UPDATE #4
We now have wave five that saw 7 more departures and wave six saw 6 more exits, wave seven had 6 more and wave eight had 3 more for a total of 64 WWE exits since Christmastime 2019.
Despite being an essential service, a decision that appears to some to be a political quid pro quo, which a WWE expects these departures, a mix of releases and furloughs, will save WWE $48 million annually. The number of head office staff released or furloughed is unknown at this time.
In addition, Vince McMahon’s XFL reboot has filed for bankruptcy; WWE had a small stake in that venture.
UPDATES #2 and #3
Looks like we have wave three and wave four of WWE departures today now totally 42 since Christmas.
UPDATE #1
A Bloody Wednesday For WWE Sees A Second Wave Of Releases Announced! 22 Superstars Now Released In Total So Far Within A Week!
WWE has updated their earlier announcement; additional releases bolded for ease of reference. Updated WWE report:
- WWE has come to terms on the release of Kurt Angle, Rusev (Miroslav Barnyashev), Drake Maverick (James Curtin), Zack Ryder (Matthew Cardona), Curt Hawkins (Brian Myers), Karl Anderson (Chad Allegra), Luke Gallows (Drew Hankinson), Heath Slater (Heath Miller), Eric Young (Jeremy Fritz), Rowan (Joseph Ruud), Sarah Logan (Sarah Rowe), No Way Jose (Levis Valenzuela), Mike Chioda, Mike Kanellis (Mike Bennett), Maria Kanellis, EC3 (Michael Hutter), Aiden English (Matthew Rehwoldt), Lio Rush (Lionel Green), Primo (Edwin Colon) and Epico (Orlando Colon Nieves). We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
Looks Lana will be the next WWE Superstars to have a spouse employed elsewhere in the wrestling world.
This also follows WWE news last week that saw the Revival released:
- Effective today, Friday April 10, 2020, WWE and The Revival have agreed on their immediate release from WWE. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors
In addition, since the Christmas holidays we’ve seen more WWE superstars released: Luke Harper, the members of Ascension, and Sin Cara. On top of that Matt Hardy’s contract recently expired and WWE gave him a glowing send off. Both Harper and Hardy have debuted for AEW. Not all of the releases will be picked up by AEW, but the Revival, Rusev and EC3 are seen as locks for AEW; the OC remains a question mark.
So, in under six months, that now totals 27 departed WWE superstars.
Sad news, but I expect even more releases to come.
ORIGINAL
Despite Being An Essential Service, A Bloody Wednesday For WWE As First Wave Of Releases Announced! 16 Superstars Including A Hall Of Famer Gone!
WWE reports:
- WWE has come to terms on the release of Kurt Angle, Drake Maverick (James Curtin), Curt Hawkins (Brian Myers), Karl Anderson (Chad Allegra), Luke Gallows (Drew Hankinson), Heath Slater (Heath Miller), Eric Young (Jeremy Fritz), Rowan (Joseph Ruud), Sarah Logan (Sarah Rowe), Mike Chioda, Mike Kanellis (Mike Bennett), EC3 (Michael Hutter), Aiden English (Matthew Rehwoldt), Lio Rush (Lionel Green), Primo (Edwin Colon) and Epico (Orlando Colon Nieves). We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
While the post WrestleMania season sees call-ups to Raw and Smackdown, it is also a time for releases. From the above, it looks like AJ Styles will be a solo act again as his OC mates have been released.
How the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic impacted the number of releases, in what is expected to be a first wave, is unknown.
