It’s that time of the year again. We’re only a few months away from entering 2024, and just like any other year before, a lot of wrestlers are going to leave WWE and some are going to return/debut or just extend their existing contracts.
Many of them have likely started negotiating a new deal with WWE, with the rest probably just weighing their options. Most of the top names are expected to stay in WWE, but a few might surprise us and jump ship to another promotion.
14 Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett has been with WWE for a few years now since his return in 2020. He’s mainly worked as a commentator for NXT but recently joined the Raw broadcasting team with Michael Cole as well. Previously he worked as a color commentator on SmackDown.
His current contract extension, which happened last year, ends in August 2024. Barrett previously left WWE in 2016, allegedly telling them he hated it there.
13 Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn has been feuding with The Judgment Day in WWE after losing his Undisputed WWE Tag Team Title belts to them.
The past few months have been the biggest for Zayn, due to his involvement with The Bloodline storyline which also led to him main-eventing WrestleMania along with Kevin Owens. Fans expect Zayn to stick around when his current contract expires next year in 2024.
12 Seth Rollins
The current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins did an interview a few years ago where fans got some info about his contract. There were two possibilities, either his contract was going to expire this year or next year. 2023 has almost ended and Rollins is still the champion, and there haven’t been any new reports about his contract which usually happens if it’s too close to expiring. Most likely, it ends in 2024 based on these assumptions.
11 Ricochet
According to Dave Meltzer’s report, Ricochet still has a year left in his contract. He signed a new main roster deal for 5 years in 2019, which means he’ll be with WWE until 2024.
Ricochet recently had a high-profile match against Logan Paul at SummerSlam, where he lost. He then got involved in the Rollins-Nakamura feud.
10 Randy Orton
Back in 2019, there were some talks that Randy Orton might end up in AEW. Then out of nowhere, he announced a 5 year long contract extension. It runs out in 2024, for now, but there’s a high chance that WWE will add some months to make up for the time Orton was out on the shelves due to injury. The Viper hasn’t appeared in WWE ever since he got injured in May 2022.
9 Pat McAfee
Pat McAfee has become one of the most beloved members of the WWE Universe. McAfee signed a contract extension with WWE last year, and it’s a multi-year deal expected to end in 2024. Pat hasn’t been seen in WWE much this year due to his busy schedule. He recently returned to SmackDown and had a segment involving The Rock.
8 New Day
The trio of Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods hasn’t been seen together for quite some time now. Big E is likely never going to wrestle again, Kingston recently returned to WWE and reunited with Woods. Their contract expires next year, which they signed together back in 2019.
7 Montez Ford
Some fans may remember that The Street Profits’ contract was reportedly expiring in 2022, but that rumor turned out to be false. Fightful said that their deal had plenty of time left. Currently, it’s expected that Montez’s deal will run out in December 2024.
6 Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre returned to WWE earlier this year without extending his contract. Fightful says his contract is still set to expire in early 2024, which most likely means around WrestleMania 40. His comeback feud happened against Gunther for the Intercontinental Title.
5 Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch has been shifting the tides in NXT currently. She’s the NXT Women’s Champion, and her being on the show is also bringing high ratings. According to a recent Fightful report, Lynch’s current contract is expiring next year. She’s the most popular female wrestler they have, and WWE will most likely renew her contract.
4 Sheamus
Fightful’s report also mentioned that Sheamus’ contract is also expiring next year like Drew McIntyre and Becky Lynch’s deal. He’s one of the most successful WWE wrestlers right now and has achieved veteran status. His 2023 goal was to win the Intercontinental Championship and he’s come short quite a few times against Gunther so far.
3 Angelo Dawkins
Now Montez Ford’s tag team partner Angelo Dawkins’ contract is also rumored to end in the same month as Ford. The last credible report about Dawkins’ contract came back in 2019, and it’s possible that the duo also signed a 5-year contract at that time.
2 Alexa Bliss
Alexa Bliss’ contract would’ve expired this year, if WWE hadn’t extended it by a few months to cover the time she spent on The Masked Singer. Bliss is currently on maternity leave, and won’t return until next year.
1 AJ Styles
According to Fightful, AJ Styles is making a whopping $3 million as part of the new contract he signed in 2019. Reports say that, once again, it was a 5-year deal that he signed and it’ll be interesting to see if The Phenomenal One will choose to re-sign with them. There’s a chance that Styles doesn’t sign another deal as he had previously said this was his final deal.