Luke Harper asked to be released from his WWE contract back in April, only to have it reportedly extended into 2020. Whenever his contract is up, it looks like Harper is already preparing for a return to the independent scene, as PWInsider reports that he applied for a trademark on his indie ring name, “Brodie Lee.”
Harper has spent most of the time since he asked for his release off WWE TV, aside from briefly reuniting with Erick Rowan in a storyline that started at Clash of the Champions in September and wrestling in a battle royal at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. He was later one of the WWE Superstars to openly take issue with the subsequent travel delays and how they were portrayed by the company.
After a few releases and contract expirations early in 2019 resulted in Jon Moxley, TJP, and Kenta leaving WWE (and all quickly finding employment and varying degrees of success in other companies), Luke Harper was the first in a series of wrestlers to ask for their release not have the request granted. Mike Bennet/Kanellis, Sin Cara, ACH (fka Jordan Myles), and, most recently, Oney Lorcan, have all tried to leave WWE, and with a policy against firing or letting people go reportedly in place, only ACH has been successful so far.
Additionally, members of the Lucha House Party have posted about their upcoming free agency. While some wrestlers are being kept in WWE longer than they’d like, it looks like several are already being proactive about their next career steps after they leave.
