WWE Rumors: Luke Harper Was Set to Feud with Sami Zayn Before Requesting Release

WWE intended to pit Luke Harper against Sami Zayn before Harper asked for his release from the company, according to Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer (via Wrestling Inc's Marc Middleton).

The specifics of the feud were unknown and the program has been scrapped altogether.

Harper had wrist surgery last October, which left him on the shelf for an extended period of time. He returned to the ring during WrestleMania weekend, defeating Dominik Dijakovic at Worlds Collide. He also participated in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35.

On April 16, Harper posted a statement on Twitter saying he had requested to be released from his WWE contract:

Rather than terminating his deal, though, WWE triggered a six-month extension, adding the time he missed due to injury, per Meltzer (via Middleton). Unless the company allows him to leave earlier, Harper will be with WWE until around WrestleMania 36 in April 2020.

It would appear WWE is content to pay Harper and let him stay at home rather than risk seeing him join All Elite Wrestling or another independent promotion. This isn't unprecedented, as Neville didn't wrestle for a little over a year while in a protracted contract standoff with WWE.