Further details emerge on Sheamus’ WWE contract status, potential AEW interest

News broke on Sunday that Sheamus was preparing to leave WWE after nearly 20 years with the company and on Monday, more is being learned about the details of his contract, when his departure might be official, and whether AEW is interested in bringing him in.

Joel Pearl and Jeremy Lambert of Fightful discussed the situation on their In The Weeds YouTube show.

“It should be reiterated that Sheamus turned down a contract extension and he was not released,” Pearl said. “Once he’s done, he is out. There will be no 90-day (non-compete). There will just be Stephen Farrelly — professional wrestler, workout artist — doing whatever he wants once that contract ends, which we do not specifically know the date of expiration. He has been moved to the WWE alumni section. That happened (Sunday).”

The pair then talked about WWE trying to restructure Sheamus’ deal recently.

“He swiftly rejected WWE when he was approached about a restructured contract while he was out with injury,” Pearl said. “And we’re told that the WWE contract was set to expire within months of that happening anyway or there wasn’t a purpose for an imminent release or waiting out the 90 days.”

They also noted that something had changed in Sheamus’ status because his original deal was not supposed to expire until 2029.

“It said he signed a five-year deal in 2024,” said Lambert, researching the last time Sheamus signed a contract. “Which, obviously, that’s still only two years.”

Later in the day, Fightful reported that friend and former tag team partner Claudio Castagnoli is expected to be one of many to push for his signing with AEW.