Which WWE Releases Will Join AEW?

WWE has begun its annual spring cleaning by releasing several wrestlers. This past weekend, the company released 11 stars and a few surprising names were on the list.

Among those who got the cut are:

• Sonya Deville
• Blair Davenport
• Cedric Alexander
• Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar)
• Paul Ellering
• Giovanni Vinci
• The Good Brothers (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson)
• Isla Dawn
• Elektra Lopez

With all the wrestlers now free agents, speculation is already beginning on where they’re going to go. Many believe that AEW will swoop up some of the names.

AEW already has a stacked roster so only a select few will be chosen. So which WWE stars could soon sign with AEW?

Blair Davenport

Blair Davenport previously worked for AEW under her ring name Bea Priestley. From 2019 to 2020, she was one of the rising stars in AEW's women's division. Her feud with Britt Baker garnered much attention and before her release, she was in line for a Women's Championship push.

Since she's now a free agent, AEW should do everything to get Davenport/Priestley back. They could use someone of her caliber in their current women's division. Priestley could have dream feuds with Mercedes Mone, Jamie Hayter, Toni Storm, Megan Bayne, and Deonna Purrazzo.

Sonya Deville

The former Tough Enough contestant was one of WWE's popular stars, who never got the proper push she deserved. Deville has a mixed martial arts background, which would be beneficial to the AEW or ROH women's division. There are lots of fresh feuds for Deville, including Kris Statlander, Athena, and fellow mixed martial artist Marina Shafir.

Authors of Pain

Authors of Pain were one of the hottest tag teams in NXT. But once they were called up to the main roster, their momentum dwindled. WWE released them back in 2020, but the team returned in 2023. Unfortunately, their return didn’t garner much success except for being put into a stable with Karrion Kross.

Although AEW already has enough tag teams, Akam and Rezar would be a good fit for the division. Bring in Paul Ellering as their manager, and they’ll be an unstoppable force.

Isla Dawn

Isla Dawn was one of the rising stars in WWE. Together with Alba Fyre, she was one-half of the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions. Their success continued when they were called up to the main roster where they won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship. However, two months after winning the titles at Clash at the Castle, they lost them to Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill.

Dawn’s recent release is a shocker because she had a lot of potential. Her 90-day non-compete clause is up on May 9th. That’s in time for AEW’s Double or Nothing PPV. Dawn could be a surprise entrant if AEW has a women’s gauntlet match.

Cedric Alexander

After 9 years, former Cruiserweight Champion and Tag Team Champion, Cedric Alexander was given the boot. During his time in WWE, Alexander was part of the popular heel stable The Hurt Business along with MVP, Bobby Lashley, and Shelton Benjamin.

Now, he'll have a chance to possibly reunite with his former stablemates. MVP, Lashley, and Benjamin are currently signed with AEW, under the new faction name The Hurt Syndicate. According to reports, The Hurt Syndicate is pushing for Tony Khan to sign Alexander.

One thing that might dissuade Alexander's decision to join AEW is his wife, Big Swole. Swole previously worked with AEW from 2019 to 2021. Upon her departure, she was vocal about the lack of diversity and structure in the company. However, Khan refuted Swole's claims and said she was let go because her "wrestling wasn't good enough."

If things have cooled off between Swole and Khan, maybe Alexander has a shot at joining The Hurt Syndicate.