I’ll be signed with WWE, and that’s exactly what happened. I didn’t go on to main event WrestleMania obviously, but the whole WWE accomplishment was checked off, and I got to experience that and it’s cool," said Cage in an interview from last year .
He was released by WWE in 2009 and went on to wrestle in various promotions, including PWG, Lucha Underground, and TNA/IMPACT Wrestling before joining AEW last year.
#1 Kenny Omega - Current AEW World Champion
Current AEW World Champion Kenny Omega is probably the biggest name to be in this list. Omega was offered a developmental contract by WWE in 2005 and moved to Deep South Wrestling (DSW).
“The experience just kind of reinforced more what I thought already was that I really need to make something of myself outside of here before coming here because, I mean, I was a nobody and I understood that I was a nobody and the guys are going to treat me like a nobody and they wouldn’t trust me with anything, any of my different ideas," said Omega about his brief stint with WWE.
Omega was critical about DSW trainers Jody Hamilton and Bill DeMott, which was one of the main reasons why he asked for his release in 2006, just a year after signing with WWE.
WWE tried to sign the current AEW star a number of times after his developmental stint with the company, but Omega stayed away from the company and eventually became a key player in the formation of AEW.
