This Week in Wrestling: Week 40 of 2026

October 9, 2026

Brian Damage

This Week in Wrestling: Week 40 of 2026

The WWE ID program started in 2024 and at first, it sounded like a very good thing for the company. This was basically a program to identify talented independent wrestlers and offer them a pipeline to eventually sign with WWE. Granted, they weren’t signed to an exclusive contract and were allowed to continue to work matches on the indie circuit. It allowed WWE first crack at these wrestlers.

Former Paul Heyman protege and one of the co-founders of Ring of Honor and Evolve, Gabe Sapolsky is heading up this project. He is said to have a keen eye for talent and is looked at highly by both Heyman and Triple H. The ID program has developed future stars in Jackson Drake and the Vanity Project…all of whom hold titles down in NXT. So the ID program isn’t a complete failure.

With that said, just this week Laynie Luck who held the Women’s ID championship for over 300 days and was considered a red hot prospect will not be re-signed by the company. This after Sapolsky raved about her as a future star in the business. Sapolsky said of Luck…”If I was booking an indie the first person I’d call to try to book would be Laynie Luck! True professional in and out of the ring.” Definite high praise…so why didn’t WWE try and secure her with a contract after all that time and energy grooming her?

It was a head scratcher for sure, and it was reported it left many within the company shocked. I have no doubt that Luck will end up with a big promotion soon. Whether it be AEW or TNA…she seems like she has earned that reward. Overall, WWE’s ID program seems very flawed and has yet to really cultivate a big star of the future for WWE. It looks to have more misses than hits. Laynie Luck appeared to be a certain hit and they do not sign her. Odd.

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