After being released by the WWE in June due to a “policy violation” and then being Kayfabe killed off of NXT television in a move that would make Lucha Underground blush, the man formerly known as Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan is headed back to the independent wrestling scene, where he previously performed as Cole Karter.

His first stop on that road? The AEW Dark tapings in Orlando.

Now, for those out of the know, this isn't an example of Tony Khan swooping in to steal a talent away from WWE/NXT, at least not really – Karter has actually wrestled nine of his 65 professional wrestling matches in an AEW ring dating back to a Dark match with Lance Archer in April of 2021 and even wrestled on AEW Dynamite once as enhancement talent to put over Anthony Ogogo in the leadup to his feud with Cody Rhodes, but still, seeing the “Dime-d one” back in action so early after his release is sort of surprising, even if it's technically been over 30 days since his release, which is typically the length of an NXT non-compete.

So what's next for Karter? Well, according to The Wrestling Observer, he did win his match versus Mike Orlando in a Dark match that will air at some point in the future, but as per the time of publishing, there's no clear indication that he's signed with the promotion full-time. No, it would appear Karter will return to the indies, where he already has a match booked at IWC in Pennsylvania, where he was the promotion's champion before leaving for WWE until his next opportunity presents itself, which, all things considered, isn't too shabby.