Sami Zayn was written off WWE TV at Elimination Chamber - with his contract expected to expire soon, is it time he helluva kicks somewhere else? We also have the latest on Gabe Kidd's contract status with NJPW (and possible flirtations with AEW?), AEW granting Rey Fenix his requested release, and the Saya Kamitani vs Tam Nakano "Loser Leaves Stardom" match fallout. Plus: temperature checks on Beth Phoenix, Dragon Dia, Indi Hartwell, Leon Slater, Persephone, and Street Profits. Welcome to WrestleWatch: Pro Wrestling Free Agency Podcast Episode 45!
This episode was recorded live on 3/8/25. Music Provided by Wendi Freeman [TikTok & Instagram: maritalstreep]
As always, here is the latest Free Agency Tracker so you can follow along:
And this week’s updates were:
Sami Zayn was one of the biggest stories this week following Elimination Chamber. His most recent WWE contract was signed at the same time as Kevin Owens, so it should have expired by now. With how the post-match of his bout with KO went, it felt like WWE writing him off with a kayfabe injury to hedge their bets and be fine whether or not he does re-sign. With that in mind, we’ve knocked him up a single tier from Likely Stay to Lean Stay. We still think he’s probably staying with WWE, but the promotion seeming to be aware of the possibility of him leaving in combination with him addressing his contract status in the media has us feeling it’s just slightly less likely today than before.
AEW has granted another request for release of a talent, this time being Rey Fenix. We honestly expected this to happen sooner rather than later. When asked about the strategy regarding granting releases, Tony Khan said he is looking at each request on a case-by-case basis. We think playing hardball to stymie his WWE debut but eventually allowing Fenix to leave was the right move rather than keeping him for possibly a year of added injury time. AEW now has a bit more budget for free agent acquisitions, and Fenix can soon join his brother in WWE - it’s honestly a win-win for everybody. This all being said, he’s now moving up from Likely Jump to Safe Jump and we expect him in WWE soon.
The last big one to note this week is Gabe Kidd. The War Ready madman has not signed a new contract with New Japan, which isn’t something super rare for the promotion (remember that last year many of the War Dogs were working the legally-distinct-from-War-Games match vs United Empire at New Beginning without a contract). He has worked a few AEW dates recently while they’re on the West Coast, but this was also during Fantasticamania which he wasn’t being used for. He seems to have made a good impression with AEW brass, though, so we can’t say it’s impossible the kayfabe Defender of New Japan somehow leaves. We’ll add him in Likely Stay for now and will track how the New Japan Cup goes + keep an eye on his upcoming Strong Openweight defense against Tomohiro Ishii at Windy City Riot.
Finally, we did a few temperature checks on folks. All don’t have much news about them recently and thus fell down a tier or two of likeliness of a jump (or off the Tracker entirely).
Beth Phoenix drops from Toss-up to Likely Stay
Dragon Dia (formerly Likely Stay) drops off for Low Confidence.
Indi Hartwell drops from Lean Stay to Likely Stay
Leon Slater drops from Lean Stay to Likely Stay
Persephone drops from Toss-up to Likely Stay
Street Profits remain as Safe Stay
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