In 2022, women's wrestling is at the point where it should be looked at on the same level as the men. While it is not always the case, unfortunately, the women within every major promotion and across the independent scene have stepped up their games over the past few years, with their in-ring work reaching the highest quality in women's wrestling history.
While WWE itself has struggled with the booking of its women's divisions, specifically with Smackdown and NXT in 2022, the company is still several leaps and bounds ahead of AEW in terms of its consistency and care towards the way its female wrestlers are booked. Looking deep into the women of AEW there are a number of ladies that would likely thrive within WWE.
10 Kris Statlander - Would Thrive
One of the top names in AEW's women's division, Kris Statlander has improved her ring work to great effect since joining the company in late 2019. As a part of Best Friends, she showed off strong comedic skills, and in early 2022, she would lose the silly side of her gimmick ahead of a big-time push that was likely going to end with her defeating Jade Cargill.
Suffering multiple injuries, Statlander is now on the shelf once again until 2023. With her big push shelved and with her now off television, it does call into question how well she would do in a different setting. With some of the best strength in AEW, Statlander could be compared to WWE's Bianca Belair, with Kris being a strong contender for a dream match against the Raw Women's Champion.
9 Tay Melo - Would Not Thrive
Joining AEW in 2020, Tay Melo would align with Anna Jay out of the gate to form the tag-team known as TayJay. Having a strong 2021, Tay would face off against Hikaru Shida and Britt Baker in two big-time matches that saw her shine as a bright upcoming star.
Having spent a number of years in WWE NXT, Tay was often only treated as an enhancement talent, and at one point had her release denied, before then being part of one of the company's mass releases. In AEW, Melo feels like a genuine star and comes off as very happy in her role, especially compared to her time in NXT.
8 Abadon - Would Thrive
The resident "Living Dead Girl" of AEW, Abadon was signed shortly after terrifying audiences during her debut match in the company. Despite being signed, Abadon has not wrestled on TV since October of 2021, against Britt Baker for a Halloween-style match.
Regularly wrestling on AEW Dark, Abadon has fallen so far down the pecking order in AEW that it feels almost guaranteed that a jump to WWE would reboot her career. With her being more of a character than a wrestler, she would also fit in with WWE's over-the-top presentation of a lot of their characters better than the wrestling-oriented AEW.
7 Riho - Would Not Thrive
The first-ever AEW Women's World Champion, Riho was a breakout star for the company in 2019 and 2020 before eventually falling off of television due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Being a premiere Joshi wrestler, it comes as no surprise that Riho was immediately seen as one of the best in AEW.
While her booking has not been great in 2022, thanks to ongoing VISA issues with her coming to the United States, Riho does remain a star in AEW anytime she does show up. With her extremely small stature and lack of English-speaking, it seems fair to assume that she would not be used to her proper ability within WWE.
6 Anna Jay - Would Thrive
One of the bright, young, homegrown talents in AEW's Women's Division, Anna Jay has been a fan-favorite since she joined Dark Order. Shining through sketches on Being The Elite, Jay would eventually breakout on television as a promising young wrestler, alongside her tag-team partner Tay Melo.
Having turned heel earlier in 2022, Anna Jay has not wrestled on TV for quite some time. With her youth and beauty on her side, Anna is a name that seems perfectly fit for the NXT system that WWE has in place. Improving through the performance center and getting to work alongside other talented young stars like Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez seems like a no-brainer.
5 Hikaru Shida - Would Not Thrive
Still the longest reigning AEW Women's World Champion, Hikaru Shida is at an interesting point in her career. Now regularly absent from television for months due to her working more often in Japan, Shida is seen more as a special attraction in AEW at this point, with her occasionally popping up on Dark, a random episode of Dynamite, or for big PPV events.
While Shida is not booked to the level she should be in AEW, the freedom that the company allows her to have by working a lot in Japan, for several promotions, is something that she would not be allowed to do within WWE. On top of that, Asian wrestlers do not have the best track record within WWE, with Asuka being the only one to find massive success in recent years.
4 Britt Baker - Would Thrive
The current face of the AEW Women's Division, Britt Baker has had a lot of hate thrown at her over the past two years, with a lot of it coming from non-AEW fans that have picked apart every single promo, match, or clip that they have seen of Baker's time in the spotlight. While D.M.D. is not the best worker by any means, she is undeniably a star who carries herself extremely well and delivers her promos effectively.
Should the day come where Britt Baker decides to try her foot in the WWE system, with how well she has evolved since her initial debut with AEW in 2019, it would come as no surprise if she improved even further with the help of something like the WWE Performance Center. Joining either NXT or the main roster, it seems likely to assume that Britt would make a big impact within WWE.
3 Jamie Hayter - Would Not Thrive
Currently still serving the role of Britt Baker's lackey, a position that most AEW fans have grown tired of for the bright young star, Jamie Hayter has gotten to a point in AEW where she is getting more and more over consistently despite frustrating booking. While the trigger remains to be pulled on the singles push for Jamie, fans can see that it is coming, only that it is a matter of when.
Looking to the future, with Jamie Hayter already over with most of the AEW fanbase, when the time comes for her babyface turn, it seems like a no-brainer that she will become one of the biggest stars in the company. While she remains simply "okay" in her promos, Hayter is one of the best women's wrestlers alive, but with the lack of a promo presence, it remains to be seen if she would be treated as an actual star in WWE.
2 Jade Cargill - Would Thrive
Having one of, if not the best look in women's wrestling today, AEW has crafted Jade Cargill into one of the top stars in AEW with her Goldberg-like undefeated streak. Currently reigning as the first-ever AEW TBS Women's Champion, Cargill has yet to lose a singles match since joining AEW in 2021. Having defeated every woman in her path, it seems that nobody is on Jade's level at this point in time.
While Jade was offered a WWE contract prior to joining AEW, she has since stated that she only sees herself wrestling for AEW, as it is her home and due to the great treatment she has received. With little interest in WWE, Jade likely will not make the jump, however, if she did, it seems more than certain that she would be treated like a huge star in any of the company's women's divisions thanks to her incredible look, size, and superstar potential.
1 Toni Storm - Would Not Thrive
Toni Storm arrived in AEW in early 2022. Following her walk-out from WWE at the end of 2021, Storm would quickly rise up the ranks in AEW as one of the top women in the division.
Despite being the first-ever NXT UK Women's Champion, Storm would not have a good run in the company whatsoever. She would eventually join WWE NXT where she would be booked poorly as a heel that regularly lost every big match, before being called up to Smackdown for a feud with Charlotte Flair that saw her humiliated on TV, and pitched an angle where she would be stripped on live television.