For many professional wrestling stars, working for a significant promotion with regularly televised matches and extensive exposure provides their dream job. Both All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) offer this opportunity, but WWE provides much more global publicity.
Due to this, individuals who initially start with AEW might decide that they’ve run their course with the company and gained enough popularity there, so it’s time to move on to a bigger promotion. In recent years, fans have witnessed this trend with some of the emerging talents in AEW’s women’s division.
Jade Cargill became a significant signing for WWE in 2023 and has since been among the stars on their main roster, delivering notable performances at premium live events. More recently, former AEW star Mariah May opted to sign a multi-year contract with WWE after working in Tony Khan’s rival company from 2023 to 2025.
Mariah now performs on NXT under the ring name Blake Monroe, aka “The Glamour.” She recently opened up about what drove her decision to leave AEW for WWE.
While on a new episode of *Busted Open*, Bully Ray—also known as WWE legend Bubba Dudley—spoke to Monroe about various topics, including her work as a heel, her goals in wrestling, and what made her leave AEW for WWE.
“I had a fantastic experience and did things I’m so proud of and cherish,” she said regarding AEW. Monroe added, “I had a really short contract, and when it came to an end, there were positives and negatives. It got to the point where I had an amazing story, but that was the one thing I had. I didn’t have much else, and I just thought, ‘Is this everything I want?'”
Monroe also mentioned that she had considered working in Japan’s wrestling scene, which some people may not have realized. However, when her AEW deal was up, she had people suggesting that she “talk to WWE and just see.”
“I always just try to focus on one thing at a time in wrestling. And when I talked to them and they cared so much about the glamour and so much about all these different things, I was like, ‘Okay, now I do have a big choice to make,'” she explained.
“I really sat and thought about it. And it was a really, really tough decision. But it just came down to I did everything I needed to do. I feel like I told a great story. I feel like I made people feel something, and it’s time to close that chapter and it’s time to start a new one,” Monroe revealed.
Along with this, Monroe praised how significant WWE has made its women’s division, citing it as a big part of her decision.
When speaking about some of the women she’d like to work with in the ring, she mentioned NXT’s Sol Ruca and Tatum Paxley, as well as main roster stars including Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley.
While working in AEW as Mariah May, she had a noteworthy partnership and feud with Toni Storm. This resulted in high-profile matches, including her winning the 2024 Women’s Owen Hart Cup and the AEW Women’s World Championship.
Monroe hasn’t won any championships with WWE yet, but it seems she’s destined to do so. She competed in a significant feud against Jordynne Grace and has since turned her attention to Sol Ruca and the NXT Women’s North American Championship.
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https://www.newsweek.com/sports/wrestling/former-aew-star-reveals-major-reasons-for-joining-wwe-10850615
