

All year, there have been rumors of Ring of Honor stars defecting to WWE after their contracts were up. WWE whiffed on Dalton Castle, who opted to re-sign with ROH, but there are still a whole bunch of free agents out there who haven’t signed just yet, but it appears to be a matter of time. Most notable, of course, is Adam Cole (baybay), but there have also been rumblings of WWE being interested in Kyle O’Reilly, Donovan Dijak, War Machine, and more.

It appears the first of perhaps many free agents has signed with WWE, and it’s a pretty incredible story. Lio Rush, the 22-year-old who once called WWE headquarters to ask how someone can start being a wrestler, is reportedly on his way to NXT (pending a physical), according to Wrestling Observer Radio.

Dave Meltzer noted that Lio Rush’s goal has always been WWE since day one — and let us take a moment to note that “day one” for Lio Rush’s pro wrestling career was in November of 2014 — and that he turned down “several” offers from other companies to remain open for a WWE contract.



Rush has accomplished a hell of a lot in under three years as a wrestler, including winning ROH’s Top Prospect Tournament in 2016, and becoming CZW World Heavyweight Champion. He’s been everyone on the indies, including PWG, Evolve, and House of Glory. And now it looks like he’s going to WWE. JUST AS PLANNED.

If you’re not too familiar with Rush, check out his CZW title defense against Davey Richards at DEFY Wrestling.