If you thought that the now-annual April cuts were the end of it, buckle up. Today, WWE shocks the wrestling world and releases several major Superstars.
WWE Shocks Wrestling World
It wasn’t that long ago that the release of Samoa Joe seemed to be big news, but not anymore. Today, WWE shocks the wrestling world with the releases of several major Superstars.
source: custom, WWE screenshot
Specifically, WWE confirmed the following Superstars have been released:
Fightful has learned the following WWE wrestlers have been released.
– Braun Strowman
– Aleister Black
– Ruby Riott
– Lana
– Santana Garrett
– Buddy Murphy— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) June 2, 2021
While a couple of these may not fit into the major category, the top two names here absolutely do.
A case can also be made for Lana, and not that long ago, Buddy Murphy was himself in a high profile program.
The timing is shocking, as is the level of the top two Superstars.
With Samoa Joe, his release made some sense in at least one view. If WWE saw him as “only” an announcer, and Joe was convinced he could and should be back in the ring, then the company owed him the opportunity elsewhere.
It’s the same thing they’ve done with other talent before (like Kurt Angle years ago…and that worked out in the end).
No disrespect to Santana Garrett, but she was included in the cuts and with this group, she’s the footnote right now.
Ruby Riott looked like she could have done something, but never got traction on the main roster. Losing a ton of time to injury did not help, but she’s been back of late…should have had a chance for the Riott Squad to contend more for the tag belts.
Releases Several Major Superstars
For all involved, the releases may shock the wrestling world.
The two biggest, without question, will be Braun Strowman and Aleister Black.
A year ago, Braun Strowman was a top champion. It was not that long ago that he was chomping at the bit for another title shot.
Source: WWE, Twitter, Screenshot
Now, he’s out of WWE.
What we don’t yet know, of course, is whether this was partly due to his request for a release. It is entirely possible there were issues, over plans or contracts, that led to the separation.
For now, we look at the news and really can only say…wow.
For Lana, some will say they are surprised she was still around, especially after her husband, the former Rusev, showed up on AEW.
source: custom, Lana Twitter screenshot
She took a ton of bumps last year, which many thought was a bit of a receipt…but she never complained and just worked a top tag match on Monday’s RAW.
I doubt anyone would be shocked if she wound up next to Miro soon enough.
Last to be covered? Aleister Black.
Think about this timing…
He JUST returned from an extended time away. WWE invested time and energy into his return, having some animated vignettes done up to tease fans.
On top of him just returning…WWE recently brought back his wife. The company dropped Zelina Vega last year, and recently re-signed her.
With her return, there was some chatter about pairing the off-screen couple up. Now, with Aleister Black released, we have to wonder if she may be re-exiting the company too.
Again, this is a developing story, so there is plenty left to be discovered. Stay tuned for additional details as they are released.
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