Steph De Lander is technically still a free agent. The way she just talked about it, though, might not be the case for much longer.
Following her appearances on ROH television and ahead of her upcoming match against Deonna Purrazzo for the ROH Women’s Pure Championship at this Friday’s ROH Death Before Dishonor, De Lander spoke with Sean Ross Sapp and was directly asked the obvious question: has she signed somewhere, or is she still available? For now, the answer is free agent.
“Right now I am still a free agent.”
Then De Lander immediately made things considerably more interesting.
“I think that’ll change pretty soon, you know.”
That certainly sounds like something could be coming. De Lander apparently realized the same thing because she quickly caught herself before saying anything that could be interpreted as an announcement.
“So, I don’t—I don’t even want to say that. Yeah. Right now, free agency. I’m not going to speak on behalf of anyone else.”
So no, De Lander did not announce that she has signed with ROH or AEW. She didn’t even confirm that contract negotiations are taking place. But saying she thinks her free-agent status will “change pretty soon” before immediately pulling herself back is naturally going to raise some eyebrows.
There’s another reason the timing stands out. De Lander has recently been appearing on ROH television and now has another match coming up for the promotion, so she isn’t exactly sitting around wondering where her next opportunity will come from. In fact, she made it clear she’s pretty happy with where things are going.
“I’m really enjoying what I’m doing and where I’m at. It’s not like I’m out here clawing for the next opportunity. You know, I am in a great opportunity. Uh, so I’m going to rock with that, you know, for where I’m at and see where that leads me.”
Still, De Lander wasn’t going to let herself accidentally announce anything. When it came time to put an actual label on her status, she went right back to the safest answer.
“But yeah, for technicality purposes right now, still a free agent.”
The “for technicality purposes” part probably isn’t going to quiet the speculation either. De Lander remains unsigned right now, and she carefully avoided attaching herself contractually to ROH, AEW or anyone else. But between her current ROH run and that little “change pretty soon” tease, her free agency suddenly sounds like something worth keeping an eye on.
Do you think Steph De Lander is heading toward an ROH or AEW deal, or could she have something completely different lined up? Let us know in the comments.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
