WWE Releases

[Jack-Hammer]

The first round of WWE releases were announced among wrestlers, announcers, producers and referees.

Among the wrestlers so far, WWE has released Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Curt Hawkins, Sarah Logan, Erick Rowan, Primo, Epico, Mike Kanellis, Maria Kanellis, Lio Rush, Drake Maverick, Heath Slater, Eric Young and EC3.

Among producers, Kurt Angle, Gilly Kidman, Mike Rotunda, Pat Buck, Fit Finlay, Shawn Daivari, Sarah Stock, Shane Helms and Scott Armstrong are gone and referee Mike Chioda is also gone.

I'm a little surprised as some of these people have only recently joined the company, some have been with WWE for years and some are talent WWE really worked at in order to sign them or re-sign them with the company.

[EnviousDominous]

WWE seems to be in the position that WCW was in back in the day, attempting to hoard talent so that their competitor can't hire them while not using that talent at all.

They kept EC3 on the payroll for how long!? I thought that Stephanie declared him to be a lost cause years ago.

Now I'm wondering how much cash the WWE is going to throw at AJ to keep him from going to AEW.

[Jack-Hammer]

A few minutes ago, WWE announced the releases of No Way Jose and Zack Ryder. It's surprising to see guys like Slater and Ryder gone considering how long they've been with the company.

[a0161613]

I imagine Cody will be on the phone a lot this week. AEW are going to see some massive improvements in their roster.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Thank goodness AEW is around so most of these wrestlers have an option to sign with another major company.

Heath Slater and Zack Ryder seemed like a WWE lifers. Both great guys to keep around.

Lio Rush was a great manager for Lashley, much better than Lana.

I've always thought Gallows and Anderson were only hired to get AJ.

Erick Rowan and Sarah Logan were good lower mid-carders.

EC3 should be one of the top heels in WWE. I have no idea what he did to get buried so hard.

Is there anyone even left in the undercard? This has been one of the craziest weeks in WWE history, and we still have 2 1/2 more days.

Edit - They've also cut Rusev?!?! What is going on?!?!

[smarkmouth]

I've been quiet about my distaste for WWE's practices, but this week they've made me sick. Let's recap:

The McMahon's seemingly bribe Florida officials so their entertainment business can be deemed essential services - so they can broadcast live and secure the bag of their TV deals - which can only be done by endangering their staff - many of whom are now being released.

Shame on the lot of them.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

If I'm Heath Slater, I'm hitting the gym everyday to prepare for my WWE Championship run in 2026.

[Y 2 Jake]

If I was AEW I'd pass on an awful lot of them. I like a lot of those guys but I'd go for Rusev and maybe EC3 at a push.

[Alex]

The releases were going to happen eventually. WWE hasn't done any major releases for a while so this is literally all of them at once.

Does it suck that people have lost their jobs, of course but it's not like most of them were/wanted to work given the current climate.

With more wrestling companies around than there has been in a while and the Indy circuit being stronger than ever most of them will be fine when everything goes back to relative normality.

Heck some of them might end up going back to WWE (probably producers) after everything has stabilized

[#AbsoluteUnit]

If I was AEW I'd pass on an awful lot of them. I like a lot of those guys but I'd go for Rusev and maybe EC3 at a push.

Pretty much spot on here.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Pretty much spot on here.

Throw in Gallows and Anderson and Lio Rush. And maybe Heath Slater and Zack Ryder for lower mid-card comedy guys.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Throw in Gallows and Anderson and Lio Rush. And maybe Heath Slater and Zack Ryder for lower mid-card comedy guys.

AEW already has Marko Stunt, Orange "Pockets" Cassidy and Shawn Spears.

...Actually, yeah, they'd fit right in.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Everyone who got released today should take Braun Strowman's advice and simply get over it and get another job.

[Storm Trooper]

Ryder could (if he wanted it) land in AEW. I recall Cody singling him out when asked who he'd want to take from WWE a year or so ago. Maybe Rowan can go there too to fix Brodie McMahon, who has been shit since he got there.

Gallows and Anderson are likely heading back to New Japan.

EC3 would be interesting back in iMPACT if for no other reason than he is the "nephew" of the now former owner.

The others who knows. The Indies won't exist for a long time, and they'll be vastly different once they do (I'd assume most small local outfits will go under before they come back).

I'm hoping guys like Lance Storm, Hurricane, and Finlay were just furloughed and will be back when this all blows over. Not surprising that producers who are flown in from around the continent are not retained during this, as they likely have a few producers in Orlando who were retained to work all the shows.

This fucking sucks balls. But it isn't surprising, they need to cut back expenses. If they don't cut payroll they'll go out of business and everyone's out of a job.

[Psykohurricane]

Let's be realistic here, This as to arrive at some point and it made the day of the dirt sheet and mainstream media to spin this into a negative piece for WWE to make people angry at WWE for what they are doing right now.

I've been following WWE for over 30 years now, i've seen the good and the bad that happened with this company and the one constant in all of this over the years is that Vince will always think about business first over the product. He will do anything he can to save his company even if he has to do things that he really doesn'T want to do. Just like him being forced to closed down the XFL, this move was something that i'm sure he didn't want to.

If you look at how WWE as been run since he put HHH in charge of talent relation, they wouldn't release anybody unless they had a really good reason to release them. They rather keep a lot of wrestlers in reserve then having them sign with another organization so doing this was, just like going live every week is a desperate decision done by vince to make sure some money gets in during the pandemic.

Having said that, i'm sad to see all these wrestlers lose their jobs because a lot of them didn't really got a chance to show what they were made off in WWE. Guys like Mike kanellis and EC3 who only got sign from TNA because WWE didn't want those stars to sign with another promotion. Guy like Rusev who was starting to finally found his character and get over. Guys that seem to be pegged as lifer like Zack Ryder and Heath Slater.

It's also a sad day because, for now at less, they can't go anywhere else because nobody is hiring right now because of how the economy is really unstable. So they won't be able to wrestled for a while.

When all of this is over i could AEW being interested by some of them. The revival are pretty much a lock for AEW but i could see Rusev, Mike and maria kanellis, Sarah Logan, Rowan and gallow & anderson being offered some sort of contract with AEW.

Would be fun to see drake maverick, EC3 and Eric Young go back to IMPACT but i'm not sure that will happen.

Ryder, hawkins and Slater could probably get there job back in WWE when this is all over with as i could see WWE wanting to keep them around since they are great at putting other guys over.

Primo and epico were only on the payroll because they didn't want to get rid of the connection they had with porto rico, as far as they're concern, they will just continue doing what they've been doing in porto rico when wrestling return.

And whoever's left will probably get pick up by either ROH, MLW or New japan when the whole pandemic is over so i'm not worried for them. I just hope that in the meantime they won't have they have enough side project to make a living because it's going to be a hard few months for them.

[smarkmouth]

This fucking sucks balls. But it isn't surprising, they need to cut back expenses. If they don't cut payroll they'll go out of business and everyone's out of a job.

Obviously they need to cut back expenses, but to say that the $4 million they spared with these cuts is going to make or break the WWE is false. WWE had to endanger these talents in live broadcasts in order to secure their TV deals, which includes that billion-dollar FOX deal. That deal alone would cover the annual cost of these salaries two-hundred-and-fifty times over!

This doesn't even cover the USA Network deal, or the $500 million (or in WWE's words in their shareholder's report from February, "$.5B") in their reserve for emergencies.

Had we only been talking about releases or only about doing what they can to protect their revenue I wouldn't have much of an argument, but pairing them together you get an unjustifiable scenario. WWE does not get to endanger staff to ensure that billion in one hand and count beans with the other.

Also, holy shit everyone, did we gloss over the fact a senior referee who has been with the WWE since the late 1980s just got sacked? This is so wrong.

[smarkmouth]

Well, fuck, some of my figures are incorrect. The 500 million figure includes debt capacity, the $4 million includes a projection of montly savings. Apologies for above.

The numbers vary but I stand by my point. Talent was both endangered and released, and if it absolutely had to, it should be one or the other and not both.

[Storm Trooper]

Well, fuck, some of my figures are incorrect. The 500 million figure includes debt capacity, the $4 million includes a projection of montly savings. Apologies for above.

The numbers vary but I stand by my point. Talent was both endangered and released, and if it absolutely had to, it should be one or the other and not both.
To be fair, with regards to working it seems like no one was forced to work and if you didn't feel comfortable going to work then you didn't have to.

They're bleeding money right now, and they're trying to cut the fat out of their expenses. It sucks but that's what any business should do. Yes they have reserves they can use to keep operating but they need to stretch that out since who knows how long this is gonna be.

If they did this 6 months ago no one would complain about the on-air talent being released as the only ones really being used were Gallows and Anderson.



And in regards to being released and endangered, Lio Rush, Gallows, and Anderson (and maybe Aiden English and Chioda) are the only ones to have been used since the shutdown.

[Big Nick Dudley]

Pretty sure this is a temporary thing. Cutting $4 Million/month during a financial collapse isn't surprising. I would be surprised if all of them aren't back in the next 6-12 months.

[smarkmouth]

To be fair, with regards to working it seems like no one was forced to work and if you didn't feel comfortable going to work then you didn't have to.

Definitely fair, but let's not omit the unspoken pressure against doing so from the discussion. Working sick is part of wrestling's carny code and has been forever.


They're bleeding money right now, and they're trying to cut the fat out of their expenses. It sucks but that's what any business should do. Yes they have reserves they can use to keep operating but they need to stretch that out since who knows how long this is gonna be.

Essential services such as grocery and utility aren't cutting staff. If WWE wants to deem themselves as such then we shouldn't let them off the hook.


If they did this 6 months ago no one would complain

As stated, I agree with that, but combined with other circumstances of these releases is plainly ghoulish.


And in regards to being released and endangered, Lio Rush, Gallows, and Anderson (and maybe Aiden English and Chioda) are the only ones to have been used since the shutdown.

Add Drake Maverick (who is still going to compete in the interim Cruiserweight tournament mind you) to that list. Either way, one is already too many.

[Psykohurricane]

Tommy dreamer said it best when talking about the release. It's big money and big business. That's all it is really. WWE lost a ton of money off mania weekend. If this last a year like some are predicting, they will lose a ton of money off summerslam weekend and survivor series weekend as well as losing a lot of money off not being able to go to saudi arabia. So Vince is making decisions that he probably wouldn't be making in any other circumstance.

The XFL going into bankruptcy wouldn't be happening, the release and firing of a lot of wrestlers and employees wouldn't be happening and if he had a say in it, right now he wouldn't be going live with his programming because he knows that he could save money tapings shows and it would be safer for the performers involves in those show. But he really doesn't have a choice in the matter right now. That what peoples that never ran a multi million dollar company don't understand. Us and the dave meltzer of the world just look at the number that were given and think that they have enough money to survive and that 4 million a months isn't going to make a difference and maybe it won't i'm not a business man or and i don't have access to their accounting books but probably for them to be forced to do all these moves, they saw something that we, as normal people, didn't see and that's why we're being critical of them now more then ever, because we only have the outsider perspective of what'S going on right now.

[smarkmouth]

Unlike WWE, XFL isn't an essential service.

[Yer Maw]

Can't wait for Heath Slater to come back in 2024 jacked to the gills and win the wwe championship.

[Jack-Hammer]

Tommy dreamer said it best when talking about the release. It's big money and big business. That's all it is really. WWE lost a ton of money off mania weekend. If this last a year like some are predicting, they will lose a ton of money off summerslam weekend and survivor series weekend as well as losing a lot of money off not being able to go to saudi arabia. So Vince is making decisions that he probably wouldn't be making in any other circumstance.

The XFL going into bankruptcy wouldn't be happening, the release and firing of a lot of wrestlers and employees wouldn't be happening and if he had a say in it, right now he wouldn't be going live with his programming because he knows that he could save money tapings shows and it would be safer for the performers involves in those show. But he really doesn't have a choice in the matter right now. That what peoples that never ran a multi million dollar company don't understand. Us and the dave meltzer of the world just look at the number that were given and think that they have enough money to survive and that 4 million a months isn't going to make a difference and maybe it won't i'm not a business man or and i don't have access to their accounting books but probably for them to be forced to do all these moves, they saw something that we, as normal people, didn't see and that's why we're being critical of them now more then ever, because we only have the outsider perspective of what'S going on right now.

WWE's revenue is being generated by TV deals, merchandise sales and WWE Network subscriptions. That's still a substantial amount of money when it'ls all said and done; my guess is that WWE's revenue will wind up somewhere in the $650 million range for 2020. Still, that's quite a drop compared to the $950+ million in revenue they made last year and, who knows, the venue may wind up being even less than my shot in the dark guess by the time it's all said and done. A lot of people are jumping down WWE's throats over this because...well...it's WWE and that's what wrestling fans do. Whenever WWE does something right, crap all over it. Whenever they do something that's wrong, crap all over it. Whenever it does anything that everyone else is doing, such as laying people off, then continue with the crapfest.

When you factor in WWE, NXT and NXT UK rosters, you're looking at well over 200 wrestlers and with a substantial drop in revenue, I don't think Vince can rationalize trying to sign up the whole wrestling world anymore, let alone justify keeping a lot of the talent he has when many of them are hardly even utilized.

[smarkmouth]

Uncle Dave reports that Sarah Logan was scheduled for RAW but pulled at last minute. She has not been rehired.

Imagine being sacked, still asked to come in for a shift - at your own endangerment, mind you - and getting sent home.

Secondly, a perfect quote for the WWE's climate from Liz Myers, wife of Brian, had this to say in her blog;

"One week prior, they had wanted him to fly to Orlando to film for RAW and the next week they are getting rid of people."

As I said and now double down; securing their live TV deal by endangering their talents in one hand and firing them with another.

[Jack-Hammer]

The latest wrestler released, as just reported a few minutes ago, is Curtis Axel. I don't know if it's because of further budget cuts or if he asked for his release. Reportedly, WWE is open to releasing just about anybody who wants out of their contracts. Axel first signed with WWE back in 2007 and hasn't really been used much the past few years. He saw some success with Bo Dallas when they formed the B-Team, which got decent responses from the fans but I think Vince ultimately just lost interest.