Last Updated on April 1, 2024 by Avik Das
After the emergence of AEW, the demographic of professional wrestling has changed significantly. The company has emerged as a serious competitor for WWE. In the past few years, a number of wrestlers from WWE have jumped ships, especially after WWE did a mass firing in tbe pandemic era. Along with wrestlers, many backstage talents also lost their jobs in WWE. On the other hand, some wrestlers asked for their releases after watching a potential better booking opportunity in AEW.
Now, the exodus of former WWE wrestlers are in AEW. It was quite common during the Monday Night Wars when couples also worked in separate companies. But now some couples work for AEW and WWE each. Adam Cole and Britt Bake were in different companies before Cole signed for AEW. Cedric Alexander and Red Swoll had the same story until the latter was released by AEW These wrestling couples who worked for these rival companies..
# 3 Bryan Danielson & Brie Bella
Bryan Danielson was known as Daniel Bryan in WWE, where he had achieved huge success. Bryan won five World Titles five times in his career as the other active titles of the company. Consequently, he has become a Grand Slam Champion there. Besides the impressive title wins, Daniel Bryan was a regular main event level star. His most memorable achievement was at WrestleMania 30, where he mainevented the show and won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by beating Randy Orton and Batista.Daniel Bryan left WWE in 2021 and signed for AEW. Bryan Danielson entered the main event scene in AEW right after his arrival. However, he is yet to win the big gold, despite challenging it a couple of times.
Bryan Danielson is currently married to Brie Bella who is one half of WWE’s Bella Twins. Her last WWE appearance was at Royal Rumble 2022 and she is a former WWE talent. After jumping ship, Bryan Danielson is currently an integral part of the AEW roster.
# 2 Malakai Black & Zelina Vega
Malakai Black was known as Aleister Black in WWE, where he enjoyed a decent run of 5 years. Signing for WWE in 2016, Aleister Black excelled in NXT. He not only delivered some awesome matches in NXT but also won the NXT Championship to cement his legacy in the developmental brand. Following his arrival on the main roster, Black was anticipated to have a great run, but it didn’t happen. WWE didn’t utilize his talent and the dark character he had offered to create interesting storylines. He also never had regular appearances on WWE TV. Eventually, WWE released him in 2021. AEW later signed him, and he debuted under the ring name, Malakai Black.
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Many wrestling fans certainly know that Malakai Black is married to Zelina Vega at the moment. Their love story began when both of them were in WWE. The couple tied knots in 2018, and they have been married for 6 years. Zelina Vega is currently an important part of the WWE women’s tag team division. She is a former Women’s Tag Team Champion with Carmella. Malakai Black and Zelina Vega among couples to represent two biggest wrestling companies at the same time.
# 1 Andrade El Idolo & Charlotte Flair
Without a shadow of a doubt, Andrade El Idolo and Charlotte Flair are among popular couples. They began dating when both were wrestling in WWE. But Andrade asked for his release from WWE and later signed for AEW. Andrade had a good stint in WWE, especially when he was part of NXT. With Zelina Vega as his manager, Andrade won the NXT Championship there. And when he had arrived on the main roster, he was a star in the mid-card, winning the United States Championship once. While he was a great talent, WWE failed to utilize his talent on the main roster. Andrade debuted for All Elite Wrestling under the ring name, Andrade El Idolo and had a steady run for couple of years.
On the other hand, Charlotte Flair is arguably the biggest name of the WWE women’s division. She is the most successful women’s competitor in history, having won the Women’s Championship a record 13 times in her career. They are married now. Even though Andrade is back in WWE now, they were a couple working for different companies at one point.
Avik Das is the founder of Sportsheed. He is a sports lover with broad knowledge of Professional Wrestling, MMA, Football, and Cricket. He has an English major and has previously written articles for various sports and entertainment websites
