5 former AEW stars who have won championships in WWE

AEW's current roster is filled with several talents who have previously worked for WWE. Stars like Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, Bobby Lashley, FTR, Shelton Benjamin, and many more first made a name for themselves in the Stamford-based promotion before moving to Jacksonville. Likewise, there are several AEW stars who have left the company and have won championships in WWE. In this article, we will take a look at 5 former AEW stars who have won championships in WWE.

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#5. Jade Cargill

Jade Cargill dominated the women's division in AEW. She was the inaugural TBS Champion and held the title for an astonishing 508 days. During this time, she remained undefeated for a very long period as she established herself as a force to be reckoned with. Shortly after losing the title, she left the promotion and joined WWE.

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She quickly formed a successful tag team with Bianca Belair, and together, they won the Women's Tag Team Championship twice. Since their split as a tag team, Jade Cargill has been in pursuit of singles gold, and it's only a matter of time before she achieves this goal.

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#4. Ricky Saints

Ricky Saints first gained traction due to his time in AEW. During this time, he won the FTW and World Tag Team Championships. Despite being one of the best talkers on the mic, he was kept off TV for several months before his release.

Shortly after leaving AEW, he showed up on WWE TV, where he joined the NXT brand. Shawn Michaels knew exactly how to book him, and within a few weeks, he won the NXT North American Championship. After losing the title, he moved on to win the NXT Title and is now one of the top stars on the black and silver brand.

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#3. Blake Monroe

Blake Monroe found success in AEW a few months after joining the promotion. She won the Women's World Title at All In 2024. Monroe held the title for 174 days before losing it to Toni Storm at AEW Grand Slam Australia earlier this year.

Following this loss, she left Tony Khan's promotion and joined WWE, where she became a regular feature on NXT. She just challenged for the NXT Women's North American Championship at Halloween Havoc and won her first title in the Stamford-based promotion.

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#2. Cody Rhodes is the current Undisputed WWE Champion

Cody Rhodes first made a name for himself in WWE. During his first run with the company, Cody established himself as a solid mid-carder who won the Tag Titles and Intercontinental Title a few times. However, it was his transformation into Stardust that made him realize that he was never going to reach the top in the sports entertainment juggernaut.

Therefore, he left the company to join the Indies and even helped start AEW. During this time, Cody became undeniable as he transformed into the American Nightmare. His run on the Indies and in AEW was so good that World Wrestling Entertainment came knocking on his door again. Hence, he left Jacksonville for Stamford, where he found instant success.

Cody Rhodes ended Roman Reigns' historic reign at WrestleMania 40 to win his first WWE Title. He held the title for a year before losing it to John Cena at WrestleMania 41. He then defeated John Cena a few months later to win his second WWE Championship. Cody has now taken his spot as the face of the company, even though it took him a long time to get here.

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#1. CM Punk

Much like Cody Rhodes, CM Punk also first made a name for himself in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was one of the top stars in the company. However, the Straight Edge Superstar grew frustrated with the company and decided to walk out on them in 2014.

After a seven-year absence, Punk returned to wrestling and joined AEW, where he won the World Title again. However, Punk soon had problems with The Elite, which resulted in his suspension. After returning from suspension, he got into a backstage fight with Jack Perry, which resulted in his release from the promotion.

A few months later, Punk was back in WWE again. He even won the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2025, only to lose it to Seth Rollins moments later. Punk will get another chance to win the World Title at Saturday Night's Main Event.

It remains to be seen if Punk will be able to win another World Title at Saturday Night's Main Event.

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Edited by Sunil Joseph