Following the news of nearly 20 WWE Superstar releases, including former WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax and former NXT Champions Keith Lee and Karrion Kross, the reason behind the releases has reportedly been revealed.
According to a Tweet from Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful ‘budget cuts’ was the reason cited to recently released WWE talent for their release with the information being circulating the WWE offices following an email from WWE’s General Manager of Talen John Laurinaitis.
Budget cuts were cited as a reason for the releases in an email from John Laurinaitis
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) November 4, 2021
The full list of names released by the WWE during the most recent batch of releases, which has seen over 50 WWE Superstars now released since June, can be found below.
- Franky Monet
- Ember Moon
- Scarlett
- Oney Lorcan
- Karrion Kross
- B-Fab
- Jessi Kamea
- Zayda Ramier
- Trey Baxter
- Katrina Cortez
- Jeet Rama
- Gran Metalik
- Lince Dorado
- Keith Lee
- Nia Jax
- Mia Yim
- Harry Smith
- Eva Marie
Bryan Alvarez of WON has also revealed that Hit Row member B-Fab who was released only signed a new deal with the WWE last week following her recent main roster call-up.
B Fab literally signed a new deal a week ago
— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) November 4, 2021
Throughout 2021 WWE have significantly trimmed their talent roster with multiple big names leaving the company. This followed on from the previous year whereas as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, several Superstars were also released. Some stars such as Bryan Danielson chose to leave of their own volition while others were let go in multiple batches of releases across the year.
The first round of releases came in April with the likes of Samoa Joe, Mickie James and Chelsea Green departing the company. In the weeks that followed Samoa Joe was re-hired, while Paul Wight, aka The Big Show, left the company in February.
This was followed in June by arguably the most shocking round of releases, as Braun Strowman, Aleister Black (Malakai Black) Lana (CJ Perry) and Ruby Riott (Ruby Soho) left the company. Later in the month, more departures followed, this time with Tony Nese, Tyler Breeze and Ariya Daivari heading out the door.
The final large scale round of releases came in August with several NXT Superstars exiting what was the black and gold brand. It later came to light that releases were the beginnings of a revamp which has since seen the launch of NXT 2.0. On this occasion, Mercedes Martinez, Bronson Reed and Bobby Fish were among the departures.
Elsewhere, Bray Wyatt was released at the end of July, while Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole made their way to AEW after their contracts expired.
Inside The Ropes will continue to update this story as it develops.