Multiple Released WWE Stars Officially Become Free Agents
The latest batch of WWE releases has officially crossed the 90-day non-compete mark and are now true free agents.
On April 24, 2026, WWE held their now all-too-common post-WrestleMania talent cuts. Among the names departing the company were the Motor City Machine Guns, Kairi Sane, the Wyatt Six members, Santos Escobar, Zoey Stark, Aleister Black, and his wife Zelina Vega, as fans began to wonder what their respective careers may look like going forward. Now, it seems we may not have to wait much longer to find out what’s next.
As of July 23, the following names have now served their 90-day non-compete clauses and are officially free agents:
Many online fully expect certain members of the April 2026 batch of released to end up in All Elite Wrestling, with Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin of the Motor City Machine Guns being particularly touted as appealing options for Tony Khan and AEW. On the other hand, the status of Kairi remains a mystery, with some remaining hopeful that she ventures back to Japan.
For those wondering where Austin Creed and Kofi are, they weren’t a part of this release group. Instead, they were granted their release a few days after these layoffs due to a contract dispute. They’ll be official free agents in August.
On that, a conversation between Austin Creed and Kenny Omega from 2025 recently caught fans’ attention when the former WWE star noted he’d asked the company for a ‘pretty permanent vacation’. You can read more about that here.
With a WWE release often being the catalyst for wrestlers to reinvent themselves, options like AEW, New Japan, CMLL, TNA, or the wider world of the indies provide opportunities for talent to rejuvenate their careers. Of course, we wish all those now entering free agency all the best with regard to their next step.
As always, we’ll keep you posted on free agent signings once reveals and announcements are made by them or the promotions they land in.
