WWE releases

It's not surprising when the WWE has its annual purge of talent, usually a short time after Wrestlemania since it makes room for call-ups to the main roster, which we already saw on Raw and Smackdown last week respectively. However, among the two dozen names that were cut from the organization, it was undoubtedly surprising that some of the names of the list were chosen to be released, especially because of their track record or current involvement in the company.

It goes without saying that it's never fun to see someone lose their job, especially their dream job in a lot of cases, but it should be noted that the process is simply a part of the business. Sometimes, it's a valuable part of a talent's career path, as the exit can allow them to reinvent themselves to be able to return to the big stage as a more polished performer.

There are roughly half a dozen names from either NXT or the developmental system that weren't main players within the landscape of the WWE so the impact of their departure was minimal, if at all. There's no reason to discuss the cuts of names that most of the audience hadn't heard of before or didn't know existed anyway. 

However, with the names that fans know, there could be a ripple effect within the business.

First and probably most surprising was the entire Wyatt Sicks stable being released. Of course, the booking of the faction did them absolutely no favors and it seemed like the creative team had no idea how to actually script storylines for them. If they weren't involved in a feud with another complete stable, they often weren't featured on television. There was no individual rivalries or individual developmental, which completely hindered not only what the Wyatts could be used for, but also typecast them as a secondary act. The most frustrating part of their exit is that there was serious potential for the stable to be a long term, money-drawing act, but almost nothing was done to push or promote that. Keep in mind, after the major debut a few years ago, there was a period of time when the Wyatts vanished from television because the office had nothing for them.

Given that the Wyatt Sicks concept did very well on merchandise, despite the limited push on WWE programming, and Universal Studios put together a Wyatt attraction at their annual Halloween Horror Nights event, there was proof that the concept could draw money. Somehow, the sum total of their tenure, aside from a forgettable tag team title run, was a tribute act to Bray Wyatt, which was a nice gesture, but nothing that progressed the faction to the point that it could stand on its own. This has to be an example of when WWE creative, with the dozens of writers, missed the boat on what could've been a sustainable act. As far as what's next, I'd say that TNA would be wise to import the entire stable to the company, especially since they have the previously mentioned track record of merchandise numbers. Perhaps, this release was given with the understandable that the door would be open at the promotion that has a working agreement with WWE because otherwise, it seems rather odd that management would cut all five of them at once.

The Motor City Machine Guns were also a surprising release, mostly because they were only under contract for a year and a half. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley are solid pros, and I would've thought that at the very least, they'd be kept around to work with the younger talent in NXT. I don't think they did anything that would label them as a subpar team or that their run in the WWE was a dud, but rather the opposite, as there was a relatively small sample size of what they were given the opportunity to do that it would be tough to judge a true level of success. If I had to guess, Sabin and Shelley were probably victims of circumstance, as far as the amount of younger teams already under contract. It's a safe bet that the MCMG will make their way back to TNA, or at least they should since they are both too talented not to work for a national promotion.

Kari Sane is another performer that is too talented not to work for a major group. She was a level underneath the top-tier of the women's division, but that was a reflection of where she was positioned, not her skill level. Unless. Kari looked for a release to want to go back to Japan, I don't know why the office would cut someone that is as solid as she is in the ring, especially because it's always good to have as much depth as possible on the roster. In theory, All Elite Wrestling could be an option, but I'd say she would be better served to return to Stardom to avoid being lost in the shuffle in AEW. Considering that Bushiroad, the parent company of New Japan, also owns Stardom, it's possible that Sane could be promoted in a top spot if she returns to her native country.

Santos Escobar is puzzling since his contract expired late last year before he re-signed with the organization, but did very little afterwards. He's someone that I would've assumed found a spot in AAA under WWE's ownership, but depending on his contract, he might've been a causality of budget cuts. I'm not sure his exit means all the much in the grand scheme of things for WWE, but he might be a solid pick up for CMLL as they look to maintain their position in Mexico during the ongoing AAA expansion. In a similar fashion, Apollo Crews is a great athlete and he will land on his feet somewhere, but he was so far under the radar that his departure doesn't really make any waves in the organization. He spent several years under contract and was even repackaged a few times so it's probably best for everyone involved if he gets a fresh start elsewhere. Andre Chase was known for his time in NXT, but his release is moot, and it's doubtful that there will be a major demand for him in other promotions since he was very much a WWE project.

It seems like Zoey Stark had some potential, as far as an in-ring worker, but a series of injuries kept her from gaining any momentum to become an established performer on the roster. It's a harsh reality of the sport, if you're on the sidelines, you can't draw money in the ring, and at some point, the office has to look at it as the possible return on investment. Stark was under contract for five years and was on the shelf for almost half pf that time so at some point, management had to chalk up her deal to the cost of doing business. At this point, there wasn't a realistic expectation that the Zoey Stark character would generate the revenue to justify the investment of her contract. In some what of a similar fashion, Alba Fyre was also under contract for several years and was still a secondary character so it wasn't surprising that she was cut from the roster. I'm not sure where Fyre will end up, and Stark's next move will probably depend on if she can stay healthy enough to continue to pursue a full-time career.

Besides the Wyatt Sicks being cut, I was even more surprised that Aleister Black and his wife, Zelina Vega were released. Black was originally released from the company in 2021 after the office didn't seem to know what to do with him, and most of his appearances were sporadic during the latter portion of his four-year tenure in the company. He spent three and a half years in AEW, but there were rumors that he often refused to lose. Based on what he did in the organization, it appeared that the story was correct, as he only put over former WWE talent. If the guy simply wouldn't do business then Tony Khan's hands were tied, but I'm not sure if keeping him under contract, especially in retrospect, made a difference in the grand scheme on things since his WWE return was rather short. That said, while I can understand why a talent would question some of Tony's slapstick booking, if you're willing to cash the check then you should do business until the end of the agreement. That being said, I'm still puzzled as to why WWE brass didn't do much with him after he returned to the company last year. Black can do in the ring, and he has a character that you'd think would be useful with storylines. Adding Zelina during Black's feud with Damian Priest could've been a way to complete the package so to speak and allow him to move up the card, but it seemed to fizzle out before any progress was made. Unless he was one of the higher paid talents and was cut strictly for budget reasons, this release doesn't make much sense, particularly because he just returned to the organization last year.

Given that Black was reportedly difficult to deal with, Tony Khan shouldn't consider a return for him. Take the rather useless three and a half years that Black was under AEW contract as a lesson learned. Along with the Wyatts, Aleister Black and Zelina should be imported to TNA has soon as possible. This might sound too harsh, but with Impact on AMC this year, the promotion needs more recognizable names. I'm not sure Candice Michelle, who hasn't been relevant in years, being added to the roster accomplishes that. If TNA truly wants to expand its footprint, and has increased the ratings somewhat over the course of the year so far, they are going to have to get more familiar faces on their shows. Obviously, any time there are several releases from WWE, it opens the door on the free agent market, but with how bloated the All Elite roster is already, the biggest opportunity from this scenario should be for TNA to cherry-pick some talent to add some recognizable names to its roster.