'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What's the story?
As revealed by WrestlingNews.co, Aiden English's in-ring career with the WWE seems to be done, at least for the foreseeable future, as the former NXT Tag Team Champion accepted a booking for a non-WWE autograph signing for the upcoming Legends of the Ring Fanfest event.
It is interesting to note that English is now a 205 Live announcer and in the WWE, announcers are under employee contracts which are unlike the ones offered to active Superstars. This enables the employees to accept non-WWE autograph signing sessions.
In case you didn't know...
English began wrestling in the latter half of 2011 and was quickly signed up to a developmental contract by the WWE in 2012. He was mainly used as an enhancement talent during his early days with the company until he was paired with Simon Gotch.
The Vaudevillians had a fairly successful run in NXT as the duo won the NXT Tag team Championships on one occasion before being called up to the main roster.
English became a singles competitor after Gotch was released from the company in April 2017. His alliance with Rusev and the subsequent Rusev Day shtick became one of the hottest angles of the year until it was killed off by the WWE Creative owing to a host of bad decisions.
Aiden replaced Percy Williams on 205 Live's commentary team in January 2019 and has since been consistent in his new role.
The heart of the matter
The Legends of the Ring Fanfest will take place on June 1st at the Ramada Hotel in New Jersey. English is one of the many names listed to appear at the event which includes appearances from the likes of Ricky Steamboat, Mark Henry, Tye Dillinger, Bill Irwin, Dennis Condrey, Outback Jack, KENTA, Mil Mascaras, Bobby Eaton, John Nord, Maven, Haku, Princess Victoria, and Scott Hall.
As revealed by WrestlingNews.co, announcers in the WWE are categorized as employees and are free to appear at non-WWE autograph sessions.
This potentially means that we may have seen the last of The Artiste competiting inside a WWE ring. There have been no reports that hint towards English being injured, which could be the only logical explanation why WWE is preventing him from wrestling.
Another theory is that, considering WWE's incredibly stacked roster, having English as an announcer is the best way to utilize the man who is noticeably great on the microphone.
What's next?
WWE can always get English back to the ring at any given moment, but as of the near future, that is unlikely to happen. Could this lead to The Man of Sophistication's WWE departure, or will he be content in his new-found designation as an announcer?
Only time will tell. Nonetheless, it is infuriating to even think about WWE ending Rusev Day! Talk about missed opportunities.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
