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There are a lot of wrestlers out there who once wrestled for WWE and are now free agents, especially after the mass release that took place in WWE a few months ago that saw over twenty-plus stars leave the company, plus the year's worth of releases prior.
Some of those stars have been re-signed or have made seemingly one-off appearances back at WWE like Drake Maverick and Heath Slater respectively. Others, like The Revival (Now FTR) and Deonna Purrazzo have found new homes already.
Naturally with former WWE wrestlers, there are always rumors circulating about where they will end up next. But if some of the more recent rumors are to be believed there are a handful of former WWE stars that could find new homes sooner than we think.
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So, let's take a look at the 5 former WWE Superstars who might not be free agents for much longer!
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#5 Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows To IMPACT
It has been reported that the former Bullet Club members who were in WWE as 'The Club' have already found a new home in IMPACT Wrestling, with Sportskeeda's own Gary Cassidy breaking the news.
Well, it has now been revealed to Sportskeeda that a deal was reportedly signed several days ago, and both Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are IMPACT-bound in July.
As you can see, Cassidy suggests that the pair will debut for IMPACT in July. However, there hasn't been an announcement from IMPACT or the pair confirming this signing and IMPACT's next big pay-per-view, Slammiversary, didn't seem to have any spot for them.
That was until....
That's right, The Rascalz have issued an open challenge at Slammiversary and Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows have reported signed with IMPACT, so if we put two and two together we should definitely get four!
#4 CM Punk To WWE
CM Punk was a guest analyst for WWE Backstage but that show has now been cancelled by FOX, who were his employer, not WWE, so his link to the world of wrestling has once again been severed.
However, Punk has been very open that he'd be interested in returning to WWE for the right price and seems to have gotten a taste for wrestling again. So I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see him return to the ring.
Especially as there are now rumors circulating that he has already signed a deal with WWE, albeit of a slightly different kind. It has been suggested that Punk has signed a deal to appear in future video games.
WWE Racing Showdown, a new mobile app game featuring Superstars racing on motorbikes, recently revealed some of the Superstars who will be involved, and conspicuously, CM Punk was tagged, and then flat-out teased as appearing.
It seems that Punk's WWE game appearances might not stop there as well, as BeltFanDan, a known wrestling insider who particularly specialises in new title belts, has tweeted the following.
Could we be seeing CM Punk in the next 2K game? And if so, is there a chance that video game royalties are part of a deal to bring him back to the ring? The last part is just pure speculation on my part, but to dismiss these rumors as early signs he's returning to the ring would be foolish!
#3 AJ Lee To WWE
Yes, we've talked about CM Punk so I guess it only makes sense that we talk about AJ Lee, but what if I said there's some evidence to suggest she's returning to WWE soon.
One Twitter user has noticed several signs that WWE might be looking to bring back, or have already agreed to bring back, AJ Lee.
As you can see AJ Lee, who alongside CM Punk, was blacklisted by WWE and not mentioned at all, has been tagged in a picture, shown on WWE's The Bump and mentioned by Dolph Ziggler. The Twitter user also suggests she might be the special guest on tonight's SmackDown Alexa Bliss segment.
While we don't know about that, we do know that WWE has been very interested in signing AJ Lee back, and have made several attempts to do so, with Vince McMahon himself personally reaching out.
Perhaps if Punk is appearing in WWE video games in the future then AJ Lee is too, and again, as I mentioned in the Punk slide, perhaps that's highly speculative evidence they'll possibly return to the ring!
#2 Zack Ryder To IMPACT
While IMPACT Wrestling has teased the arrival of many former WWE Superstars with a video showing several released stars like the aforementioned Gallows and Anderson, Mike Bennett, Maria Bennett, Eric Young and EC3.
However other stars like Rusev, Heath Slater and Zack Ryder were also possible new signings for IMPACT Wrestling, with Ryder in particular making a big hint that's where he was headed next.
As you can see, Ryder made an Instagram post with the date of 18th July, 2020. This is the date of IMPACT's biggest show of the year Slammiversary, and also the show that the above teaser video applies to.
He may be baiting the audience, especially as many considered Ryder to be AEW bound given his close relationship with Cody, but it seems that Ryder is hinting that he will be one of the former WWE names appearing at Slammiversary.
The question is, will he be doing so alone, or will he be part of a new stable or faction heading into IMPACT. On an unrelated note, I hear that IMPACT have been teasing the return of the Aces and Eights....
#1 EC3 To IMPACT
Ethan Carter III was such a big part of TNA/IMPACT Wrestling that when he left the company and headed back to WWE it was a big shock. Now he's left WWE after being misused there and is a free agent, but for how long?
Well, The former WWE Superstar has a clock on a website aptly named freeec3.com that's counting down with eleven hours left as of the time of this writing.
What's happening in eleven hours on the 18th July 2020? Well, IMPACT Wrestling's biggest show of the year, Slammiversary, of course! But would EC3 make his second big return to a company?
He's certainly hinted at it during a recent interview with Wrestlezone:
I never fought with my heart on my sleeve, with a vendetta that I have now. I have not yet fought, and the second that the clock on freeec3.com goes down on 7-18-2020, I'm going to fight... I'm telling you, literally—the second it hits midnight and I'm free from my past contractual obligations, I am getting into a fight.
Seems pretty obvious to me that he'll be back at IMPACT in eleven hours.
