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.