The Most Famous Times When Pro Wrestlers Made a Name in Another Promotion

Inside Wembley Stadium at All In: London, the New Level (Austin Creed and Kofi) debuted and won the Trios titles with Swerve Strickland.

The two declined to take a hefty pay cut in WWE and landed in AEW.

Here are some examples of a superstar(s) heading to another promotion.

The New World Order, Brother

Hulk Hogan made the biggest jump in pro wrestling history, moving from WWE to WCW. He switched from red and yellow to black and white. Hogan joined forces with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to form the New World Order at Bash at the Beach in 1996. It was one of the greatest heel turns in pro wrestling.

Olympic Gold Medalist Meets Total Nonstop Action

When Vince McMahon bought WCW, Jeff Jarrett launched TNA (Total Nonstop Action) a year later. In 2005, Kurt Angle’s WWE contract was up. He debuted in October and confronted Samoa Joe, one of the biggest stars in TNA. Angle arguably had his best matches there and rejuvenated his career.

The American Nightmare Returns to Finish His Story

Cody Rhodes launched All Elite Wrestling in 2019 with other pro wrestlers, a wrestling revolution not seen in decades. He couldn’t win the top prize because of a stipulation, and fans turned on him. At WrestleMania 38, Rhodes returned to WWE and took down Seth Rollins. It took Cody Rhodes two years to win the WWE title from Roman Reigns at WM 40, winning the belt his father never held.

WrestleMania 33 becomes BROKEN

The day before their return at WM 33, the Hardys competed in a tag title match at Ring of Honor, so fans didn’t see it coming. When New Day announced another competitor, the fans erupted once the Hardys appeared. Even better, they won the tag titles in the ladder match.

GOLDBERG, GOLDBERG, GOLDBERG

The acquisition of WCW by Vince McMahon didn’t live up to anyone’s expectations as the Invasion angle failed. The biggest stars had creative control and were collecting a paycheck at home. However, one WCW icon speared WWE’s top star out of his misery in his debut. Goldberg interrupted the Rock and said, ‘You’re Next’ before Dwayne sold his spear like a million bucks.

Dean Ambrose is ALL ELITE

Ambrose made it VERY clear how miserable he was at the end of his WWE run. When AEW aired its first PPV, Double or Nothing, the former SHIELD member made an impact immediately. Jon Moxley, his indy name, hit Chris Jericho with his finisher to disrupt the main event and became a pillar in All Elite Wrestling.

Put Some Respect on that Bank and Mone

Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of Monday Night Raw after putting the women’s tag belts on John Laurinaitis’ desk. Banks was scripted to take the pin in a six-woman tag match and felt disrespected. Naomi returned to WWE after wrestling in TNA, but Banks made her mark as Mercedes Moné. Debuting as the ‘CEO’ in her hometown of Boston, Moné became the most decorated superstar in modern pro wrestling, having held over ten titles at the same time.

Sheamus and Illa Dragonuv are on the free agent market. The former has ties to AEW, while Dragonuv could go to NJPW (New Japan). One thing's for sure: Bayley is staying put in WWE after costing Lyra Valkyria her MITB qualifying match. Her contract status is unknown, but she could reunite with Mercedes Moné in AEW in early 2027.

Important news to report. Congratulations to Stephanie Vaquer, who defeated Liv Morgan to become the Raw Women’s Champion in Chile, her home country. Vaquer is the first female superstar to win the top prize at a Live Event since 2017 (Mickie James)