5 Former WWE Stars Who Made Their AEW Debut in 2026

AEW is constantly making strides to improve its roster and the quality of the product. This involved bringing in talent from around the world and signing them. Over the years, Tony Khan has also made it a point to hire several former WWE stars to his company. Some of his top talent, such as Swerve Strickland, Chris Jericho, and Mercedes Mone, all previously worked for the sports entertainment juggernaut. This year was no different. In this article, we will take a look at five former WWE stars who made their AEW debut in 2026.

#5. Tommaso Ciampa made his AEW debut this year

Tommaso Ciampa first made a name for himself in NXT, where he won the brand’s top title. He was a constant feature in the black and silver brand for several years. He was then called up to the main roster, where he reunited with Johnny Gargano to form DIY. The duo even ended up winning the WWE Tag Team Titles.

Despite the success he had in NXT, Ciampa left the Stamford-based promotion and joined AEW earlier this year. He confronted Mark Briscoe on his first night in the company. He then went on to win the TNT Championship in his in-ring debut against Mark Briscoe.

Unfortunately, Ciampa was the TNT Champion for a very short while since he lost the title to Kyle Fletcher. Since then, Ciampa has been a regular feature on TV and has been involved in some major matches. He competed in the Casino Gauntlet match for the TNT Title at Dynasty 2026, but lost. Following this, he turned his attention to the AEW World Championship. This week on Dynamite, he challenged Darby Allin for the World Title in a brutal match. Although he ended up on the losing side, it looks like Tony Khan has some big plans for him.

#4 Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey was one of the most popular women in MMA before she signed with WWE. Due to her background, she was pushed to the top upon arriving in the Stamford-based promotion. She dominated the ring and even won the Women’s Championship multiple times.

However, Rousey failed to get over with the fans despite being a dominant force in the ring. Additionally, Rousey became frustrated with the company, and she eventually left. Since leaving the sports entertainment juggernaut, Rousey has been vocal about her time with the company. She criticized the promotion for various reasons. She made a few appearances for other promotions, including Ring of Honor. At AEW Revolution 2026, Ronda Rousey finally showed up in AEW and confronted Toni Storm. It looked like the former UFC champion was going to be a part of the Death Riders. However, Rousey has not competed in an official match in the AEW ring.

#3 Zayda Steel

Zayda Steel signed with WWE in 2024 as part of the ID program. This also made her the third person of Moroccan descent to sign with the sports entertainment juggernaut.

Zayda Steel spent most of her time in Evolve, where she formed The Vanity Project along with Brad Taylor, Ricky Smokes, and Jackson Drake. She was just starting to get over with the fans. Despite the opportunities that awaited her, she decided not to renew her WWE ID contract and left the company.

Following her departure from the Stamford-based promotion, Zayda Steel made her AEW debut on the January 10, 2026, episode of Collision, where she was in the corner of SkyFlight during their match against the Death Riders. She made her in-ring debut a few days later on Collision Maximum Carnage against Marina Shafir in a losing effort. The biggest match of her run has been when she teamed with Top Flight against the Death Riders in a mixed tag team match on the 25th March episode of Dynamite. This was also her in-ring debut on AEW’s flagship show.

#2. and #1. Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz

Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz joined the WWE roster in 2020 as MSK. Shortly after debuting on NXT, they found success by winning the Tag Team Championships on the black and silver brand. Tragedy soon struck as Wentz was released from the company due to controversial reasons. This meant that Xavier now had to compete in the singles division.

To his credit, Xavier did well as a singles star and even won the North American Championship. He was the North American Champion for several months. However, he went nowhere after losing the title. Zachary Wentz also made his return to NXT due to WWE’s partnership with TNA Wrestling. Despite this, Xavier was still floundering without any direction until he left the company. Following his WWE exit, he joined The Rascalz in TNA Wrestling. After a successful stint there, Wentz and Xavier made their AEW debut earlier this year. They even recently competed for the World Tag Team Titles. It looks like they have a bright future in Tony Khan’s company.