Update On Grizzled Young Veterans' Contract Status

Ahead of No Surrender on Friday, have Grizzled Young Veterans signed with TNA?

By Andrew Pollard /

WWE

Set to face Bullet Club's Ace Austin and Chris Bey at TNA No Surrender for the TNA Tag Team Titles on Friday, there's now somewhat of an update on the contract status of Grizzled Young Veterans.

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As part of a recent interview with Fightful Select, despite being such a featured act on TNA programming across this past month or so, GYV have not signed with the Anthem promotion as of yet.

At present, James Drake and Zack Gibson haven't signed a contract anywhere and are working completely independently. While the pair noted how this was important to them after departing WWE last year, they likewise didn't rule out signing with any particular promotion - whether that's TNA, AEW, or even a possible WWE return, should the right situation arise.

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One of the very best teams in the industry, Drake and Gibson have been a tandem since 2017 and their Progress days. Initially used by WWE as singles acts in NXT UK, it would've take long for them to be paired up under the WWE banner, becoming the inaugural NXT UK Tag Team Champions at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool at the start of 2019.

2020 would see Grizzled Young Veterans officially move to the main NXT brand, although that switch was soon hindered by the international travel restrictions in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic. After several months away from NXT, Drake and Gibson would return towards the end of the year and become significant players in the tag ranks.

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By July 2022, Grizzled Young Veterans was sadly no more, as Drake and Gibson became Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler as the Dyad as part of Joe Gacy's Schism. The pair would depart WWE last September when their contracts expired, and they've since picked things back up on the independent scene in addition to working for TNA.

At TNA No Surrender, GYV and ABC do battle in the third and final match in a best-of-three series for Austin and Bey's TNA Tag Team Championships.

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