Social media has been buzzing since Jeff Hardy said in an interview he was going to AEW. Fans immediately began fantasy booking him resuming his rivalry with CM Punk, and he and Matt facing The Young Bucks on the big stage. However, despite him uttering the words “I’m going to AEW,” he has since tweeted out that nothing is official and asked fans not to get excited.

It did seem unorthodox for Hardy to reveal he was headed to AEW when still having two weeks remaining on his WWE non-compete remaining. Legally, agreeing to join AEW would be considered contract tampering as Hardy can’t negotiate until it expires. However, if his tweet is to be judged at face value, he just got carried away, and joining his brother in AEW is simply his goal.

This past weekend Goldberg wrestled the final match on his WWE contract when he faced Roman Reigns in a six-minute match at Elimination Chamber. While the match wasn’t anything special, it was better than the vast majority of Goldberg’s matches since his WWE return in 2016, and he would make Reigns look strong. Now during the latest episode of his CarCast podcast, the WCW legend has revealed he only had two weeks’ notice the match was taking place, helping illustrate how little long-term planning takes place within WWE.

It isn’t known if 55-year-old Goldberg will ever wrestle again, and it is believed with his WWE deal now being up, he will be getting the shoulder and knee surgeries he has been putting off. This would seemingly make another WWE run appear even more unlikely. However, given his occasional involvement does help ratings and interest in special events, it wouldn’t be surprising if he does come back for one final hurrah. Additionally, the possibility of his son Gage eventually stepping in the ring, and if that were to happen, it’s unlikely Goldberg would be far behind.

Cesaro signed a contract extension with WWE last year, and initially, it appeared he was going to receive a long-awaited main event push with him defeating Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins before having a competitive match with Roman Reigns at WWE WrestleMania Backlash. However, since then, he has fallen back down the card and recently lost to Ridge Holland and Happy Corbin, showing he is no longer considered a booking priority.

Now it has been reported by PWInsider that following failed negations over another extension, 41-year-old Cesaro has opted to leave the company. It was also noted that there would be no 90-day non-compete due to his departure not being a release.

Cesaro had been with WWE for over a decade, and during that time, he held the United States Championship and was tag champion on seven different occasions. While rarely pushed at his ability level, he was always highly respected by his colleagues and held in high regard by fans. While it is too early to report on where he will end up, it seems inevitable AEW, Impact Wrestling, and New Japan will all want to speak to him over the coming days.

Brian Cage’s last AEW appearance was October 2021, when he put over Ricky Starks on Rampage. With him seemingly not being injured due to wrestling independents and the fact his wife had been vocal on social media about his lack of a push, it was thought Tony Khan was simply letting his contract expire. However, Fightful Select has now reported that AEW has exercised their option to extend Cage’s deal by an additional year, which supposedly surprised even him.

Cage is currently XPW Champion and just last month wrestled Will Ospreay at a Warrior Wrestling show which created a lot of buzz with both looking great in a fast-paced 15-minute match. Whether this played any part in Khan wanting to hang on to Cage isn’t known, but if he performed like he did that night in an AEW ring, he would be a massive asset to the company.

Back in December, Jeff Hardy was released by WWE after he walked out during a house show match. Clear details explaining why he did this haven’t been publicized, although it was suspected his past addiction issues may have resurfaced. However, it would later come out that he had passed a drug test following the incident, and WWE even tried to re-sign him, having recognized they’d acted hastily.

With Jeff not wanting to return to WWE, it appeared a foregone conclusion he was set to join his older brother Matt in AEW. And now, during an interview with a young YouTuber, he has admitted that is his plan, saying, “I’m going to AEW, it’s so exciting, I’m so nervous and excited.”

With Jeff still being under WWE contract until mid-March due to a 90-day non-compete, the disclosure is quite surprising, and some have speculated could potentially open up AEW to legal issues. Although any conversations likely haven’t been direct, nor anything formally agreed. Now it seems the big question is when Jeff will debut, but it is expected to be soon, with both he and Matt having announced a Hardy Boyz tour commencing March 12th.

Five months ago, Buddy Matthews teased being the joker in AEW’s upcoming Casino Ladder Match, and while he turns out he was just trolling fans, he did create a lot of buzz. Now though, the former WWE talent has made his AEW debut, with it taking place after PAC and Penta defeated Malakai Black & Brody King. The lights would go out to signify to the fans in attendance someone was about to appear, and when they came back on, Matthews was in the ring. Initially, he teased going after Black but then attacked Penta, showing he was part of the House of Black.

Since his WWE departure, Matthews has been wrestling independents as well as appearing for New Japan Strong. It had long been rumored he was headed to Impact Wrestling, but last week reports came out he was in talks with AEW, and Tony Khan has since confirmed Matthews has officially signed a contract.

The partnership with Matthews and the House of Black does seem unusual. However, the pair spent much of 2019 and 2020 sharing a ring together, and their chemistry was undeniable. Some of their matches would actually steal the show, and with both free agents, WrestleCade and HOG would have the duo rekindle their feud on shows in 2021. Now with the pair together, it seems just a matter of time before they bring their exciting and hard-hitting matches to AEW. 

AJ Styles is one of WWE’s top stars, even though he couldn’t even get a call back from Triple H after he first departed TNA. Nowadays, the idea of WWE without him seems unthinkable, and the company seemingly agrees as according to Fightful Select, they’ve agreed on a multiple-year contract extension with him. Apparently, the two-time WWE Champion is now being paid a whopping $3 million a year and had bus travel accommodation included in his deal to make his life on the road easier.

It’s understood Styles’ contract was set to expire as soon as this spring, and it’s almost certain AEW would have made him a considerable offer themselves. However, with WWE offering Styles a deal he seemingly couldn’t refuse, they ensured AEW wouldn’t get a chance to speak to the 44-year-old.

Styles recently headlined Elimination Chamber along with five other men. Nevertheless, his participation was just to make up the numbers, with Brock Lesnar being the star of the match. Now though, the belief is Styles will get the opportunity to steal the show at WrestleMania 38, with him expected to wrestle Edge in a featured match.

Drake Maverick was released by WWE n November 18th, 2021, and it was thought he was waiting out his non-compete before returning to the ring for another promotion. However, on Monday evening, it was reported he was actually back with WWE working in a creative position. Now the 8 x time 24/7 Champion has taken to LinkedIn to confirm the news, and although he has since deleted the post, you can read a brief excerpt below.

Maverick signed with WWE in 2017 and debuted on television in 2018, and, since then, has had a whirlwind of a career. He would portray the General Manager of 205 Live, manage the Authors of Pain, become a regular in the chase for the 24/7 Championship, wrestled as a cruiserweight on NXT, and then formed a team with Killian Dain. During that period, he was also released as part of WWE’s first roster cuts in 2020. However, due to being prepared to take a significant pay cut, his release was turned into a storyline, and he returned to the company. 

Back in the day, if you didnlt survive on four hours of sleep and a six-pack of beers after your match, you weren’t considered a real wrestler by your peers. The idea of even playing videos games was frowned upon, and admitting to collecting action figures was a no-no. While it seems crazy to think about that now, considering how popular the hobbies have become, it was a different time.

Now, while appearing on the Headlocked Panel at C2E2, Matt Cardona, who calls himself “The Michael Jordan of Action Figure Collecting,” has spoken about this. Stating that had he spoken to veterans about buying figures when he first signed with WWE, he’d have been kicked out of the locker room. Although would acknowledge that things have changed now with a new generation coming in.

In recent years, things have changed so much that wrestlers openly discuss their figure collections on social media, YoutTube, and a Twitch channel pay’s a high second income. Cardona has turned his hobby into a legitimate second career, claiming he currently makes more money from his wrestling figure podcast than his last WWE contract. In fact, he recently divulged on Busted Open that if WWE ever asked him to return, he wouldn’t give up his podcast, showing how important to his brand it has become.

Josh Alexander was arguably the biggest star of 2021 for Impact Wrestling, and it looked like 2022 was going to take him to another level. However, with him being unable to agree on a new contract with the company, he has subsequently left the promotion. The knock-on effect of this has resulted in the Canadian losing his US work visa, and he has since had to cancel his bookings with independent promotions Terminus and AML Wrestling.

Sadly with the US being only the place he can currently make a full-time living as a pro wrestler, he has now announced he has returned to working construction, as you can see in the tweet below. This is especially unfortunate for the 34-year-old, as just last year, he had tweeted to his followers how happy he was that he’d had managed to give up this type of work and had become a full-time wrestler for the first time.

Over the years, there have been multiple stories of Canadian wrestlers being caught trying to wrestle illegally in the US, and Mike Bailey would even be banned from the country for five years over this. Obviously, this is not an option for Alexander, and his only hope of wrestling again in the US is getting a contract.

AEW would likely be his ideal destination given his style of wrestling and the fact his former tag partner Ethan Page works there. In addition, the fact he was the man to defeat AEW’s Christian Cage at Bound For Glory for the Impact Heavyweight Championship, it’s likely he is already on Tony Khan’s radar. However, with AEW already having an extensive roster, it’s possible there isn’t a spot available at resent.

WWE’s latest game is set to be released next month, with the company having skipped their 2021 due to the 2020 version being full of glitches. The belief based on trailers and reported details on new features has led some fans to deem the game already one of the best in the series. However, it appears the game will be out of date as soon as released based on screenshots. This is because one eagle-eyed fan has spotted Tegan Nox and what seems to be John Morrison in the game. Additionally, William Regal appears in MyGM, which is a mode allowing players to book shows, draft wrestlers, and manage contracts.

While there is the possibility they will be removed from the finished game, it does help illustrate how many talents the company has released since the last game was released. One positive, though, is the former talents will likely receive a significant payoff, and in the past, these have been between five and six-figure amounts.

Brock Lesnar won the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber in dominant fashion on Study, and for many, the highlight of the match was Lesnar breaking the plexiglass in his pod to enter the match early. However, it has since been revealed by Mike Johnson of PWInsider that it wasn’t even a planned part of the match. Lesnar simply decided to smash the door open despite it not even being gimmicked, seemingly having grown restless at waiting.

Lesnar is set to wrestle Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38, with it announced after Elimination Chamber it would be title vs. title. Considering how Reigns has been built up, and the company is comparing his championship reign to Hogan, Backlund, and Sammartino’s, it seems unlikely they’d end it to put both belts on a part-timer. Although with Lesnar featured on the poster for WrestleMania Backlash in May, the plan could be to put the straps on Reigns in a rematch.