Pro Wrestling Contract Season

[DavidB6937]

Theres a lot of potential in those releases. Some will do well elsewhere. Some will benefit from experience worldwide. Others tried but clearly didn't have massive support and weren't going to go any higher.

It's a shame but none of them really feel like majorly missed opportunities at this time. I guess WWE felt they had enough other talent that are better.

Wouldn't be surprised to see some return in a few years.

[Cannibal Man]

Braun Strowman's place is as far away from AEW as possible on shows with posters that have 'AMERICAN WRESTLING' as the header

[TheBurningRed]

6 hours ago, Supremo said:

The Cora Jade one feels the saddest.

Lifelong fan. Finally achieves her dream of getting a contract. Spends the next few years having her knees ground to dust by their drills. Binned off before even making it to the main roster. Grim.

She hadn’t improved though in any area. In ring, promos, she did commentary in TNA recently which was dreadful. Maybe they’re just getting rid of wrestlers not improving instead of keeping them around forever like they did with Aliyah for example. 

Saying that though, Nikkita Lyons is still employed and has been sent to Evolve to try and get better. 

[Merzbow]

Is Hunter paying some of you bastards to sabotage AEW with Shitehawk Strowman?

[Vamp]

I reckon some of these names might be glad to leave to be honest. Depending on how they took Heyman's roasts I could see both Strowman and Baszler wanting out, it doesn't seem like Dakota Kai will be that disappointed, and someone like Cora Jade might get more of an opportunity to prove herself somewhere else and return in a better position as a result. 

Is Thorpe still in a relationship with Jamie Hayter? 

[Snitsky's back acne]

20 minutes ago, Vamp said:

 

Is Thorpe still in a relationship with Jamie Hayter? 

Apparently he is now with Dakota Kai. 

[I Bent My Wookie]

Thorpe I imagine will go back to New Japan with a bit of added experience, with Dakota maybe going over to Japan too. Would be a good move for both.

[Infinity Land]

Being outside WWE/AEW bubble doesn't seem all that rosy at the minute.

WWEID is subsidising a crop of indie talent and showcasing them on Evolve.

AAA could be a landing spot for some ex-WWE talents, but that's full of uncertainty.

Japan is on a bit of a downswing financially.

AEW has cutback a bit. To the point they've been letting people go and isn't in content farming mode.

TNA has the tie-in with WWE that can see WWE contracted talents take up spots on tapings/PPVs.

NWA, MLW, Maple Leaf barely seem to be doing one show a month.

Both WWE and AEW running less events has led to more freedom in contracted talents taking outside bookings. Look at something like Bloodsport that could have been a nice WM weekend payday for someone. A majority of the matches at someone under a WWE deal.

 

 

[RedTwoster]

2 hours ago, Infinity Land said:

AEW has cutback a bit. To the point they've been letting people go and isn't in content farming mode.

They’ve been letting people go who were barely featuring, though. Tony Khan clearly isn’t short on money, and I’d be pretty amazed if some of these wrestlers didn’t end up in AEW or even ROH. 

2 hours ago, Infinity Land said:

TNA has the tie-in with WWE that can see WWE contracted talents take up spots on tapings/PPVs.

They’ve still been signing people though, and you could certainly see some of the released wrestlers being of interest. I don’t think the picture is as bleak as you’re suggesting, and there are certainly wrestlers among these releases who will land on their feet.

[Infinity Land]

6 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

I don’t think the picture is as bleak as you’re suggesting, and there are certainly wrestlers among these releases who will land on their feet.

It's currently at 17 people as Shotzi Blackheart is now an alum. Then you can add the February releases, that's got to be close to 30 just from WWE deals.

I'd say it's pretty bleak.

[WyattSheepMask]

If they ever plan on splitting Big Bill away from Jericho for a singles face run, they could bring Braun in for a match with him. Have Jericho play up “yeah you are big, but now I’ve got a guy who’s even bigger!”. One match in & out, putting Big Bill over 

As for the others, and at the risk of sounding a bit harsh, the majority of them were just people making up the numbers and won’t be missed in any meaningful way and there’s probably still plenty of deadwood that could be cut

Edited May 3, 2025 by WyattSheepMask

[TheBurningRed]

AEW released E.J Nduka. Didn’t see him much on AEW tv. I believe he was featured more on ROH. I thought they would’ve used him for something. A 6’8 monster who looks great. 

[Merzbow]

AEW doesn't have the best record of booking monsters consistently to be fair, also I didn't know that he'd already been at NXT until just now. Seems like he was one of the many let go during the pandemic but he's definitely got the look and size to be given another go.

[RedTwoster]

1 hour ago, Infinity Land said:

It's currently at 17 people as Shotzi Blackheart is now an alum. Then you can add the February releases, that's got to be close to 30 just from WWE deals.

I'd say it's pretty bleak.

Some slightly selective quoting going on there. I wasn’t talking about WWE, I was talking about the picture outside of WWE, which I’d suggest is pretty clear from my post. You said that AEW was making cutbacks, and that WWE/NXT talent on TNA PPVs means they’re not as viable a place of employment as they were before. 

I’m disputing that, at least in the case of the wrestlers that have released. At no point did I suggest that WWE releasing wrestlers wasn’t bleak. While I’m sure there have been better times to work outside of WWE, wrestling is hardly in the doldrums. 

Edited May 3, 2025 by RedTwoster

[LaGoosh]

Just had a brain wave. Braun Strowman should go to Zona 23.