AEW President Tony Khan may have his eye on a former WWE ID talent. Twenty-two-year-old independent performer Zayda Steel recently opted out of her WWE ID contract last month to pursue other career opportunities.
According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, there is interest within AEW regarding Steel, although no contract has been formally offered as of now. “We’re told that contact was made sometime in October between AEW and Steel, but that she wasn’t signed as of then, and hadn’t been as of this past week,” Ross Sapp reported.
### Zayda Steel’s Contract Status
The report further clarified Steel’s current free-agent status, noting that WWE’s matching rights clause no longer applies to her. “Under the terms of WWE ID’s deals, WWE has matching rights if any company wants to sign the ID contracted talent. However, Steel is no longer under that deal, so that wouldn’t apply.”
Steel was announced as one of the first signings to the WWE ID program in the fall of 2024. During her contract, she worked nine matches for EVOLVE and also competed in WWE ID-affiliated matches in GCW and APAC.
### Recent Activity and Future Plans
Although Steel has yet to make an appearance for AEW, her last notable match took place on October 10, when she faced Indi Hartwell for the House of Glory Women’s Title at the HOG With Glory Comes Pride 2025 event. Hartwell successfully defended her title that night.
While interest from AEW is still developing, Steel remains active on the independent wrestling scene. Her next major announced match is scheduled for November 22, 2025, where she is set to face Maki Itoh at GCW’s “Dream On 2025” event.
https://wrestlingnews.co/wwe-news/report-aew-showing-interest-former-wwe-talent/