“Several” AEW Contracts Reportedly Expiring In Coming Months
It looks as though Lio Rush won't be the only star with an expired AEW contract in the coming months.
As noted earlier today, Rush posted a message on Twitter revealing that his contract with All Elite Wrestling finishes on February 14, 2022, and he's ready to take bookings. According to PWInsider, this trend will be continuing in the coming weeks as "several contracts coming up that will not be renewed".
The company doesn't intend to announce the departures but will instead let the deals quietly lapse. It will be possible for the talent to work with the company in the future for one-off deals or something to that degree but that remains to be seen.
Lio Rush and Big Swole are two of the most vocal talents coming out of their contracts expiring. Other stars, like Brian Cage, have been speculated as parting ways with the company, as he has been off AEW television since October 2021, but there's been no official word on that. It has been speculated that Brian Cage's push was cooled in AEW following comments made by his wife, former Lucha Underground, and Impact Wrestling ring announcer Melissa Santos, regarding the use of Cage in AEW, but that was never confirmed.
On his Instagram account, Cage posted a cryptic message that may have centered around his absence in AEW. "I'm looking for the answer," Cage wrote. "#whobetta #needthemachine #swolverine #mrgmsi #whereyoubeen."
At the same time, AEW continues to sign new stars to the company, including recent WWE NXT talents like Kyle O'Reilly, Jake Atlas, and apparent signee, Marina Shafir. Shafir has her first-ever AEW t-shirt now available on the ShopAEW website. Pro Wrestling Tees first tweeted out the t-shirt, however, Shafir's signing has not been confirmed despite being in the AEW shop.
Stay tuned for updates on AEW contracts expiring.