RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesSheamus won nearly every title during his two-decade stint in WWE. (Credit: WWE/Getty Images)
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WWE’s latest “spring cleaning” release spree could result in an influx of new talents to its biggest competitor, AEW.
In 2026, AEW has signed fewer marquee stars than in previous years. However, the company appears to have struck gold with the return of Andrade El Idolo, who famously became the first marquee str to go from WWE to AEW back to WWE and then once again back to AEW. Other notable names AEW has signed in 2026 include The Rascalz and CMLL star Persephone.
Now, F4WOnline (h/t Cageside Seats ) reports that “at least seven wrestlers are ‘waiting’ to be signed by AEW. The names of these seven wrestlers were not specified, and…there may be others they aren’t aware of.”
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By April 25, WWE had already released 23 wrestlers from Raw, SmackDown and NXT. That month, famously parted ways with 11 notable stars in one fell swoop, including former AEW star Aleister Black, the entire Wyatt Six faction and the Motor Machine Guns.
Each star WWE released at that time is now eligible to sign with AEW immediately after the expiration of their 90-day non-compete clauses. In addition, WWE parted ways with former multi-time world champion Sheamus and 13-time tag team champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) mere weeks later as WWE looked to re-sign prominent talents on lower, company-friendly contracts .
Sheamus, who spent nearly two decades with WWE, will reportedly become an official free agent on Oct. 1 while Kingston and Woods shouldn’t be far behind after the legendary tag team “mutually parted ways” with WWE in early May.
As expected, AEW President Tony Khan is well aware that numerous marquee names are hitting free agency.
During this week’s AEW Redemption media call (h/t Wrestling Inc ), Khan said that he’s “keeping an eye” on the now-crowded free agent market: “There are a lot of great free agents in wrestling, particularly right now. There’s a lot of people coming out of contract. And it's something I am keeping an eye on because I'm very cognizant that there's a lot of really talented people that just got cut or fired or released and I am keeping an eye on that."
Although Khan did not offer any specifics, his comments indicate that AEW fans should expect an influx of ex-WWE stars in the very near future.
Which WWE Stars Should AEW Sign?
AEW has already scooped up one high-profile 2026 WWE release in former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, who almost instantly won the TNT Championship upon his AEW debut. But here are the best bets to follow Ciampa to AEW soon, possibly even at Sunday’s Redemption pay-per-view:
Sheamus
As talented as AEW’s roster is, one notable area of weakness is a lack of proven main event caliber “big men.” That’s, of course, a role Sheamus could easily fill for the company.
Though Sheamus had taken on a reduced role in WWE in recent years, he is still a very reliable in-ring performer at nearly 50 years old. “The Celtic Warrior” is known for putting on “bangers,” which is wrestling slang for incredible in-ring performances, and AEW would offer him a great place to do that.
Sheamus, now going by “S. Ferrelly,” would give AEW a proven and credible big man who could mix it up with the likes of Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega and other notable AEW stars.
The New Day
The New Day-to-AEW might be the biggest no-brainer you’ll see, especially given The Young Bucks’ long and well-known desire to wrestle the all-time great duo.
At varying points in AEW’s history, its tag team division has been its biggest strength, but that hasn’t always been the case in recent years. Still, that division is currently top heavy with a couple of other ex-WWE teams in FTR and the recently reunited duo of Christian and Adam Copeland.
The New Day is even more accomplished than both of those pairings as a tag team and are undoubtedly a natural fit in AEW given how big they were in WWE at different points during their tenure there.
Kairi Sane
AEW’s women’s division is, much like WWE’s, very hit or miss. At times, it’s great. At other times, eh, not so much.
The latter has applied more frequently lately as AEW’s women’s division has been hampered by up-and-down booking and the departures of stars like Jade Cargill and Mariah May, both of whom signed with WWE. Kairi Sane was never really pushed to that level in WWE, but she’s a fantastic in-ring worker who easily connects with the crowd.
Although AEW’s women’s roster is deep, it lacks a lot of top-tier talent, and Sane could potentially step in as a main eventer almost immediately.
Motor City Machine Guns
The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin), ironically enough, chose WWE over AEW back in late 2024, only to find themselves back on the free agent market less than two years later.
Although MCMG received a strong initial push in WWE, they quickly found themselves without a consistent role on TV. That came as no surprise given WWE’s inconsistent tag team booking, and it suggested that Shelley and Sabin probably should have signed with AEW in the first place.
Now, the Motor City Machine Guys, and AEW for that matter, have a chance at a redo, and if AEW can bring in both New Day and MCMG, that will instantly make its tag team division much more interesting.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
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