Three AEW Talent Potentially Head to WWE NXT as Contracts Expire in Late 2026

Published: 4 minutes ago by Jamie Toolan | Last Updated: 6 hours ago by Jamie Toolan

Jamie has been covering the world of wrestling for four years and currently holds the position of Assistant Editor of WrestleTalk.com. During his time working for WrestleTalk.com he has written and published over 4,000 news and feature articles covering events and happenings from WWE, AEW, TNA and a variety of international and independent wrestling promotions.

WWE/AEW

Of the names that have moved from AEW to WWE over the years, several have first made a stop in NXT before moving onto the main roster. Ethan Page, Blake Monroe and Ricky Saints are the most recent examples, while Lexis King and Shawn Spears are two stars who remain on NXT to this day. The end of 2026 appears set to be a busy period for contract expirations in AEW, so we could soon see even more names make the same move to WWE NXT if they don’t re-sign with Tony Khan’s company. Here are three potential future AEW free agents that could sign with WWE NXT.

Anthony Bowens

Anthony Bowens joined Samoa Joe’s The Opps faction in May 2026.

According to reports, Anthony Bowens’ AEW contract is due to expire in October and there has not been any word on whether the two sides are in negotiations over a new deal. Bowens was once one half of one of AEW’s most popular tag teams in its history: The Acclaimed, but he and tag partner Max Caster struggled to find their feet as singles stars after the team split in late 2024. WWE are said to have “at least some interest” in signing Bowens if he becomes available, and if he does join one would imagine he would be landing in NXT first. While he is in his mid thirties, Bowens has a lot of untapped potential and would make for an excellent addition to Shawn Michaels’ roster.

Dralistico

The real-life brother of WWE’s Dragon Lee, Dralistico, like Lee, reportedly has a contract coming up in the near future. Given that he and Dragon Lee both have expiring deals with their respective companies, there are several scenarios for their futures. Will one of them re-sign with their existing promotion and the other join them? Will they both become free agents and move to an entirely different promotion? Or will they not reunite at all? It’s hard to say at this point in time, but on the surface it seems more likely that Lee would stay in WWE and Dralistico join him. Lee is booked consistently on WWE Raw, while Dralistico has been off TV since June, and when he does feature it is not in a really prominent spot. If WWE did sign Dralistico they could have him follow the same path as his brother by having begin his journey in NXT before moving up to Raw.

Max Caster

Max Caster has yet to wrestle on AEW television in 2026.

Anthony Bowens may not be the only Acclaimed member to depart AEW next month, as Fightful reports that Max Caster’s contract is also up in October. Unlike Bowens, Caster has not been featured on AEW TV all year and has instead been competing on the independent scene throughout the year. This is hardly a positive sign that he’s going to be signing a new deal with AEW, but unlike Bowens, there has not been any word regarding potential WWE interest. With WWE’s tag team division at an all time low they would be wise to bring in both Bowens and Caster as a double act. While Caster would have to tone down the content of some of his raps, The Acclaimed could certainly get over with the WWE NXT crowd at the Performance Center.

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