5 WWE Superstars who have reportedly signed new deals in 2021

Several WWE Superstars, like Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole, have left the company this year after their contracts expired. Although WWE offered them new contracts, they refused to sign them. Instead, they joined other promotions, including WWE's rival, All Elite Wrestling.

Meanwhile, a few other WWE Superstars took a different path, preferring to stay in WWE, having signed new deals with Vince McMahon's company. These wrestlers will now remain on the WWE roster for several more years.

Here are five WWE Superstars who have reportedly signed new deals in 2021:

---

#5. WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio

Rey Mysterio first joined WWE in June 2002 after competing for several years in different promotions, including ECW and WCW.

The 47-year-old spent nearly 13 years in the company before leaving in 2015 after his contract expired. Nonetheless, the former World Heavyweight Champion returned to WWE in 2018 and has remained on the roster ever since.

Last February, the Master of the 619 announced that he had signed a new deal with WWE, extending his stay in the company:

"We never made the signing of my new deal public, but there is definitely going to be more time to see Rey Mysterio in WWE. I’m going to keep wrestling, at least until Father Time catches up and says, 'It’s time to go,'" he said in an interview with Sports Illustrated.

Mysterio did not reveal the terms of his new WWE contract. However, he stated that having the opportunity to work alongside his son was one of the reasons he decided to stay in WWE:

"I am so happy to see my son Dominik doing so well, and it means so much to me to be with him in WWE," Mysterio added.

Mysterio and his son, Dominik, started teaming up earlier this year. They went on to defeat Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode at WrestleMania Backlash to capture the SmackDown Tag Team Titles.

In doing so, the Mysterios became the first-ever father-son tag team champions in WWE history. They would then go on to lose their titles to The Usos at Money in the Bank.

The Mysterios recently moved from SmackDown to RAW in the 2021 WWE Draft. They defeated Chad Gable and Otis on the December 6 episode of the Red Brand.

#4. WWE RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch signed her first contract with WWE in 2013 and made her main roster debut two years later. Since then, the 34-year-old has become one of the most accomplished female superstars on the current WWE roster. She has also become one of the most popular in the history of the company.

However, Lynch had to relinquish her RAW Women's Title in May 2020 as she announced her pregnancy. She spent 15 months away from the ring before returning to WWE at SummerSlam last September to defeat Bianca Belair in 27 seconds and capture the SmackDown Women's Championship. Lynch later exchanged titles with RAW Women's Champion Charlotte Flair as both switched brands in the 2021 WWE Draft.

Before returning from her hiatus, Big Time Becks reportedly signed a new deal with WWE. Nearly a year before these reports came to light, Lynch spoke about her negotiations with WWE for a new contract:

"I should be making more in that whole company, everybody — Vince McMahon included. I want to change the game. I want to prove that it doesn’t matter your gender, your race, your background, if you are doing the job and keeping people invested, if you are keeping people interested, then you deserve to be paid at a level higher than anybody else. Or as high as anybody else. As high as the best of them. I look around the arenas and the majority of the people are in my shirts. The majority of people hold signs for me, so pay me as such and that will be the way it will be," she told Newsweek.

According to the reports, the current RAW Women's Champion's new contract is worth more than a million dollars a year. Nonetheless, other sources have reported that Lynch's current annual salary is 3.1 million dollars. She is now the highest-paid female wrestler in WWE.

#3. WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler

WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler first joined Vince McMahon's company in 1992. After spending a few years as an in-ring competitor, he later became a color commentator.

Although Lawler spent many years as a full-time color commentator, he has become a part-timer in the past few years. Since 2016, the WWE Hall of Famer has made several appearances on pre-show panels. He also returned to the commentary table for special occasions and pay-per-views.

The 72-year-old's WWE contract would have expired by the end of this year. Nonetheless, he reportedly signed a new deal with the company earlier this month. There has been no word so far on the details of Lawler's new contract. However, it seems that he will extend his stay in WWE for a few more years.

The WWE Hall of Famer recently returned to Monday Night RAW. He appeared in a backstage segment alongside Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. on the December 6 episode of Red Brand.

Lawler signed an autograph for a fan before offering to do the same for Nikki A.S.H to cheer her up after her loss against Queen Zelina. However, the former Women's Tag Team Champion refused and left.

#2. WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Queen Zelina

Queen Zelina signed her first-ever WWE contract four years ago. She then spent nearly three years playing the part of Andrade's manager on NXT and then on the main roster. However, the 30-year-old left the company in November 2020 when WWE released her from her contract.

Zelina spent nearly eight months away from the squared circle. During that period, some reports stated that she had signed a new deal with an unspecified wrestling promotion last March. In July, however, she made her return to WWE.

Following her return, PWInsider's Mike Johnson reported some details regarding Zelina's WWE comeback.

"We are told that even after Vega was released, there were segments of the company who felt she should have been retained and not released. We are told those segments of the company pushed for conversations between the two sides to continue. They eventually did and we are told that after a long period of back and forth conversations, WWE execs apologized to Vega and made her an offer to return. Eventually, she decided to go through that open door and signed back with the company," he wrote.

Queen Zelina has been very successful since her return to WWE. Last October, she defeated Doudrop at Crown Jewel to win the inaugural Queen's Crown tournament. She then joined forces with Carmella to defeat Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. on the November 22 episode of RAW to capture the Women's Tag Team Titles.

#1. WWE Superstar Samoa Joe

After joining WWE in 2015, Samoa Joe quickly became one of the top superstars on NXT. The former NXT Champion then made his main roster debut in January 2017. Although he won the United States Championship twice, injuries have forced Joe to stay on the sidelines for over a year between February 2020 and April 2021.

During his time away from the squared circle, Joe became a color commentator. Nonetheless, WWE released him from his contract last April as part of their budget cuts.

In an interview with TalkSport, the former United States Champion disclosed that he received a new contract offer from WWE just a few hours after his release:

"When the release came, it was only a few hours later Hunter [Triple H] came [in] with the new offer ready for me so it was a pretty easy transition. I can’t really sit here and feign that I got released and ‘oh, it was a sombre day.’ I wasn’t down anyway, but then Hunter called and we were good from there so it’s tough for me to begin to address the release because when you read it in a tweet it’s like ‘oh my gosh!’ But the way the actual events transpired for me, it was very mundane and alright, sign here and sign there, we’re good [laughs]. There wasn’t a mourning process in this whole deal," he said.

Joe signed a new deal with WWE last June. He returned to NXT to become William Regal's enforcer. The Samoan Submission Machine also returned to in-ring action and feuded with then-NXT Champion Karrion Kross.

Joe defeated Kross at TakeOver 36 last August to capture the NXT Title. Less than a month later, the 42-year-old had to relinquish his title due to injury.