4 WWE contracts that are up at the end of April 2019

Although a lot of the free agent signings took place once the year changed from 2018 to 2019, there are still contracts that are up throughout the rest of the year.

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There is always a turnover of talent in WWE during mid-spring as new Superstars join both NXT and the main roster while others are released for one reason or another.

But unlike previous years, WWE is hoping it can do everything it can in order to retain the services of a lot of wrestlers.

The emergence of All Elite Wrestling as well as how the business as a whole is booming has forced WWE to alter how it handles superstar releases.

WWE is changing what it can promise as it is offering more money for superstars who are looking for better deals, more creative control or better opportunities elsewhere.

For WWE, they have four big contracts that are set to expire after WrestleMania 35 has passed and April 2019 concludes.

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#4 Dean Ambrose

WWE is trying to keep the Lunatic Fringe from leaving.

Well, this one isn't much of a surprise since news broke of his desire to leave right after the Royal Rumble.

Ambrose would be a big loss but WWE hasn't always booked him the way he probably should have been.

He could have been an edgy, unpredictable presence, but instead, he was used for sophomoric humour and was made the least important member of the Shield.

Although it's hard to contend with the likes of Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, Ambrose brings something different to the table, but that something might be better utilized elsewhere that has more creative character freedom.

Reigns apparently thinks he can get the Lunatic Fringe to resign, but Ambrose probably sees the writing on the wall.

Once this Shield reunion is done, Rollins and Reigns will likely be in the Universal Championship picture while Ambrose will be lagging around the mid-card should he stay.

Since he knows the situation, he'll probably be finishing up with WWE after WrestleMania 35.

WWE could have avoided this situation by loosening up a little with the creative control of some characters, but until they do that, they'll continue to lose unhappy superstars.

#3 Paige

What will the future hold for the first-ever NXT Women's Champion?

Depending on how severe her spinal stenosis really is, Paige could easily depart WWE in order to continue her in-ring career.

WWE has been extremely vigilant lately with head and neck injuries as Paige, Jason Jordan and Tomasso Ciampa have all dealt with varying injuries.

Paige cannot get cleared by WWE doctors, but is her diagnosis so severe that no other doctor in the business will clear her? The jury is out on that.

But since she was removed as SmackDown GM to promote her movie, what's next for Paige in WWE? She's clearly a popular presence in the company despite not being able to wrestle.

Promotion for 'Fighting With My Family' is over, so now that her movie has come out, is WWE still going to try to keep her? Does she want to stay with WWE?

Paige would be a great manager for a struggling act like SAnity or some other wrestlers, but it all comes down to A) can she get cleared to wrestle elsewhere and B) does she truly want to leave WWE.

Daniel Bryan did get cleared, but the specifics behind the scenes regarding his clearance might be a lot different for Paige.

Whatever she decides to do, the WWE would be losing an incredibly talented presence even outside the ring if they didn't try to resign her.

#2 The Usos

Will the Usos continue to hold the SmackDown titles until and past WrestleMania?

The Usos and WWE are a curious case to me. They are a WWE creation and have family ties in the company with Roman Reigns and Naomi still under contract.

Is that enough to get them to remain with the company that has helped them become one of the top tag teams in the industry?

WWE's commitment to them was apparent when Jimmy Uso was arrested right before the Elimination Chamber but not punished.

Sure, he didn't get booked with a DUI, but he was charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice.

While those aren't on the level of other crimes, he was publicly arrested three days before a major PPV. That's a red flag to me, especially with his history.

He was arrested for DUI in 2011 and 2013 and he wasn't really punished any of those times. Even though his latest arrest came at a bad time, his team still won the SmackDown Tag Team titles after that incident.

I guess my problem is that for a company that seems so worried about its public image, they sure let some people get away with a lot.

Their father Rikishi has even said that they don't have anything left to do in WWE, suggesting that he'd like to see them move on.

They have been one of the top tag teams in the company for most of their careers, so if the did leave, it would likely be for more money.

#1 AJ Styles

Styles carried SmackDown through two of his WWE Championship reigns.

Of the four superstars mentioned on this slide show, losing AJ Styles would be the biggest blow to WWE.

He's been the focal point of SmackDown since the brand split and could easily move to Raw in the Superstar Shake Up to have plenty of fresh feuds.

Styles still wrestles at an extremely high level but some of his feuds were strangely booked, like Samoa Joe terrorizing his family and Shinsuke Nakamura constantly low-blowing him.

But through it all, he's proven that he should have been in the company all along. He's had great matches with Andrade, Mustafa Ali, Daniel Bryan and Finn Balor.

He may be 40, but he's still among the most popular superstars in the company. He'd immediately slate into any other promotion's main-event scene if he departed.

During contract negotiations, he's been looking for a lighter schedule in order to spend more time with his family.

He doesn't want a John Cena-esque deal where he shows up between movies, but more so like Randy Orton where his road schedule is lighter and he has more days off.

When April concludes, WWE will have either done the right thing by giving him what he wants otherwise he's going elsewhere where he can get it (NJPW, AEW).