While AEW provides a fantastic alternative for wrestling fans jaded by the WWE product, many wrestlers on the AEW roster have competed for the WWE at one time or the other. Traditionally, WWE Creative does not push departing wrestlers strongly on their way out.
EC3 was made to look like a chump during his final moments with the company while Mike Bennett and Miro got embarrassed by their wives on-screen. Matt Hardy getting destroyed by Randy Orton during his final appearance seems like a light slap on the wrist compared to what others received. Did any AEW wrestler get a dignified exit from the WWE?
8 Miro:/w Humberto Carillo Vs Lashley & Angel Garza - February 17, 2020
The last WWE match for Miro a.k.a Rusev happened in February 2020 when he teamed up with Humberto Carrillo to take on Bobby Lashley and Angel Garza on an episode of RAW. This was the end of Rusev's worst run in the WWE, where he was re-introduced during the awful Maria Kanellis pregnancy angle and was then put into a storyline where his real-life wife Lana left him for Lashley.
Miro had decided not to re-sign with the WWE and the company had him lose continuously to Lashley during their feud. Miro's final match was no different as he and Carrillo were on the wrong side of the win/loss column.
7 Trent: Vs Adam Rose - January 16, 2013
Not many fans might remember Best Friends' Trent appearing on WWE TV, but the former Trent Barreta had a six-year stint in the WWE system, starting from 2007 when he was just 20-years-old. Trent would make his main roster debut in 2009 as part of The Dudebusters tag-team, facing the likes of Cryme Tyme and The Hart Dynasty.
While he was used mostly as a lower card talent, Trent did pick up an upset victory over Drew McIntryre on an episode of SmackDown. He would appear exclusively on NXT TV during the final year of his WWE stint where he started a feud with Kassius Ohno. His final match was against Adam Rose which resulted in a disqualification victory for Trent when Ohno attacked him during the match.
6 Leva Bates: Vs Nia Jax - December 2, 2015
Before her AEW gimmick as the Librarian, Leva Bates made multiple appearances on NXT in 2014-15 as 'Blue Pants'. Endorsed by Enzo Amore and Big Cass, Bates was Carmella's opponent in the latter's debut match. Initially supposed to be an enhancement talent, she got a fair amount of popularity due to her 'ultimate fan-girl' persona and had matches with the likes of Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss, and Dana Brooke, losing most of them.
She eventually scored her first victory by beating Carmella and made an appearance at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 2015 to manage The Vaudevillains during their NXT Tag team title match. Bates' final match happened on December 2, 2015, when she lost to Nia Jax.
5 Cody Rhodes: Vs Zack Ryder - May 20, 2016
The last two years of Cody Rhodes' WWE stint saw him take up the gimmick of Stardust. Rhodes hated the persona and was vocal that he wanted to leave the WWE after his contract expired. After negotiations failed, WWE Creative had him lose matches to the likes of Titus O'Neal and Apollo Crews during the final months of his stint.
Rhodes' last WWE match took place on an episode of Superstars against close friend Zack Ryder. True to form, Rhodes was beaten clean by Ryder and the future AEW EVP would spend his next few years in the independent circuit before convincing Tony Khan to enter the wrestling business.
4 Jake Hager: Vs Baron Corbin - October 18, 2016
Despite winning the World Heavyweight Championship, Jack Swagger's WWE career never made it to top gear. Swagger's promo skills weren't great and after being stuck with underwhelming angles like the one where he became Michael Cole's lackey, Swagger decided not to renew his WWE contract in 2017.
He would go on to become an undefeated MMA fighter at Bellator under his real name of Jake Hager and then joined AEW to be part of Chris Jericho's Inner Circle. His final WWE feud was with Baron Corbin, who decisively beat Hager in the latter's final TV appearance on SmackDown to send him packing
3 PAC: Vs Ariya Daivari - Sep 26, 2017
Most fans remember how PAC's WWE career ended after he walked out of an episode of RAW where he was supposed to lose to Enzo Amore. The former Adrian Neville had carried the Cruiserweight Division on his back before losing his title unceremoniously to Amore. His final match would be on a previous episode of 205 Live where he beat Ariya Daivari before getting attacked by a clutch-wielding Amore.
Neville's in-ring career would be in limbo for the rest of 2017 and 2018 before he eventually made his way to Japan and returned to the Dragon Gate promotion, eventually signing with AEW.
2 Chris Jericho: Greatest Royal Rumble - Apr 27, 2018
After being part of the WWE roster for nearly two decades, Chris Jericho's final appearance with the company happened as the 50th and final entrant in the Greatest Royal Rumble match in April 2018. Jericho lasted just over three minutes in the match before being eliminated by Braun Strowman.
Jericho was initially supposed to take on The Undertaker in a Casket Match at the Saudi event but was later pushed to the Rumble match. After his WWE departure, Jericho would wrestle in NJPW on special occasions, taking on Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 13 & 14 respectively while also signing for AEW and becoming the very first AEW World Heavyweight Champion.
1 Jon Moxley: The Shield Vs Corbin, Lashley & McIntyre - April 21, 2019
Jon Moxley is the only AEW wrestler who had a formal WWE farewell event when he left Vince McMahon's company. The former Dean Ambrose's WWE contract was set to expire on April 30, 2019, and nine days earlier, WWE aired a network special called The Shield's Last Stand.
The seven-match event was billed as the final time Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose would team up together as part of The Shield stable. The faction that had proved to be immensely popular during their time together in the company would end their run on a high note. The six-man main event would see The Shield pick up the victory over the team of Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, and Drew McIntyre.