Ethan Carter III could be set for a sensational return to WWE at the Royal Rumble after ending his four-year spell with Impact Wrestling.
The 34-year-old, aka EC3, is a two-time world champion and remained one of Impact's biggest success stories throughout a turbulent 2017.
But his acclaimed character was written out of storylines during a TV taping in Florida last week, amid reports his contract was set to expire.
The 6ft 2in superstar took part in Impact's pot luck, Feast of Fired match and grabbed a briefcase, which later revealed he was 'fired'.
It was previously reported that EC3 didn't intend to re-sign with the promotion and had filed documents to trademark his name last month.
WWE officials are said to have been interested in bringing him back to the company in the past, but his future plans remain unclear.
PWInsider.com reported that EC3 was spotted at the WWE Performance Center in Florida, just days after finishing up with Impact.
And now Texan promotion Renegade Wrestling Revolution has announced that EC3 is unable to make its next event - on January 28.
That is of course the date of this year's Royal Rumble event, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
On paper, EC3 certainly has the look, charisma, experience and in-ring ability to be a big smash in WWE second time around.
The former NXT standout, real name Michael Hutter, exited WWE in May 2013 after his mixed run as Derrick Bateman started to flounder.
He joined WWE's developmental division in 2009 and was part of the fourth season of the old NXT format with Daniel Bryan as his mentor.
Source:
" https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/wrestling/ec3-set-sensational-royal-rumble-11882283 "