In the past, when people complained about the WWE, I would try to defend them. Like most businesses, there can be difficulties along the way while trying to make a great product. Sadly, most of WWE’s difficulties are their own doing. Yes, we can exclude the disasters known as WWE 2K19 and 2K20, but there are a lot of other underlying issues. Over the last three years, WWE’s product has gone downhill. The stories presented are either rehashed tales used over the last four decades or feel like they were written by a middle schooler. Additionally, for the second year in a row, WWE has released talent.
When it comes to team morale and job security, downsizing typically does not help. Things are only made worse when the said company has profitable years despite the downsizing. Last year during the pandemic, WWE released 25 on-screen talents and 40% of their non-wrestling workers. This left many with a bad taste in their mouth and fearful about the security of their jobs. During the Wrestling Pandemic Era, WWE storylines struggled. Some blamed this blandness on a lack of audience; however, after the introduction of the “Thunder Dome”, the product did not improve. Since their release, most of the previously released talent was able to find work with either AEW, TNA, ROH, NJPW, or other wrestling promotions.
Less than a week after Wrestlemania 37, WWE has released more talent from their WWE contracts. Some of the names that were released are rather shocking due to their work during the event. Below is a list of names released from WWE recently.
WWE Releases
- Andrade – Asked to be released before Wrestlemania
- Samoa Joe – Commentated during Wrestlemania weekend
- Billie Kay – Tagged with Carmella during the Women’s Tag Team Turmoil Match on Night 1
- Peyton Royce – Former Tagteam partner of Billie Kay
- Mickie James – Appeared at NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver and gave live reactions to the Wrestlemania show
- Chelsea Green – Injured but is engaged to Matt Cardona formerly known in WWE as Zach Ryder
- Tucker – Seen on March 29th’s Raw. Underutilized after break up of Heavy Machinery.
- Kalisto – Appeared on Smackdown before Wrestlemania.
- Wesley Blake – Previously part of the Forgotten Sons. The team was disbanded when “Jaxon Ryker” drew public backlash.
- Bo Dallas – Brother of Bray Wyatt. He hasn’t been used since WWE Crown Jewel.
- Mojo Rawley
Some of these names are rather shocking due to their role in Wrestlemania 37’s weekend. Originally, we did plan to cover the results of Wrestlemania 37, but why give any good publicity to a company that does not value its workers. If you want to, there are tons of Wrestlemania 37 recaps but overall the show was rather mediocre. If you are looking for good wrestling programs tune into AEW, NJPW, or even local independent wrestling promotions. You can always still support NXT, but Raw and Smackdown would be a good choice.
Mickie James, Andrade, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Kalisto, and Chelsea Green should have an easy time finding new work but don’t expect them in WWE 2k22. Maybe we will see The Iconics appear in AEW or TNA later this year.
