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Over the years, WWE has usually been pretty good at signing its superstars to long-term contracts. If Vince McMahon is going to invest valuable television time in a performer, it is understandable that the WWE Chairman wants them to have a firm commitment to his company.
WWE's stance on this became even more aggressive when AEW was launched in 2019, with several superstars on soon-to-expire deals being offered new five-year contracts at an increased salary.
Despite WWE's desire to secure all of its top talents for the long-term, there have been occasions where some big-name WWE Superstars have decided to allow their contracts to run down and not re-sign with the company.
Last week on SmackDown, Daniel Bryan was defeated by Roman Reigns. The stipulation attached to their Universal Championship match was that if Bryan did not win, he had to leave the blue brand forever.
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However, the real story behind the stipulation surprised many. It was revealed earlier this week that Bryan's current WWE contract expired after his bout with Reigns - and he is now a free agent.
The news shocked fans worldwide. WWE reportedly remains keen to agree a new deal with Bryan but, at the time of writing, the 39-year old is free to pursue other options if he chooses.
As mentioned above, Bryan is far from the first WWE Superstar to go down this route. Here are five other stars who surprisingly let their contracts expire.
#5 Former WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose let his contract expire in 2019
At the beginning of 2019, Dean Ambrose was one of the biggest stars on WWE's RAW brand. Ambrose entered the calendar year as the reigning Intercontinental Titleholder.
With that year's WWE Royal Rumble just around the corner, Ambrose was expected to play a major role in the 30-man battle. Shockingly, though, he eliminated just one man from the match. He was tossed out in straightforward fashion by Aleister Black, long before the end of the bout.
Ambrose's treatment in the Rumble match was a surprise, particularly as he had also recently dropped the Intercontinental Championship to Bobby Lashley a couple of weeks earlier on WWE RAW.
Things soon began to make a lot more sense, though, when WWE announced Ambrose would not be renewing his deal when it expired in April of that year.
Fans were taken aback by the news. Behind the scenes, however, the real-life Jonathan Good had not been happy with the company for some time - with WWE's creative direction being a major source of his frustration. Good had no interest in extending his relationship with the promotion.
Things worked out well for the former Shield member after he departed the company. The month after his WWE deal expired, Good joined AEW under his independent wrestling name, Jon Moxley.
Moxley has been a consistent headliner for Tony Khan's promotion - and is one of only three men to have held the AEW World Championship. As shocking as his WWE departure was, it is a decision the 35-year-old certainly does not regret.
#4 WWE Hall of Famer Macho Man Randy Savage opted to let his contract run down in 1994
Macho Man Randy Savage is one of the most iconic superstars in WWE history. Known for his distinct voice and flamboyant style, Savage's fame extended well beyond traditional wrestling circles.
Savage enjoyed great success in WWE, headlining several WrestleMania events. He also held the WWE Championship on two occasions, with his final reign coming to an end in September 1992.
By 1993, Vince McMahon did not see the Macho Man as a regular in-ring performer anymore, despite Savage being only 42 years old at the time. Instead, McMahon wanted his former champion to serve as a commentator and an ambassador for the company going forward.
Savage was not a fan of this new role. Just months removed from regularly headlining WWE events, the Macho Man still believed he had plenty left to offer between the ropes.
Savage realized he would need to move elsewhere if he wanted to continue as an active wrestler. Knowing his existing WWE contract had expired after he worked as an announcer on the October 31 1994 edition of RAW, Savage did not appear on the following week's show.
Addressing his sudden absence, McMahon informed viewers that Savage was no longer a WWE employee, suggesting that the Macho Man had not given the company a chance to negotiate an extension.
"At this time, obviously conspicuous by his absence, is the Macho Man Randy Savage. And I’d like to announce, unfortunately, that Randy Savage has been unable to sign a contract with the World Wrestling Federation—not unable to, rather to come to terms with the World Wrestling Federation for a new contract," explained McMahon. "But Randy, I know you’re out there listening, and on behalf of all us here in the World Wrestling Federation, all of your fans, and certainly me, the number one fan, I’d like to say thank you for all of your positive contributions to the World Wrestling Federation. Thank you, Randy Savage, for all the wonderful memories for so many years here in the World Wrestling Federation. We wish you nothing but the best. God speed, and good luck."
A short time later, Savage inked a multi-year deal with rival promotion WCW. This move would allow him to fulfill his desire to compete in the ring again. Winning four WCW World Championships in his time there, Savage was a great success for his new employer.
The Macho Man's name value played a part in helping WCW unseat WWE as the world's top promotion for a period between 1996 and 1998. Vince McMahon's decision to disregard Savage as an active wrestler quickly turned out to be a mistake.
#3 Lex Luger jumped straight to WCW when his WWE contract expired in 1995
Similar to Randy Savage, Lex Luger made the jump from WWE to WCW during his career. However, Luger's switch had a far bigger immediate impact when it happened in September 1995.
Luger's WWE contract was due to expire in late August and he reached out to WCW to see if there would be interest in bringing him into the promotion.
For WCW Executive Producer Eric Bischoff, the timing couldn't have been any better. WCW launched Monday Nitro on September 4, 1995 - and Bischoff agreed a deal with Luger which would allow him to debut on the very first edition of the show and a major surprise.
There was one condition, though. Bischoff didn't want Luger to tell Vince McMahon that he was leaving. Relunctantly, Luger agreed.
Luger was still an active in-ring competitor for WWE at the time he signed with WCW. Lex was working on a handshake deal with McMahon, who fully expected the former Royal Rumble winner to sign a new contract with his promotion shortly. This led to Luger appearing at a WWE live event in Saint John, New Brunswick, less than 24 hours before he debuted on WCW's newest television show.
Speaking during an appearance on Sean Waltman's Pro Wrestling 4 Life podcast last month, Luger admitted he now regrets walking out on the WWE without giving proper notice.
"It was hard to keep a secret, but Eric wanted it to be totally secret that I was leaving," said Luger. "I was still negotiating on a handshake to stay in WWE, and for me to walk out there and not give any notice to Vince, looking back now, I wish I hadn’t done that. I did what I thought was best at the time for my career. Me, myself, and I. Hopefully if I’d have done it again, I wouldn’t have done that to Vince. I felt, even back then, felt really bad about that.”
Although there were numerous switches between WWE and WCW during the Monday Night War era, Lex Luger's was one of the most controversial of all.
#2 The WWE contract of Jeff Jarrett expired while he was still Intercontinental Champion
WWE enjoyed one of the hottest spells in its history during the Attitude Era. In 1999, the company was fiilled with top-tier talent including The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, The Undertaker, Kane, and Mankind.
One man who apparently wasn't high on WWE's list of priorities, though, was Jeff Jarrett. Having signed a two-year deal with WWE in October 1997, Jarrett's deal was due to expire on October 16, 1999. As the reigning Intercontinental Champion, Jarrett was initially confident he and WWE would come to terms on a new deal before his existing contract ended.
However, this didn't happen. Negotiations between Jarrett and then-WWE executive Jim Ross to extend the contract stalled - meaning Jarrett still held the Intercontinental title but was working without a written deal.
Realizing that a resolution to his contract situation was not in sight, Jarrett reached out to WCW and quickly worked out an agreement to start with the promotion the following Monday.
This was a major problem. WWE had already advertised an Intercontinental Championship match for the day after Jarrett's deal expired - with Jeff defending the title against Chyna at the No Mercy 1999 pay-per-view event in a Good Housekeeping match.
The company not only needed to get Jarrett to appear at the event without a contract but also convince him to drop the championship to Chyna as planned.
To his credit, Jarrett arrived at the arena with the championship and was happy to work the match with Chyna as planned. However, Jarrett did have one demand. He wanted all of the outstanding money owed to him by WWE to be paid in full - before he went to the ring.
A period of tense negotiation followed, but Jarrett eventually received $300,000 to settle financial matters between himself and WWE. Jarrett lost his title as agreed and then left the building. He would not be seen again in the promotion until his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018.
#1 The world found out Brock Lesnar's WWE contract had expired in 2020 when all of his merchandise was removed from the company's website
Brock Lesnar is one of the most imposing superstars ever to step foot in a WWE ring. The Beast Incarnate is also an eight-time world champion within the company, having held the WWE Championship five times and the Universal Championship on three occasions during his career.
For all of his accomplishments inside the squared circle, though, Lesnar has never had a sentimental attachment to professional wrestling. Growing up on a farm in Webster, South Dakota, Lesnar openly admitted he was not a WWE fan as a kid.
In truth, the 43-year-old competes for financial gain, whether that be in a WWE ring or the UFC Octagon - where he was also a heavyweight champion.
Reportedly WWE's highest-paid superstar at the time of his last appearance for the company, Lesnar has always been compensated very well for a limited schedule of dates.
Lesnar's last WWE appearance took place in March 2020, during the taping of WrestleMania 36, where he dropped the WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre. It was widely expected that he would take some time away from the company once the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, with Lesnar's large cost not making financial sense while WWE is producing shows without a live audience.
What nobody saw coming, though, was that Lesnar would leave WWE entirely.
In late August 2020, all of Lesnar's merchandise was suddenly removed from the WWE Shop website. Although The Beast Incarnate was not present on WWE television, he still sold a considerable amount of merchandise - making the decision to remove from sale a strange one.
Within 24 hours, it was revealed that Lesnar's WWE contract had expired - and that no new deal could be reached.
As surprising as this news was, the fact that Lesnar still remains a free agent some eight months later might be an even bigger shock. Time will tell if Lesnar will ever return to WWE.
