Luke Harper was unhappy in WWE so he asked for his release from WWE. He made a very public statement about it in the process which might not have been the best plan.
It looks like WWE could be using Harper as an example to warn against asking for a release in such a public manner because at 39-years-old, Harper is now under contract for even longer.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that Harper’s deal will now run up just before WrestleMania 36. It is also said that one could view Harper’s situation as a warning so others don’t take the public route with their release requests.
From an outside perspective, this seems to be a way to dissuade people from going public and saying they’re unhappy.
It was beginning to become a trend that complaining would get you places in WWE. It looks like the company might want to put a stop to that.
WWE hanging onto Harper is a sign that not only do they have the money to do so and not use him, but there could be more to come in the same situation.