Four WWE superstars have been released amid speculation they could all sign for the company’s new rival AEW .
Former Intercontinental Champion Luke Harper, real name Jonathan Huber, was one of the misused talents in WWE .
The hugely talented big man was one third of the brilliant Wyatt Family stable alongside Erik Rowan and Bray Wyatt.
The 39-year-old grappler and Rowan, as the Bludgeon Brothers, also held the SmackDown Tag Team Championship.
(Image: © WWE)
But the agile 6ft 5in star first requested his release in April, after returning from injury, yet not being reintroduced onto TV.
The New Yorker returned to attack Roman Reigns and team up with Rowan again at Clash of Champions in September.
That led to an entertaining loss when he tagged with Rowan against Reigns and Daniel Bryan at Hell in a Cell in October.
Fans are now wondering whether Harper will join the likes of ex-WWE stars Cody Rhodes, Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose in AEW.
(Image: © WWE)
The ring veteran would certainly be a shrewd acquisition for the promotion backed by billionaire Fulham FC owner Shahid Khan.
Also on his son Tony Khan’s radar could be tag team pairing the Ascension, Konnor and Viktor, and potentially Sin Cara.
The former NXT Tag Team Champions had not been seen since April, when they lost a Main Event match to Heavy Machinery.
Konnor, 39, real name Ryan Parmeter, was first signed by WWE in 2005, but remained in its developmental divisions until he quit.
(Image: © WWE)
He returned in 2010 and first really made his mark as Conor O’Brian in the fourth season and fifth seasons of the NXT competition show.
Konnor was a founding member of the Ascension stable in the revamped NXT in 2011, alongside Kenneth Cameron, Tito Colon and Raquel Diaz.
Ascension later became a tag team consisting of Parmeter and Viktor, 39, real name Eric Thompson, which led to great early success.
They won the NXT Tag Team Championship and held it for 364 days, the longest reign of any team, before joining the main roster.
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The pair were presented as a massively destructive tag team, but didn’t have the physiques or the push from Vince McMahon to convince fans.
The hype surrounding the pairing and their early promise was ended almost immediately after their call up to Raw in late 2014.
In January 2015 they were infamously destroyed by former wrestlers the nWo, the APA, and the New Age Outlaws. They never recovered.
Cara attended the Combate Americas PPV this weekend, accompanying Alberto el Patron, aka Alberto del Rio, to cageside.
According to PWInsider.com, there is interest in Combate bringing him on board, potentially as an announcer.
Jorge Arias was the second WWE performer to utilise the Sin Cara persona, which WWE owns the rights to.
The company could choose to re-cast the character if they choose, though it has never taken off as WWE hoped.
Arias replaced Luis Ignacio Urive Alvirde, now known as Caristico, after Alvirde was released by WWE in late 2014.
In a brief statement on WWE.com, the company said: “WWE has come to terms on the releases of Jonathan Huber (Luke Harper), Sin Cara and Ryan Parmeter (Konnor) and Eric Thompson (Viktor) of The Ascension.
“WWE wishes them all the best in their future endeavors.”
