Apologies for the delay on this one! This is the episode we recorded live last weekend.
The Good Brothers are back in NJPW! Let's talk about that, Sareee back at Stardom, a few people possibly AEW bound (Alex Windsor, Cedric Alexander, and Thekla), all those WWE releases (Dakota Kai, Eddy Thorpe, Gigi Dolin, and Shayna Baszler in particular), and a vibe check on Sami Zayn. We'll also do some Report Cards on Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, and Drew McIntyre a year after re-signing with WWE. Welcome to WrestleWatch: Pro Wrestling Free Agency Podcast Episode 54!
This episode was recorded live on 5/10/25. Music Provided by Wendi Freeman [TikTok & Instagram: maritalstreep]
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Here is the updated Free Agency Tracker (with new, hopefully clearer tier names!):
Based on requests from our listeners we have changed the names of our tiers to hopefully make them clearer. All should be thought of in the context of likelihood of signing to a new promotion (ex: Certain Jump, Possible Jump, Unlikely Jump, etc).
With that, here are the notes on the changes:
Let’s look at the debuting talent who were recently informed of their impending releases by WWE. Dakota Kai was added as Probable (formerly known as Lean Jump) as we think her history of negotiating with AEW makes there more of a shot of her signing somewhere than not. Gigi Dolin and Shayna Baszler, meanwhile, are only Toss-ups due to the possibility of remaining independent or (in Baszler’s case) possibly leaving wrestling entirely. We also considered Eddy Thorpe for inclusion on the Tracker but decided we didn’t have high enough confidence of him signing somewhere else to add him.
We likewise also considered moving Cedric Alexander and Sami Zayn from their current tiers but decided not to. Alexander remains a Toss-up as we’re still unsure if he’ll wind up in the Hurt Syndicate in AEW. Meanwhile, Sami Zayn still has a Remote chance of leaving WWE as the signs point to the direction of him re-signing but still no announcement there.
Alex Windsor was in the news a bit due to her partner Will Ospreay letting out in a promo video with The Sun for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door IV that the only thing keeping her from possibly signing with AEW is getting her visa in order. With that she’s been upgraded from Unlikely to Probable.
Speaking of AEW, Thekla’s now safely headed there with the constant spider teases on AEW broadcasts of late. Outlets such as Fightful and Wrestling Observer Newsletter have both also reported she’s put pen to paper with AEW. She’s upgraded from Likely to Certain.
Keeping it with Stardom for a bit, Sareee reappeared in the promotion to set up a title program with the newly-crowned IWGP Women’s Champion Syuri. This is a program they’ve been laying the groundwork for for months now. Given the place of prominence they gave Sareee on the broadcast and how Bushiroad has eased up on signed talent producing independent shows (but also considering Sareee was pushed as the top freelancer on commentary and Bushiroad has also been more willing to book freelancers and other promotions’ talent of late), we’re moving Sareee up one tier from Remote to Unlikely - still more likely than not staying independent, but things are a little hotter here than before.
Finally we have two Confirmed Jumps: the Good Brothers have a deal with NJPW and Jeff Cobb debuted in WWE. All have now left our Tracker.
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