AEW Releases: Every Wrestler Released In 2026

Whereas WWE tends to have a regular round of releases once WrestleMania is out of the way each year, not to mention certain other releases that may take place elsewhere across the calendar, AEW operates in a vastly different way than the market leader.

For AEW, Tony Khan historically doesn't outright release a talent - as in, fire them - but more, if he thinks a wrestler's time being #AllElite is at an end, he'll instead wait for that talent's contract to expire. That said, there have been notable examples of Khan choosing to trigger contract extensions due to injury, even if there are still no plans to use that person; the AEW President free to do that as and when he sees fit. And likewise, there have been very clear firings when deemed necessary at times.

Either way, there have already been some big names and extremely talented performers whose time with AEW - and/or ROH, for that matter - has come to an end in 2026, including former champions and one particular wrestler who's already gone on to become one of the most popular acts in WWE.

This article will be updated in real time throughout the year, as we keep track of those names who've, by a company decision or their own choice, headed for the exit door in 2026, starting with a long-time respected veteran of the business who's now in the final year of her career.

Mercedes Martinez

A 26-year veteran of the squared circle, Mercedes Martinez was one of three talents whose AEW contracts were quietly allowed to expire at the turn of the year.

Having made a couple of appearances for AEW in 2019, Martinez signed with Tony Khan's company in late 2021 following the end of her second WWE run and a short stint in TNA. 2022 would bring Mercedes a seven-month reign as the ROH Women's Champion, before losing that title to Athena, whose since held the gold for over 1,200 days as of this writing.

Bar that ROH Women's Title run, it was a little stop-start for Mercedes Martinez during her time under contract, initially bouncing between AEW and ROH, but having not competed for either brand since an April 2024 six-woman tag match for ROH. Since returning at the end of 2021 and departing at the start of 2026, Martinez wrestled only 26 times for AEW and just 19 times for ROH.

A hugely influential figure during her time in the likes of SHIMMER, SHINE, and wXw, Mercedes has announced that 2026 will be the final year of her in-ring career.

Matt Taven

Matt Taven made his AEW debut alongside Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis in October 2022, though it didn't take long for that Kingdom trio to be used in ROH as well as AEW, particularly given all three's extensive history with the ROH brand.

For Taven, he was a former ROH World Champion, ROH TV Champion, two-time ROH Tag Team Champion, and three-time ROH Six-Man Champion during the original run of Ring of Honor. He and Bennett added a third ROH Tag Team Title reign to their resumé under the Tony Khan banner.

The start of 2024 would see the formation/reformation of the Undisputed Kingdom, with Taven, Bennett, and Kanellis joining Adam Cole and Wardlow after the whole 'Devil' storyline that culminated at AEW Worlds End 2023. That group would remain together until April 2025, with Cole breaking away to form the Paragon with Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong.

Matt Taven's final AEW match was a November 2024 Rampage win, teaming with Mike Bennett to defeat the Dark Order and the Infantry, and he and Bennett would spend 2025 wrestling exclusively in ROH, although they only had six matches during that time, the last of which was in October, teaming with Matt Menard in a loss to SkyFlight.

Having already been semi-active on the independent scene in recent years, Taven has continued to work independent dates since leaving AEW/ROH.

As for the rest of the Kingdom, Maria Kanellis finished up with AEW at the expiration of her contract in January 2025, while Maria's husband and Taven's long-time partner Mike Bennett remains under contract with All Elite.

Alex Abrahantes

The one-time hype man of the Lucha Bros., Alex Abrahantes is another whose time with AEW came to an end in January.

What people might not be aware of is that Alex had his own short in-ring career in the second half of the '90s, even being trained at the legendary Hart Dungeon. By the early 2000s, at just 23 years of age, he landed a spot on the WWE creative team, working with top stars like Steve Austin and the Undertaker. He'd also have a spell working behind the scenes in TNA, too.

Skip ahead to AEW's launch in 2019, and Alex Abrahantes was brought in as a host and to do commentary with the Spanish broadcast team. 2021 would see him start to manage Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix, then Pac as part of Death Triangle, and Alex would later serve as the manager of El Hijo del Vikingo and Komander at points.

Thank you to everyone’s who’s reached out. I truly appreciate all your support. pic.twitter.com/jNsO4HNwnn

— Alex Abrahantes (@TheHypeManAlex) January 6, 2026

While he's yet to resurface in the wrestling world, Alex continues to be busy with his work for QVC and with his musical ventures.

Powerhouse Hobbs

While a certain Very Nice, Very Evil star has made the biggest impression so far of the names to have left AEW in 2026, the biggest name to have departed All Elite this year is easily Powerhouse Hobbs.

During his five-plus years with AEW, Hobbs went from AEW Dark enhancement talent to a member of various factions, to an AEW TNT Champion, to an AEW Trios Champion, and battled a who's who of the top stars in the promotion's history, from CM Punk to Jon Moxley, to Sting, to Kenny Omega, to Bryan Danielson, to Swerve Strickland, to Chris Jericho, to Adam Page, to Darby Allin, and plenty, plenty more.

With his AEW contract up at the start of 2026, though, and while still one-third of the AEW Trios Champions, reports emerged that Hobbs was looking to try his luck away from AEW, with there said to be firm interest in him from WWE.

That "firm interest" would see Powerhouse Hobbs make his WWE debut at Royal Rumble 2026, repackaged as Royce Keys.

While Royce has worked a handful of dark matches in the time since the Rumble, he's yet to appear on WWE programming, bar clips being shown from his appearance on Stephanie McMahon's What's Your Story? podcast.

Trey Miguel

Trey Miguel's time with AEW was one of the most bizarre 'runs' in the company's history.

January brought word that all four Rascalz - Trey Miguel, Zachary Wentz, Dezmond Xavier, and Myron Reed - had decided to depart TNA and had signed with AEW. But when the Rascalz showed up on AEW TV shortly after that news broke, Miguel was conspicuous by his absence, and fans instead got to see only the other three members of the group.

It soon became apparent that just as soon as he'd been signed by AEW, Trey had just as soon been released, with that decision reported to have come from above Tony Khan's head, seemingly from somebody at Warner Bros. Discovery. 2020 homophobic social media comments of Miguel's - for which he'd immediately apologised - were viewed as the reason for this release, though it was said that certain AEW talents were left frustrated by this decision and what was perceived as a double standard.

A former two-time X Division Champion, Trey Miguel made his shock return to TNA barely one week after the Rascalz' AEW signing had been announced.

Danhausen

For long-time Danhausen fans, it's great to see him getting the opportunity to bring his Very Nice, Very Evil antics to international TV on a weekly - or often twice-weekly - basis. Likewise, it's great for those people to see new fans get introduced to the unique quirks of Danhausen.

After debuting in AEW in early 2022, Danhausen would spend four years with Tony Khan's promotion, though it was an extremely stop-start run for the hugely charismatic star; partly through injury, partly through creative decisions. In fact, Danhausen had requested his AEW release last August, only for time to be added onto his existing deal due to a spell on the sidelines with a torn pec.

To sum up Danhausen's four years being #AllElite, he wrestled just 24 AEW matches during that time, the last of which was on the pre-show for December 2023's Worlds End PPV; he'd wrestle just one match in ROH, which was in February 2024; and his final appearance of any sort under the Khan banner was an extremely random one-off one at ROH Final Battle in December 2024, which led to absolutely nothing.

Despite the somewhat mixed reaction to his WWE debut at Elimination Chamber this past February, Danhausen has already become one of the most popular acts in all of WWE, complete with regularly topping the company's merchandise numbers.

Love that Danhausen.

Lady Frost

Lady Frost is undoubtedly an extremely talented in-ring worker, but, unfortunately for Frost, she got a little lost in the shuffle during her time under contract with AEW.

Having started on the independent scene in 2018 - including serving as an enhancement talent against Asuka in WWE that year - Lady Frost would make her AEW debut in 2020, working a couple of dark matches. Spells in the NWA, TNA, and CMLL would follow, before returning to the AEW/ROH fold in early 2023 and formally becoming #AllElite.

Frost is another case of Tony Khan simply opting not to renew a talent, and her AEW deal expired at midnight on March 31st. Her final AEW outing was a loss to Mina Shirakawa on a January 2026 episode of Collision, and her final ROH appearance was back in July 2025, where she lost to Diamante.