AEW may have a lot of homegrown talents and those who made their names outside WWE, such as Kenny Omega, Young Bucks, MJF, and more, but the company has been hugely bolstered by those who had previously competed in WWE.
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Although AEW has sometimes been criticized for the focus on ex-WWE talent, there is an argument to be made that AEW were right to bring in the best available talent to help make their product as good as it can be. When looking at their roster, there are many who spent a long time in WWE and had a lot of PPV matches in the company - some with much more WWE PPV matches than others. The cagematch.net database provides the number of PPV matches for those who were previously WWE superstars.
10 Jon Moxley - 59
From the moment he debuted in WWE, Jon Moxley was an instant success. From his time in The Shield to becoming a singles star, he had a lot of popularity which led to him competing on many PPVs during his stint in the company.
The Shield made an immediate impact in their debut match at TLC 2012, and the rest is history. When he became a singles competitor, he fought numerous times with Seth Rollins on PPV. Things came full circle in 2019 as his last WWE PPV match was alongside his Shield teammates as they battled Bobby Lashley, Baron Corbin, and Drew McIntyre at Fastlane.
9 Claudio Castagnoli - 67
Claudio Castagnoli was never able to properly break into the main event scene, but he did become one of the most consistent names in WWE in the midcard and tag team divisions. He was actually undefeated in singles action on PPV for two years in WWE, though that wasn’t spotlighted.
His battles over both US and IC Titles were always fun on PPV, and his role in The Bar tag team alongside Sheamus offered them plentiful PPV spots. Toward the end of his WWE run, Cesaro would finally get a singles PPV main event against Roman Reigns, which was a nice moment.
8 Dustin Rhodes - 68
Over a thirty-year period in which he had several stints in WWE, Dustin Rhodes managed to rack up several PPV matches as the Goldust character. His first PPV match though was one of his few without the face paint, as he teamed with his father Dusty Rhodes to take on Ted DiBiase and Virgil at the 1991 Royal Rumble.
As Goldust, he battled the likes of The Undertaker, Roddy Piper, Ultimate Warrior, Triple H, and Razor Ramon on PPV. Towards the latter part of his WWE run, he teamed up with his brother, Cody Rhodes at several shows, in addition to many battle royal and Royal Rumble appearances.
7 Bryan Danielson - 70
For over a decade, Bryan Danielson was a vital part of WWE, and this was reflected in how often he appeared on WWE PPVs. Starting off in 2010 when he helped Team WWE defeat The Nexus, he went on a constant climb up the card, to the point where he would even pull double duty at WrestleMania 30, becoming the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
His matches were always of high quality, battling the likes of John Cena, CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and AJ Styles in show-stealing bouts. His WWE PPV career ended in a perfect way when he main evented WrestleMania 37 against Roman Reigns and Edge.
6 Billy Gunn - 73
Much of Billy Gunn’s WWE PPV career came as part of the tag team division, competing alongside Bart Gunn, Road Dogg, and Chuck over the years. He would have some PPV matches as a singles competitor too, competing against Mankind, Ken Shamrock, and The Rock.
He and Road Dogg would return to WWE in 2014 in which they won the Tag Team Titles and faced The Usos on PPV, before getting squashed by The Shield at WrestleMania 30. Their final PPV was severely underwhelming though, as they got beaten by The Ascension at the 2015 Royal Rumble event.
5 CM Punk - 82
Although CM Punk’s WWE career came to an unruly end after his appearance at the 2014 Royal Rumble, his time in WWE is looked back upon fondly, with him having countless memorable PPV bouts, competing against top names like John Cena, The Rock, Daniel Bryan, Triple H, Batista, Jeff Hardy, and many more over the years.
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Punk just got better and better, and his talent ensured that he was a regular PPV performer.
4 Matt Hardy - 92
Even with years spent away from WWE, Matt Hardy’s longevity in the business is clear by how many PPV bouts he had in WWE. Starting way back in the 1990s in the tag team division, he helped to produce classic ladder and TLC matches.
It would actually take a couple of years for him to have a singles match, and that came against his brother Jeff Hardy at the 2001 Vengeance event. As a singles guy, he was a common part of the midcard division, adding much-needed quality to the likes of the US, Cruiserweight, and ECW Titles.
3 Christian Cage - 93
Christian’s PPV career kicked off in the best way possible as he became the Light Heavyweight Champion in his first PPV encounter. He would then join up with Edge, becoming a vital part of the tag team division over the next couple of years, notably winning two tremendous WrestleMania TLC matches.
Whether it be in comedy feuds, carrying ECW, wrestling in the midcard, or reigning as World Heavyweight Champion, Christian was counted on many times by WWE to put on a strong match at a PPV.
2 Jeff Hardy - 99
Like the two men mentioned prior, Jeff Hardy’s early PPV career was defined by a terrific tag team that included show-stealing WrestleMania moments. He would go on to become a huge singles star too, with World Title pursuits in 2008 and 2009, which saw him main event several huge shows.
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He would return to WWE PPVs after his big comeback in 2017, competing for the Tag Team, US, and IC belts. His last PPV bout came in the Raw vs SmackDown match at the 2021 Survivor Series, leaving his tally one shy of 100, before a controversial exit.
1 Chris Jericho - 140
There is a reason why Chris Jericho was crowned the first ever AEW World Champion, and it was due to his name value. His incredible WWE PPV record of 140 matches shows just how long he has been at the top of his game in the wrestling industry.
Jericho has faced the best of the best from different eras on WWE PPV, competing against Triple H, John Cena, Edge, Randy Orton, Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and the list goes on and on. Perhaps his most notable PPV performance came when he defeated both The Rock and Steve Austin in just one night.
