AEW, NJPW or Other? Predicting Where Recently Cut WWE Stars Will Land

WWE cut an astonishing number of on-air talent on Wednesday and sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling world, with some of the releases coming as more of a surprise than others.

As of this writing, no one is confirmed to be brought back when the coronavirus pandemic starts to slow down, although that is possible. If the former WWE Superstars remain released, they are free to go wherever they wish after 90 days, per PWInsider.

The company's cost-cutting measure led to many fans speculating where these names pop up next. Of course, it's important to note that it may be a while before anyone is able to sign anywhere due to the current climate.

In time, though, wrestling's free agency will be booming again with all of the existing promotions having a ton of talent to choose from. Between All Elite Wrestling, Ring of Honor, Impact, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance, there are plenty of options for the released wrestlers to choose from.

Not everyone who was cut will be an obvious pickup. Kurt Angle can lend a lot to any company in a backstage role (assuming WWE doesn't immediately rehire him), but his days in the ring are in the past and he probably won't be the first free agent signed anywhere.

Erick Rowan, Sarah Logan, Eric Young and No Way Jose are also skilled, but there isn't one obvious landing spot for any of them. The more notable names from this week's round of releases, on the other hand, are bound to flourish outside of WWE and will be valuable assets to any company fortunate to have them.

Sadly, The O.C. is no more, but that doesn't mean The Good Brothers can't make an impact elsewhere without AJ Styles by their side.

As members of Bullet Club, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows earned a reputation for being one of the best tag teams in the world during their successful stint in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. While there, they racked up three reigns as IWGP tag team champions and later made the move to WWE with Styles.

WWE never quite figured how to book Anderson and Gallows for the four years they were under contract to the company, though. They held the Raw tag team titles twice and shined whenever they were associated with Styles, but the duo didn't feel special beyond the first few months of their main roster run.

If nothing else, they went out on top following their part in the Boneyard match between Styles and The Undertaker on Night 1 of WrestleMania 36.

However, they wasted no time in hinting at their next move on Thursday when Anderson tweeted a video indicating that his "Machine Gun" persona is back. Japan was where he made a name for himself, so if he and Gallows are willing to put up with the travel, they'd be welcomed back with open arms.

Although they have a history with The Young Bucks and it would be logical for them to join AEW, there's a good chance they'll get lost in the shuffle there.

The promotion already has a ton of teams, and with The Revival already strongly linked with a move, Anderson and Gallows should wait a while and return to NJPW in the meantime.

It was only a matter of time before WWE scooped up Lio Rush following the electric start to his pro wrestling career at the age of 20.

Sure enough, he was signed to a developmental deal in August 2017 after a short stint in Ring of Honor. Between having a run on Raw as Bobby Lashley's manager and winning the NXT Cruiserweight Championship late last year, his WWE tenure was fairly successful.

He has a lot left to offer, and at 25, he has his whole career ahead of him.

Rush's departure will be a blow to the cruiserweight division, but he could bounce back quickly if he decides to take his talents to AEW. It has competitors with a wide variety of styles on its roster and The Man of the Hour would have no issue fitting in.

His exceptional abilities between the ropes speak for themselves, and he has developed some strong mic skills to boot. There isn't much he can't do, and with a new midcard title emerging in AEW, that would be a prime position for him to be in.

Rush can hang with the best of them and has barely scratched the surface of what he can do in wrestling. The matches he could have with Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin, Lance Archer and others could be something special.

Mike and Maria Kanellis are the among the few people released this week who had worked for almost every major wrestling promotion prior to signing with WWE in 2017.

Maria previously competed for WWE in the mid-to-late 2000s, but upon returning alongside her husband, she had grown as a performer.

As for Mike, he had an excellent run in Impact as "The Miracle" and appeared to be primed for similar success in WWE after bypassing NXT entirely.

Unfortunately, their love-themed gimmick was dead on arrival and caused him to be written off by fans almost immediately.

To their credit, the couple made the most of everything they were a part of in WWE, including their strange storyline during their Raw run last summer. Mike said in a statement on Twitter in October, when he publicly requested his release, that he just wanted to wrestle and one day per week wasn't enough for him.

At this point, returning to Ring of Honor might be his best bet.

He and Matt Taven were superb as The Kingdom before Mike and Maria left ROH in 2015. Considering Taven has also reinvented himself in recent years, it would be fun for them to either reunite or feud over how Mike ditched him all those years ago.

Another run in Impact is an option as well, seeing as how that was where he came closest to becoming a world champion in 2016.

A majority of WWE fans likely aren't aware of just how skilled Deonna Purrazzo is, as she was only ever utilized in an enhancement role during her year-and-a-half stint with NXT.

After ripping it up in Ring of Honor and on the independent scene, she signed a developmental deal with WWE in the spring of 2018. She took part in the second Mae Young Classic soon after and had a chance to prove herself as one of the best women's wrestlers around.

Despite getting off to a hot start in NXT that summer, she fell by the wayside and was rarely used in a meaningful manner. She has made a handful of appearances in recent months on WWE programming but always in a losing effort.

The black-and-gold brand could have done more with Purrazzo, but their loss should be Impact's gain. She's competed for the company on four different occasions since 2014 and would be a fantastic fit for their stacked Knockouts division.

Impact has a wealth of women's talent between Tessa Blanchard, Tenille Dashwood, Taya Valkyrie, Madison Rayne, Kiera Hogan and others. There, Purrazzo could be given the spotlight she never got in WWE and show the world what it missed out on.

Zack Ryder did everything imaginable to get over and stay over with the audience throughout his lengthy WWE tenure, and to his credit, he had his fair share of memorable moments on the main roster.

His Z! True Long Island Story show caught fire on YouTube in 2011 and earned him a brief run with the United States Championship soon after, in addition to an Intercontinental Championship victory at WrestleMania five years later.

His latest accomplishment came at WrestleMania 35 when he and Curt Hawkins won the Raw Tag Team Championship. Once their reign was over, the writing seemed to be on the wall for both men, and they haven't been regulars on Raw in almost a year.

Cody Rhodes' heartfelt Instagram post about Ryder on Thursday sparked speculation that the Long Island native could soon be bound for AEW. After all, Rhodes raved about Shawn Spears following his WWE release last year and he wound up in the promotion within months.

If Ryder does soon sign with AEW, it would be best for him to fly solo and not continue teaming with Hawkins. They're a terrific tandem, but the only way Ryder is going to be taken seriously again is if he goes it alone.

While not world champion material, there's no reason why he can't at least be positioned at the midcard level and be given a chance to let loose without being intentionally held back. It's worth a shot to see if WWE has been missing the boat on him this whole time.

It had long been rumored Rusev was eyeing an exit from WWE after not coming to terms on a new deal earlier this year, so while the timing wasn't ideal, his departure won't be much of a surprise to fans.

However, that doesn't excuse the company for constantly halting his momentum over the years and preventing him from reaching that next level.

Rusev suffered his first defeat on the main roster at WrestleMania 31 against John Cena after going unbeaten for a full year. He could have faded into obscurity after that, but he instead found ways to reinvent himself.

Despite his "Rusev Day" shtick getting over to a great degree, WWE refused to use him in anything other than a midcard role. He had multiple reigns as United States champion, but the company never saw him for the star he was.

As a five-tool player, he can go anywhere in wrestling and likely be successful. Seeing him mix it up with the heavyweights in New Japan Pro-Wrestling would be a blast and he'd be beloved by the audience in AEW, but the best possible place for him just might be the NWA.

The promotion isn't running any shows due to the pandemic, but it should be Rusev's first stop when it's up and running once more. Wrestling has never been his strong suit as much as his character work has, so he'd thrive in that environment and stand out in the same way Aron Stevens (previously Damien Sandow) has.

He could also bring Aiden English with him and reform their Rusev Day tag team.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment among this round of WWE releases is EC3, who was never given an opportunity to show what he was capable of on the main roster.

He came into NXT at the onset of 2018 and was called up to the main roster out of nowhere less than a year later. It was clear WWE Creative had no plans for him, though, which left him floundering for his entire run on Raw.

He was reportedly on the sidelines with a concussion before being released from his contract on Wednesday.

EC3 was let go by WWE once before in 2013, and it was then that he went on to do the best work of his career in Impact. That was also where Drake Maverick cut his teeth before joining WWE two years ago.

The two of them were criminally underutilized under the WWE banner and should have had the chance to work alongside each other at least for a little while. Wherever they decide to go next, it should be as a unit.

As cool as it would be to see the duo return to their roots, AEW would be a better landing spot given their potential. EC3 accomplished all he could in Impact, and if he and Maverick were to sign with AEW, they could make major waves and be showcased for the stars they are.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.