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What the story?
Back in the summer, reports popped up that Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows’ contracts were set to expire in early 2019. According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider Elite, that’s actually not the case.
In case you didn’t know…
Back in 2016, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows made their debut on RAW by attacking the USOs. Gallows has had a previous stint in WWE as he first made his debut as Imposter Kane, but the storyline ended when the original Kane attacked the imposter and revealed that it was Andrew Hankinson (his real name).
Hankinson was eventually repackaged in a tag team as Festus, a character that was mentally challenged and unresponsive. However, once the bell rang, he was an unstoppable monster. The stint lasted for two years before they dissolved due to the draft.
He was once again repackaged as Luke Gallows in the Straight Edge Society, with CM Punk and Serena Deeb, but the faction only lasted for a year before disbanding.
Gallows was eventually released and wrestled on the independent scene. Anderson and Gallows formed a tag team through their alliance of the Bullet Club and managed to capture the IWGP Tag Team championship three times before making the jump to WWE in 2016.
The heart of the matter
Wrestler Observer Radio reported back in July that AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson’s contracts would be up early next year. It was also noted that New Japan Pro Wrestling has “absolute interest” in all four men returning to the promotion.
Wrestlezone put up a quote from the PWInsider Elite audio show, with Mike Johnson revealing that Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson’s contracts don’t end until fall of 2019:
“There’s been a lot of talk about Gallows and Anderson. There’s been some speculation on them but I’m told that their deals aren’t up until the fall of 2019.”
What’s next?
There’s no word on what the mindset of Gallows and Anderson is in terms of the WWE. The tag team is barely used on television these days; however, it’s possible that the former RAW Tag Team champions are currently happy with their positions and decide to stay with WWE beyond 2019.
