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What the story?
Back in early November, reports surfaced that top independent star Shane Strickland would be signing with WWE and that he would be one of the new recruits at the Performance Center in January; however according to PWInsider, Strickland may not be going into the company as soon as many thought.
In Case You Didn’t Know…
Strickland became a hot commodity in professional wrestling in 2018. Strickland made his pro debut back in 2009. His first wrestling notoriety was back in 2012 when he made his debut for Combat Zone Wrestling, where Strickland won the CZW World Heavyweight Championship once and the CZW Wired TV Championship twice.
Strickland then made his debut for Lucha Underground as Lt. Jermaine Strickland, a military veteran who wrestled under a mask as Killshot. Strickland was on board for the entire four seasons of LU and managed to capture the Lucha Underground Trios Championship twice. Strickland’s character was written off of LU this past season as he lost a mask vs. mask match to Son of Havoc and was finally given permission to be relieved of duty by Dante Fox.
Strickland is currently a main stay in Major League Wrestling where he’s a former MLW World Heavyweight champion. He’s also worked for promotions such as EVOLVE and Lucha Libre Worldwide AAA.
The heart of the matter
Back in August, Dave Meltzer first reported on WWE’s interest in the MLW star. In November, it was believed that Strickland would be finishing up with MLW to sign with WWE and report to the Performance Center in January.
According to PWInsider, that signing may occur later due to contractual concern with his Lucha Underground deal. The contract is indeed expected to expire soon but sources claim that there’s an issue with the contract that needs to be resolved and until it is, Strickland won't be able to officially sign with WWE and start working for them.
What’s Next?
Strickland is expected to continue to work for Major League Wrestling but next week’s tapings in Miami may not be his final dates for the promotion due to the hold-up with his WWE signing.
MLW officials have been planning for Strickland’s exit since September and as of now, his last scheduled MLW tapings is in Philadelphia on February 3.
