A lot of folks in the wrestling business have July 15 circled on their calendars

Back on April 15, WWE announced a wave of talent releases as part of their profit-ensuring coronavirus budget cuts.

When the company ends a contract prior to the termination date specified at signing, a 90 day non-compete clause kicks in. This upcoming Wednesday is July 15, three months since the April releases.

That means the following names are just a day away from being free to sign with AEW, Impact, New Japan, ROH, MLW, AAA, CMLL, or any other wrestling company out there.

• Kurt Angle
• Curt Hawkins (Brian Myers)
• Karl Anderson (Chad Allegra)
• Luke Gallows (Drew Hankinson)
• Heath Slater (Heath Miller)
• Eric Young (Jeremy Fritz)
• Rowan (Joseph Ruud)
• Sarah Logan (Sarah Rowe)
• Mike Chioda
• EC3 (Michael Hutter)
• Aiden English (Matthew Rehwoldt)
• Lio Rush (Lionel Green)
• Primo (Edwin Colon)
• Epico (Orlando Colon Nieves)
• Mike Kanellis (Mike Bennett)
• Maria Kanellis
• Zack Ryder (Matthew Cardona)
• No Way Jose (Levis Valenzuela)
• Rusev (Miroslav Barnyashev)

Cain Velasquez was also released, but the former UFC champ’s contract may have been structured differently. Curtis Axel (Joe Hennig) was released on April 30, so he has a couple more weeks until he’s a full free agent.

The challenge for these performers of course is that outside of AEW and Impact, no one else is running shows in the United States. New Japan has restarted, but travel from the U.S. is difficult or impossible right now due to this country’s failure to control the spread of COVID-19.

Impact has reportedly already signed Gallows & Anderson, and is teasing a bevy of appearances for their Slammiversary PPV this weekend.

Wishing the best to everyone, and excited to see where they land. We’ll keep you updated.