10 Hottest Free Agents LEFT In Wrestling Today

Exploring the vast array of talent available in the wrestling world right now.

by Andrew Pollard
Tessa Blanchard
Impact Wrestling

WWE recently made waves once more by announcing the company's annual post-WrestleMania releases.

Considering that WWE has brought in record revenue in the past few years, it's criminal that Vince McMahon's sports entertainment juggernaut opts to make mass releases that are put down to "financial cuts" at such a prosperous time for the promotion.

Regardless, earlier this month saw WWE fire ten wrestlers. Compared to 2020's post-'Mania releases of dozens of employees across its talent roster and office staff, this is clearly a much smaller number - but that doesn't mean that these ten releases are any more palatable.

The pro wrestling landscape is one full of free agents, of course, and there are plenty of hugely talented performers out there who are not formally contracted to any one promotion. After all, there is a wrestling world away from the sought-after haunts of a WWE, an AEW, an IMPACT, etc - and there are some phenomenal talents just waiting to be snapped up by one of the big boys.

Taking a look at the lay of the land right now, then, here are the ten hottest free agents in the wrestling business at this present time.

10. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Tessa Blanchard
MLW

Previously known as David Hart Smith, DH Smith, Harry Smith or British Bulldog Jr., Davey Boy Smith Jr. has been tearing it up across the globe in recent years.

After departing WWE in 2011, Smith has won plenty of plaudits for his time working for New Japan Pro Wrestling and for Court Bauer's Major League Wrestling - with him a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and also a winner of MLW's Opera Cup.

More recently, it's been for Josh Barnett's Bloodsport that the 35-year-old Canadian has wowed. Given Smith's imposing physique and how he incorporates MMA into his wrestling style, the worked-shoot tone of Bloodsport fits him like a glove.

Having competed at every Bloodsport event since Barnett took stewardship in April 2019, Smith has put on bloody, brutal bangers with the likes of Jon Moxley, Karrion Kross, 'Filthy' Tom Lawlor and new IMPACT X-Division Champion Josh Alexander.

There's been plenty of talk that Smith is eyeing a WWE return right now, with discussions having reportedly taken place of having him head to NXT or NXT UK. Having recently inducted his father Davey Boy Smith into the WWE Hall of Fame, all signs point to Davey Boy Smith Jr. returning to the WWE fold sooner rather than later.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.