5 WWE Superstars who may not sign a new contract

Disclaimer: The views of the author do not necessarily reflect those of Sportskeeda.

WWE is currently going through a period of transition as new megastars are being built and old ones are slowly fading into the background. The company has released quite a few Superstars over the last few months, mostly due to the financial hit that they have taken due to the coronavirus pandemic, but also because many Superstars were unused.

We could see more Superstars leave the company in the months to come, while some big Superstars may not want to renew their contract due to their current standing in WWE, or to call time on their career.

Here, let's take a look at five big WWE Superstars who may not sign a new contract:

#5 Sami Zayn

Cesaro, Sami Zayn, and Shinsuke Nakamura

Sami Zayn has perhaps not been in the good books of the WWE management and Vince McMahon over the last few months. Although WWE allowed their Superstars to not turn up for shows if they didn't want to during this pandemic, recent reports have indicated that "there is a lot of unhappiness" that Zayn decided to take up the option of not showing up for WWE television. Here's what Dave Meltzer said:

Even though nobody can say it publicly for obvious reasons, there is a lot of unhappiness that Zayn exercised the option that they gave everyone regarding not wrestling if you don’t want to right now.

Another report stated that WWE's decision to strip Zayn of the Intercontinental title was to "send a message" to other Superstars in the company.

This, coupled with him not being pushed enough on WWE television could force him to leave the company once his contract expires in Fall 2021. Zayn is a Superstar who is good on the mic and in the ring, but there has been talk about Zayn being "too headstrong and not patient enough", which could have rubbed people the wrong way, and could result in his ultimate exit from the company.

#4 AJ Styles

One Superstar who is certain to leave WWE, or at least stop wrestling after the end of his current contract, is AJ Styles. Styles, who signed a new deal with the company last year, revealed that he will call time on his career after his current deal ends.

“I had no doubt that you know this is what I was going to do for my career. It really was. And you couldn’t have told me any different. And I can tell you that the contract that I signed, here in the WWE, is my last. This is it for me. This is where I’m going to end my career no matter what happens. I got to, you know? I want to be there for my kids.”

Some reports have suggested that he is on a five-year contract, which means that it will expire in 2024, while others have reported a three-year deal, which will expire in 2022. Styles has been a fantastic addition to WWE since signing for the company in 2016.

#3 Ronda Rousey

Many fans wanted to see Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch go one-on-one in a match but that seems like it won't happen anytime soon. The latter is pregnant and won't step into the ring for a while. This, coupled with Rousey's desire to have kids of her own, could potentially rule out the dream match between the two former RAW Women's Champions.

Rousey has not wrestled since WrestleMania 35 where she faced Lynch and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match. The former UFC Champion has courted controversy over the last few months, openly criticizing WWE fans, the business, as well as WWE Superstars, some of whom feel that an apology is required from Rousey.

Rousey's contract is set to expire next year but with the Becky Lynch match unlikely to take place in the near future, and the former RAW Women's Champion's desire to start her own family, it will be a big surprise if she signs a new deal with WWE.

Perhaps she may return somewhere down the line, once Lynch returns to the company to have that dream match in WWE. The two could perhaps clash at WrestleMania in the future.

#2 Rey Mysterio

Rey Mysterio returned to WWE in 2018 and one of the things he wanted to do before retiring or leaving the company was to be in the ring with his son, Dominick. Mysterio's contract is set to expire later this year, and Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue recently revealed that the WWE legend could leave or retire when his contract does expire.

His son, Dominick, has been training at WWE's Performance Center, but due to not being able to work on his in-ring skills with his trainers, he has been training with Mysterio:

"At the moment, there is a bit of a distance between him (Dominick) and his trainers because of the furlough and the people being released and because of the pandemic as it were, but he has kept training with his father, which is one of the reasons why Rey is taking this time off right now, why he's taken the time to go home so that he can work with Dominick, get him up to speed because it is getting closer because Rey Mysterio leaving the company or retiring is also getting closer. It was only an 18-month contract after all. And he wants to work with Dominick. So Dominick needs to be ready sooner rather than later."

AEW's Cody Rhodes has previously spoken about signing Mysterio for the company, which could perhaps happen if Mysterio does leave WWE.

#1 Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy is still with WWE and he will be for the rest of 2020 as his current WWE contract doesn't expire until next year. He and his brother Matt Hardy returned WWE in 2017 on three-year contracts. While Matt's contract expired earlier this year, Jeff had some time added on to his contract in WWE due to being out of action because of injuries.

There's a possibility that Jeff may join Matt at AEW once his WWE contract expires next year. When asked about the possibility of joining AEW last year, Jeff did not rule out the possibility of joining Tony Khan's promotion.

“We’ll see, man, we’ll see. No time soon, for sure. I’m here for a while, but yeah, I mean, moving forward anything’s possible, so we’ll see.”

Hardy is currently in a controversial storyline where his real-life issues are being played out on TV. Apart from the tag team titles that he won with his brother and a brief run with the United States Championship, Hardy hasn't had too many memorable moments in his three-year stint with WWE. It wouldn't be a surprise at all if the 42-year-old brings an end to his current stint with WWE next year.