WWE and AEW Rumors on Sheamus, New Day, Jack Perry's Contract and New Signings

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

Internal AEW Reaction to Potential Sheamus, New Day Signings

Following their surprising WWE departures, there is some thought that Sheamus and New Day members Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods could be potential options for AEW.

However, there are reportedly some wrestlers in AEW who aren't excited about the prospect of multiple veterans joining the company and potentially taking spots from younger performers.

Speaking this week on Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News) provided some insight into what he has been told regarding the internal reaction to the idea of AEW signing Sheamus and New Day.

"I did talk to a lot of people today in AEW who were like, 'Are we really going to take this guy,'" Alvarez said. "And let me make this abundantly clear, okay? Everybody I talked to, like to a person, was like, 'I really like Sheamus. I really like him.' But the basic gist of it is like, there are so many people under contract, and there are so many people that already can't even get on TV, and we're going to hire another 48-year-old?

"Nobody had anything against Sheamus personally. It was just sort of like, here comes another one, because the New Day is probably coming in, and then Sheamus would be coming in, and that's three more slots that people who have been there for a long time, or who should be on the way up, or who should be younger, you know, they're going to be iced out again. And, you know, people weren't really thrilled about that idea."

Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp reported Sunday that Sheamus' WWE contract was expiring, and he was set to leave the company.

It was later reported by Fightful Select (h/t Neal Flanagan of Post Wrestling) that Sheamus turned down a "restructured extension" with WWE.

That is seemingly similar to what happened between WWE and New Day, as Alvarez (h/t WrestlePurists) reported that Kingston and Woods rejected a pay cut and negotiated their releases from the company instead.

New Day feels like more of an obvious slam dunk to join AEW than Sheamus since they have some obvious dream matches on the table against the likes of The Young Bucks and the team of Adam Copeland and Christian Cage.

However, signing with AEW could allow Sheamus to reunite with Claudio Castagnoli, who was his longtime tag team partner in WWE as The Bar.

Teaming with Claudio would perhaps allay the concerns some AEW wrestlers reportedly have about bringing in another WWE veteran since Sheamus would be tied to the tag team division, but if The Bar reunites and both New Day and The Motor City Machine Guns are signed as well, the AEW tag division could start to get crowded in its own right.

Reported Details on Perry's AEW Contract Situation

AEW star Jack Perry reportedly could be set to become a free agent in the near future.

According to Alvarez (h/t Carrier), Perry has yet to re-sign with AEW, and his current contract is expected to expire "very shortly."

Perry's contractual status has been in the news for weeks, dating back to last month when Alvarez (h/t Aidan Gibbons of Cultaholic.com) reported that Perry and AEW were in negotiations for a new deal.

The 29-year-old Perry is an AEW original, as he was among the promotion's first signings back in 2019.

Initially wrestling under the name Jungle Boy, Perry went on to hold the TNT Championship, National Championship, AEW World Tag Team Championship and FTW Championship one time each.

A backstage altercation with CM Punk at All In 2023 led to Perry being taken off television for several months, but he returned with a new heel persona called "The Scapegoat" and joined The Elite.

Perry had another lengthy absence from late 2024 into 2025 before returning as a babyface at All Out 2025 by attacking The Young Bucks and reuniting with Luchasaurus.

He became the second-ever AEW national champion in March 2026 and dropped it about two months later to Mark Davis.

Even with time ticking down on his contract, Perry has remained active on AEW programming with his last match being a loss to Zack Sabre Jr. on the June 24 episode of Dynamite.

That suggests AEW has interest in re-signing and utilizing him moving forward, but Perry's AEW future reportedly hasn't been finalized yet.

WWE Reportedly Expected to Sign Takahashi, Holliday

WWE is reportedly bringing in some fresh talent in the form of two performers who made a name for themselves elsewhere.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Hiromu Takahashi and Richard Holliday could both be under WWE deals in the near future.

Takahashi's WWE arrival has reportedly long been viewed as inevitable, and WWE reportedly also has interest in Holliday, and it is believed he could be signed soon if he isn't already.

The 36-year-old Takahashi is a longtime New Japan Pro-Wrestling star who has thrived in the company's junior heavyweight division.

Takahashi is a five-time IWGP junior heavyweight champ and he won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament a record four times.

Holliday, 33, has starred for many independent promotions across the United States, and he is best known for his time in MLW from 2018 to 2024.

He held the MLW World Tag Team Championships with current AEW star MJF, and he also held singles titles in notable indies such as Beyond Championship Wrestling, Awesome Championship Wrestling, Reality of Wrestling and the International Wrestling Association.

Both Takahashi and Holliday could be great additions to NXT given the recent exodus of talent from NXT to the main roster.

Since late last year, the NXT men's division saw Oba Femi, Trick Williams, Je'Von Evans, Ricky Saints and Ethan Page all get called up to Raw and SmackDown, leaving a void that Takahashi and Holliday could help fill.