00:00Do you know what people love to talk about?
00:01MGF being backstage during a Samoa Joe WWE entrance.
00:05Now, if you don't know, this was before Maxwell Jacob Freeman became a huge star,
00:09so he was paying his dues and all that,
00:10and today it basically makes for a very cool cameo that us nerds can go,
00:14ha ha ha, that's brilliant.
00:15So let us broaden this conversation because, of course, my friends,
00:18there are a list of AEW stars who have also treaded the boards in New York,
00:22so let's expand your trivia today.
00:24I am Simon Miller, the living fool.
00:26Let's go.
00:27Number seven, Scorpio Sky.
00:28The current story of Scorpio Sky in AEW is strange
00:31because he returned briefly in 2025, and he was gone again.
00:35Maybe the company has just passed him by,
00:37but if you do go back a few years, Sky was all over AEW.
00:41He had a proper character as him and SEU lit up the tag team scene.
00:44I mean, they even had a chant.
00:46Don't know whether you know this, but it's good to have a chant in wrestling.
00:49Scorpio also won a TNT title, so he did pretty good for himself,
00:52and, of course, this wasn't his first rodeo.
00:55PWG, Ring of Honor, the dude has been all over the place,
00:57including WWE.
00:59It just so happened it was a very specific position there.
01:02So we go all the way back to 2010, and of all the duos, team hell no.
01:06If you don't know, this was Bryan Danielson and Kane being thrown together,
01:09but they didn't really like each other.
01:11It got so bad, they were told to go to anger management.
01:14It was very Vince McMahon.
01:15I suppose they were forced as off they went with Kane keeping his wrestling gear on
01:19when they met Harold.
01:21I did not expect you to remember this attendee,
01:23but he was desperate to befriend the tag team champions,
01:26and yep, it was the future Scorpio Sky.
01:29Harold could be one of the nicest folks to ever appear in a fake therapy session,
01:32as he even agreed to do the trustful exercise with these two idiots.
01:36Surprise, surprise, Bryan and the big red machine started to argue,
01:39and poor Harold fell on the floor.
01:41This now sounds like some kind of nursery rhyme.
01:44Also, just imagine that being your first appearance in WWE,
01:47although to be fair, there have been far worse.
01:49A decade later, though, he did become a star in his own right.
01:53Number six, Daniel Garcia.
01:54Man, do I hate the Thunderdome era.
01:56It's still a period of time I just can't watch because it's too weird.
02:00Plus, my brain wasn't happy then.
02:02Being trapped in your house is not good.
02:04The WWE did keep on trucking, though,
02:07so despite housing shows in a big empty room,
02:09guys and girls were basically getting tryouts.
02:12One of these was Daniel Garcia,
02:13who, of course, has gone on to do great things with AEW.
02:16I mean, you have to be a pretty good technical wrestler
02:18for Bryan Danielson to go,
02:19I think you're a pretty good technical wrestler.
02:22As he was making his way to the top, though,
02:23he went to WWE and got a match with another potential signing,
02:27Tyler Rust.
02:28Although at this point, Danny was called Dante Rios.
02:32I have no idea, but Rios lost.
02:34I'm not sure anybody remembers this because, again,
02:36the world was ending and we'd all gone crazy.
02:39Garcia also had another go-around in 2018 on 205 Live,
02:42but that was a proper, well, I'm just here to do a job.
02:45Drew Gulak beat him in 30 seconds.
02:48It goes to show, though,
02:49you never know what the future holds,
02:50so say yes and do the best job you can.
02:53Prove you've got what it takes for more.
02:55Daniel did all of it.
02:56Number five, Chris Statlander.
02:58Right now, as I talk to you, my friends,
02:59Chris Statlander is the AEW Women's Champion.
03:03It doesn't just happen.
03:04And as an OG of the company, she has busted her ass
03:06and earned that opportunity.
03:08Also won a TBS title on her travels.
03:10She's great.
03:11Before she became an alien, though,
03:13all the way back in 2019,
03:14Statlander was kind of put in a cool position.
03:17After the Iconics had won the Women's Tag Team titles
03:19at WrestleMania 35,
03:21Peyton Royce and Billie Kay defended their belts
03:23on Raw against the Brooklyn Bells.
03:25We were in New York, after all.
03:27The team was made up of Carissa and Kristen,
03:30which was indeed Chris Statlander,
03:31and the future Electra Lopez.
03:32Because the Iconics were great,
03:34they also said this team had gone 46-0.
03:37I don't want to ruin your day,
03:38but I think they were lying.
03:39Peyton and Billie then ran right through them.
03:42Though it does sort of feel like Statlander
03:44could end up back with WWE one day,
03:46because in this stupid business,
03:48you never say never.
03:49Either way, she smashed it, though.
03:51She rose to the top of the industry.
03:53Number four, MJF.
03:54So let us talk about it in case somehow you don't know
03:57as you've been living under a rock.
03:58I promise you, it gets discussed all the time.
04:01I think it all comes back to the fact that MJF is such a big star these days,
04:04but it just goes to show you can do anything with the right mindset and talent.
04:08Maxwell is interesting, too,
04:10as he never actually got a match in WWE to show his skills,
04:13and instead found himself working security at NXT TakeOver Brooklyn 2.
04:17Samoa Joe was about to face Shinsuke Nakamura,
04:20which was a huge deal,
04:21and as Joe was headed to the ring,
04:23he had an entourage,
04:24or at least the venue had provided him with some security.
04:27I don't think Samoa was into this, though,
04:29because he shoved MJF right into the wall,
04:31and as soon as they were both in AEW,
04:33they recreated this, of course.
04:35I don't think anybody saw round one, though,
04:36and thought,
04:37hey, there's a dude that's going to be one of the brightest stars of the next generation.
04:41So once again,
04:41you just never know.
04:43Before you ask,
04:44no, I was not talking about Star Trek.
04:46Number three,
04:46Prince Nana.
04:47In 2025,
04:48Prince Nana is known as the most wonderful addition to the Swerve Strickland Act.
04:52They really do work well together,
04:53and they have a unique chemistry.
04:55Nana also got that dance over,
04:56but it is no fluke,
04:58because the Prince has been an in-ring wrestler himself for years,
05:01going all the way back to the early 2000s,
05:03and in 2025,
05:04that kind of feels like it doesn't exist.
05:06But he was in Ring of Honor for a while,
05:08and also, yes,
05:09found his way to WWE for a couple of matches.
05:12One came at Madison Square Garden,
05:14of all places,
05:14for WWE jacked,
05:16and that's awesome.
05:17Well, sadly,
05:17the Prince did lose to Crash Holly in four minutes.
05:20Round two also came on jacked,
05:21where Steve Blackman tapped him out,
05:23and that was at the Nassau Coliseum.
05:24So, yeah, once again,
05:26Prince Nana went and got some very cool experiences under his belt.
05:29The Crash bout is worth watching, too,
05:31because you can hear legendary announcer Howard Finkel hamming up Prince Nana's name.
05:35It sort of feels like he hung up his boots in 2019 to take on the manager role.
05:39Either way, Nana has this sort of secret career we don't talk about.
05:43The man basically kept it going for 20 years.
05:46More power to him.
05:47Number two,
05:48I don't care what anybody says,
05:50the Young Bucks changed the game.
05:52If you go back to 2018 and really take in the lay of the land,
05:55they were paving the way for how to make money without being in WWE.
05:59They were huge without national TV.
06:01I think it was kind of incredible.
06:02In ring,
06:03they were next level too,
06:04which continues today.
06:05But when WWE's ECW reboot became a thing,
06:09well,
06:09Matt and Nick Jackson appeared,
06:11like Pokemon.
06:12It was when the Miz and Morrison were feuding with D-Generation X in 2008,
06:15and the Heels wanted to embarrass their rivals.
06:18Therefore,
06:18they told DX to come out,
06:20and that sort of happened,
06:21to humans who kind of looked like Triple H and Shawn Michaels were here,
06:25but it soon turned out this was a mockery,
06:27and yep,
06:28the impersonators were the Young Bucks in full-on insulting cosplay.
06:31Of course,
06:31the Miz and Morrison destroyed them,
06:33but it is crazy we selected Matt and Nick for this,
06:35given where they are now,
06:36and who they were parodying.
06:38I mean,
06:38nobody knew it at the time,
06:39but still,
06:40anybody else could have done this.
06:42And it went to Matt and Nick.
06:43I think it was their experience of WWE backstage also kind of suggested to them,
06:47maybe this wasn't the company they actually wanted to go to in the first place.
06:51Number one,
06:51Britt Baker.
06:52Britt Baker is an interesting discussing point as I record this video.
06:56Nobody really knows what's happening.
06:58Now,
06:58it's not our right to have any information either,
07:00but it's because Baker was such an important part of AEW for so many years.
07:04Now,
07:05nothing.
07:06She hasn't been on TV in forever.
07:08Back in 2016,
07:09though,
07:09when All Elite Wrestling didn't exist,
07:11Britt was looking for work,
07:12so yep,
07:12she got booked on NXT.
07:14It was when WWE was building up Nia Jax as a monster,
07:17so she needed to squash people,
07:19and the easiest way to do that is to bring in local talent.
07:22I don't think Baker even gets a punch in,
07:24and within one minute and 30 seconds it's done.
07:26But that was the point.
07:27Nia is going to kill you.
07:29It's also proper blink and you'll miss it stuff,
07:31but she's still got her moment,
07:32and as this list has shown,
07:33it can lead to other opportunities,
07:36and I'm sure Britt Baker used this to get more work.
07:38We will have to see if she does go back to WWE,
07:41but it does feel that way.
07:42Even with her absence,
07:43it would still send social media crazy,
07:45because that happens every time.
07:47I mean,
07:48back in October,
07:49we couldn't even handle a video with some shoes.
07:52If you know,
07:53you know.
07:53Now of course there will be other AEW stars
07:55that have cameoed in WWE and vice versa,
07:57so make sure you let us know in the comments below.
07:59Put your like the video,
08:00share the video,
08:01and damn it,
08:01subscribe.
08:02You can also click the video on the screen
08:03to get even more AEW information in your head,
08:06but otherwise my friends,
08:07you make sure you take care of yourself,
08:08and eat your pickle.
08:09I will talk to you again soon.
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