How These 10 AEW Wrestlers Got Their Start In Wrestling

When All Elite Wrestling opened its doors for business in 2019, the company promised to bring in the best wrestlers from all over the globe. They lived up to their promise and scouted young talent from the independent circuit and also brought in legendary wrestlers. They have a formidable locker room with the perfect mix of wrestlers, and their roster continues to grow every day as the promotion always keeps its eyes open to bring in the hottest free agents in the industry.

The wrestlers on the AEW roster come from different backgrounds and have unique stories of how their journey as pro wrestlers began. With that said, let's take a look at ten wrestlers from the AEW locker room and find out how they got their start in the business.

10 Sammy Guevara

Sammy Guevara is one of the best young talents on the AEW roster, and he backed up the claim by continuing to get featured on their weekly television and becoming a 3-time TNT Champion.

Guevara found his passion for pro wrestling when he attended a SmackDown event in 2004, where he saw Booker T wrestle Rey Mysterio. He got drawn toward the sport and chose to pursue a career in it by entering Booker T's "Reality of Wrestling" wrestling school in 2010. After he graduated from the wrestling school, Guevara made his official in-ring debut at a River City Wrestling event in January 2013.

9 Miro

Miro was an athletic person right from his childhood and attended a sports school in Bulgaria while growing up. Wanting to pursue a career in pro wrestling, Miro moved from Bulgaria to the United States in the mid-2000s.

He started training at Knokx Pro Wrestling Academy, where he trained under WWE legends Gangrel and Rikishi. After finishing up with wrestling school, Miro made his official in-ring debut at a New Wave Pro Wrestling event in November 2008, working under the name Miroslav Makaraov. From there, he began his journey as a wrestler, which took him to WWE in 2010, and to his current destination AEW in 2020.

8 Toni Storm

The 26-year-old Toni Storm has already made a name for herself in the pro wrestling industry by being a former NXT UK Women's Champion in WWE and the 2018 Mae Young Classic winner. She discovered pro wrestling at the age of ten after watching a WWE show on television. The sport quickly became a passion for her, resulting in her starting to train to become a pro wrestler in 2009, when she was only 13.

She trained at Impact Pro Wrestling and made her debut for the company in October 2009. After a five-year training, she wanted to become a better wrestler and asked her parents' permission to move with her grandmother in England and started to perform in the UK independent circuit.

7 Jade Cargill

Jade Cargill is one of the few wrestlers in the industry who reached superstardom very quickly after making her debut. She played basketball during her high school and University days but chose to pursue a career in pro wrestling in 2019.

She attended a tryout at the WWE Performance Center in April 2019 and started training at A. R. Fox's WWA4 Academy. After taking advice from WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry, who she considers her mentor, she went on to train at the Face 2 Face Wrestling School under Heath Slater and Richard Borger.

She also trained at the Nightmare Factory under Q. T. Marshall and Dustin Rhodes, and after being discovered by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan asked Sonjay Dutt and Bryan Danielson to train her during her early days in the company.

6 Britt Baker

Britt Baker is the best example for every aspiring pro wrestler who wishes to balance their career in the ring while maintaining their studies in other disciplines as well.

Baker started her pro wrestling training in June 2014 and entered the International Wrestling Cartel training academy in South Hills, Pennsylvania. She trained under Super Hentai and Marshall Gambino at the academy, and in the same year, she enrolled in the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine.

While still studying dentistry, Britt Baker started training at Absolute Intense Wrestling in Cleveland, Ohio, under Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae, before making her official in-ring debut at an IWC event in 2015.

5 Kenny Omega

Former IWGP and AEW World Champion Kenny Omega's beginning in the pro wrestling industry dates back to 1999. Being interested in the sport since his childhood, Omega dropped his plans to pursue a career in ice hockey to start training at Top Rope Championship Wrestling.

He trained under TRCW promoter Bobby Jay and honed his crafts for a year before he was ready to make his official in-ring debut. His first match took place in June 2000, when he was only 16 years old, and continued to perform for TRCW until December 2001 before moving on to other promotions.

4 Jon Moxley

Current and 2-time AEW World Champion Jon Moxley credits pro wrestling as a turning point in his life as it was the only distraction for him during his troubled childhood. He used to watch videos and read stories about wrestling and idolized Bret Hart during his early days.

He dropped out of high school to pursue a career in pro wrestling and worked several minimum-wage jobs in factories, restaurants, and warehouses to support his training. He had to shuffle through various jobs as he continuously got fired for skipping work to train.

He worked for Les Thatcher in the Heartland Wrestling Association by selling popcorn and setting up the ring. He trained under Thatcher and Cody Hawk during that time before making his in-ring debut in June 2004.

3 Bryan Danielson

Bryan Danielson training with Shawn Michaels and Bray Wyatt

Bryan Danielson became a fan of pro wrestling after one of his friends showed him a wrestling magazine in his childhood. Danielson chose to pursue a career in pro wrestling during his sophomore year of high school and wanted to train at Dean Malenko's wrestling school.

But the school had already closed down by the time Danielson graduated from high school, and he went on to train under Shawn Michaels and Rudy Gonzalez at the Texas Wrestling Academy in San Antonio, Texas.

He made his in-ring debut at a TWA event in October 1999, going under the name American Dragon, and defeated Brian Kendrick, and kick-started his journey in the business.

2 Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho has been an active in-ring competitor for over three decades and has won countless accolades throughout his career. He first became interested in pro wrestling after attending American Wrestling Association events with his family at the Winnipeg Arena.

He wanted to become a pro wrestler after watching clips of Owen Hart performing high-flying moves and was also a fan of Bret Hart, Ricky Steamboat, and Shawn Michaels.

He entered the Hart Brothers School of Wrestling when he was 19 years old and trained under Ed Langley and Brad Young. He completed his training in two months and made his in-ring debut against Lance Storm in October 1990.

1 Sting

The Icon Sting found his passion for the pro wrestling business after attending a WWE event in Los Angeles, where he saw Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Iron Sheik, and the others perform.

He started his training around 1985 and made his in-ring debut the same year at a Continental Wrestling Association event under the name Flash and teamed up with The Ultimate Warrior, who went under the name Justice, as The Freedom Fighters.

Sting continued to perform at various CWA events until January 1986 before making his way to other promotions, and the rest, they say, is history.