11 WWE Wrestlers Officially Become Free Agents (WWE News)

These former WWE stars are all now free agents.

by Andrew Pollard
Cora Jade
WWE

While the biggest news story today is that WWE will not be renewing the contracts of R-Truth and Carlito, 11 former WWE names have now become free agents.

As per Fightful Select, Cora Jade, Gigi Dolin, Eddy Thorpe, Riley Osborne, Oro Mensah, Jackara Jackson, Javier Bernal, Dani Palmer, and the Gallus trio of Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, and Wolfgang are all free agents after their non-compete clauses expired.

Those 11 talents were all a part of WWE's round of releases at the start of last month, with those NXT names having a 30-day non-compete that now means they're free to wrestle for another promotion.

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That round of releases also included Braun Strowman, Shayna Baszler, Dakota Kai, Kayden Carter, and Katana Chance, though main roster WWE talent traditionally have 90-day non-compete clauses in their contract, as opposed to the 30-day non-compete that's commonplace in NXT deals. WWE also opted not to renew Shotzi's deal at that time.

Eddy Thorpe WWE
WWE.com

What's Next For These Free Agents?

As mentioned, with the expiration of their non-compete clauses, the 11 wrestlers named are now totally free to work outside of WWE, and some have already put themselves out there on social media to tease what's next.

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In the case of Gigi Dolin, she's reverted to her Priscilla Kelly moniker, posting to X with a nicely done video that talks about her journey so far, the "death" of Gigi, and Hell's Favourite Harlot coming this summer.

Jackara Jackson is another who took to X as soon as her non-compete was up, revealing her new name as Mara Sadè:

Another who's put together quite the impressive hype video is Javier Bernal, seemingly now going by Core Kid Javi:

Meanwhile, Joe Coffey is promising that the Gallus lads will be touring the globe and cracking skulls:

Oro Mensah is another who's already put themselves out there for bookings and appearances:

For Cora Jade - one of the most surprising of that round of releases - she's returned to her Elayna Black name, already has several wrestling bookings announced, and is launching an OnlyFans page today:

As of this writing, Riley Osborne has yet to comment on becoming a free agent, although he'll be performing under his real name of Josh Terry once again when he next steps between the ropes. Likewise, Eddy Thorpe, now going by Karl Fredericks again, hasn't commented on his non-compete being up, though his social media shows him having a blast at parties and DJing.

Where Dani Palmer is concerned, her WWE release was followed by the announcement that she's pursuing a career change and leaving the pro wrestling business behind, with injuries having taken their toll on the Indiana native.

Senior Writer
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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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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.