It’s no secret that there have been several talent looking to get out of their WWE contracts lately. The list includes Luke Harper, Oney Lorcan, Sin Cara, Mike Kanellis, and Jordan Myles. The Revival have also been heavily teasing leaving WWE on their Twitter accounts, so it’s safe to add them to the list as well. These are only the people who have made it known they want out of their contracts.
WWE is bloated with talent, that releasing the unhappy talents wouldn’t impact their TV product. They could re-seed their entire roster with NXT & Performance Center talent and while it’d lead to a rocky period, WWE isn’t a company who would sink.
The AEW Factor
Lately they’ve been holding onto every wrestler they have. The last batch of releases feels like ages ago, and included Tye Dillenger (now Shawn Spears of AEW), Hideo Itami (now KENTA in NJPW) and TJ Perkins. They were all released before AEW came to prominece, and WWE really doesn’t want to give their competition any more ammo to use. Only if a talent really wouldn’t have a place in AEW or make an Impact there upon arrival, would WWE likely be open to a release.
A team like The Revival would have an instant feud with The Young Bucks in AEW, giving them instant star status on the new show, so I would see WWE not wanting to let them go until their contracts are up. Luke Harper could potentially be a huge name for AEW, bringing size and experience to a fairly young and small roster. WWE failed to capitalize on him many times, AEW wouldn’t be likely to make the same mistake.
Some Would Rather Go Elsewhere
Meanwhile, someone like Mike Kannlis wouldn’t really have a home in AEW, being more likely to return to Impact Wrestling or Ring Of Honor, places he’s had success in the past. Sin Cara would be destined to go to Mexico and feud with the likes of Caristo & Mistico II, but I can’t see the aging luchador having much interest in popping up in AEW. In the case of ACH/Jordan Myles, it’ll be hard for him to find work after him insulting the highly respected Jay Lethal during his twitter tirade against WWE, but Lethal is very good friends with The Young Bucks, meaning AEW likely wouldn’t be on the table for him.
Some talent are just a burden on their roster at this point, and paying them to sit at home isn’t helping anyone. It’s simply WWE trying to let these talents fade until their contracts are finished, instead of just letting them wrestle. It doesn’t help the wrestlers, it doesn’t help WWE, and it sure as hell doesn’t help wrestling fans. It’s unknown how much is left on anyones contract in WWE. Hopefully we will see some make their way back into the wrestling industry sooner rather than later.
