This was a wild Friday. Join Denise Salcedo as she not only recaps WWE Smackdown on FOX but also discusses the WWE releases. It’s a heavy and news-filled show with lots of conversation~!
Topics Rundown:
WWE RELEASES- Denise goes over all of the names of the people that were released and shares some predictions of where they might end up.
The mixed tag match – How we’re essentially seeing the exact same matches.
Shinsuke Nakamura as king – They finally made us feel bad for Baron Corbin.
Big E vs. Apollo Crews – MITB qualifier match.
Last Man Standing match added for next week – and why it doesn’t make sense
Sonya Deville announces Carmella is in Money In The Bank– this also doesn’t make sense.
Jimmy Uso tries to get approval from Roman Reigns
Edge returns- Looks like we’re getting ANOTHER program between Edge and Roman Reigns
This is a very fun and interactive stream you don’t want to miss~!
You can also catch Denise Salcedo three times a week as she breaks down WWE NXT, AEW DYNAMITE, and WWE SMACKDOWN~!
The rumored WWE releases coming Friday turned out to be accurate as the company continued their recent paredown of the roster, focusing on both NXT and 205 Live talents.
The final list as of Friday night: Fandango, Tyler Breeze, Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari, August Grey, Ever-Rise (Chase Parker and Matt Martel), Curt Stallion, the Bollywood Boyz (Sunil and Samir Singh), Arturo Ruas, Marina Shafir, Killian Dain, and Tino Sabbatelli.
The majority of the releases were first reported by Fightful or PWInsider.
The 39-year-old Fandango (Curtis Hussey) had been with the company since 2006 when he signed a developmental deal and started with Deep South Wrestling. Wrestling as Johnny Curtis, he won the fourth season of NXT with R-Truth as his mentor but was only up on the main roster for a short period of time.
He developed the Fandango character and was called up to the main roster in 2013, eventually forming Breezango with Tyler Breeze in 2016. They eventually found their way back to NXT in 2019 and won the Tag Team titles — his only gold in WWE over his 14-year run. He thanked Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque in a tweet.
Breeze had been in the system since 2010 and spent five years in FCW/NXT before being called up to the main roster, paired with Summer Rae in a feud with Dolph Ziggler. The 33-year-old had opened a Florida-based wrestling school with Shawn Spears in 2019.
The 35-year-old Nese started with WWE in 2016 as part of the cruiserweight division and held the Cruiserweight title in 2018-19. He was a 205 Live fixture with some NXT appearances sprinkled in. He did appear once on SmackDown in 2020, losing to Matt Riddle.
Similar to Nese, the 32-year-old Daivari was also a 205 Live and cruiserweight division fixture since starting in 2016. He never held a title during his five years. His brother, Shawn, was recently rehired in a producer role. He tweeted it was time to put sports entertainment behind him and get back to professional wrestling.
Parker and Martel (Jeff Parker and Matt Lee) signed in 2019. They had also been working in both NXT and 205 Live. After nearly two months off, they returned on this week’s NXT in a losing effort to Hit Row (Ashante Adonis and Top Dolla).
Grey (Anthony Greene) signed with WWE in August 2020 and also worked both 205 Live and NXT. In a bit of irony, he will be on Friday’s 205 Live in a match with Grayson Waller while the aforementioned Daivari will face Ikemen Jiro. Grey joked on Twitter that his match is now a loser-leaves-town affair.
Stallion was signed in October 2020 and also was featured on 205 Live. He had recently been cleared to return to action following a wrist injury.
The Singh brothers (Gurvinder Sihra and Harvinder Sihra) started in 2016 and were paired up with then-WWE Champion Jinder Mahal on the main roster in 2017. After nearly two years, they were back on 205 Live. They did each hold the 24/7 title in 2019.
A freestyle wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace, Ruas (Adrian Jaoude) signed in 2015 and was in NXT for nearly his entire run, save an appearance on Raw Underground last year. He has been on the sidelines with an injured bicep and hasn’t been in action since last November.
Shafir, a friend of Ronda Rousey and part of the Four Horsewomen group, signed in 2018 along with Jessamyn Duke. Similar to Ruas, she was in NXT for nearly the duration of her run but made her own Raw Underground appearance. She is married to current NXT roster member Roderick Strong.
Ther 36-year-old Dain (Damian Mackie) signed in 2016 and was part of the Sanity faction that started in NXT and eventually called up to the main roster. After the group was disbanded, he returned to NXT in 2019. He tweeted a lengthy thank you and “see you in 90 days.”
Sabbatelli (Sabatino Piscitelli) was the final name reported Friday, released in his second stint with WWE. Signed in 2014, he was best known for teaming with Riddick Moss in NXT. He was cut in April 2020, re-signed in October but didn’t actually wrestle after he returned. In the between time, he worked one match on AEW Dark.
A look at the WWE’s last PPV of the Thunderdome era and what did and didn’t work on the Hell in a Cell show is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer. We’ve got the booking, future direction for Money in the Bank, update on MITB tickets, star ratings, poll results and match and performer of the week.
Also in this issue:
A new lawsuit against UFC and why it is a potential game changer along with what would be almost a sure thing if it’s successful regarding WWE, what the claims are, and if it’s successful what it says about payment of money to athletes.
New Japan running shows in the United States, a look back at the early shows in Southern California, who is and isn’t on the cards and more.
Becky Lynch returning, SummerSlam ticket sales, WWE return to MSG, WWE ticket sales, FOX and NBCU suggestions for WWE programming, Montez Ford surgery, Karrion Kross and Bronson Reed tryouts, Shayna Baszler talks angle, International TV ratings, controversy over writer with no product knowledge continued and reaction internally, Rey Mysterio talks angle he doesn’t want to do, Kushida talks Kyle O’Reilly, Titus O’Neil talks his award nomination, plus next week’s TV shows, WWE’s biggest YouTube videos from this past week and WWE company market value.
Saturday’s UFC show with match-by-match coverage, future directions for the talent, business notes and more
Changes being worked on for the Nielsen ratings and who isn’t happy about them and why, television vs. streaming in 2021 and a comparison using AEW programming.
Suwama’s vacating the Triple Crown, how it will be decided, and then look back at how the three belts, the United National, PWF and International belts all formed, when, their rules, their history and the creation of the Triple Crown more than 30 years ago.
A feature on the death of former bodybuilding star turned pro wrestler Melissa Coates.
More into detail on the ratings than any other source, how many different viewers the shows had, breakdown of who watches the shows and how they watch, DVR numbers and how long the average fan watches.
Results of the major pro wrestling events of the past week.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
Garrett Gonzalez and I will be back tonight talking about the news of the week, WWE cuts, how news from 17 years ago relates to today, risks by promotions, and much more.
The biggest news of the day were the releases of 13 WWE performers, Fandango, Tyler Breeze, Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari, August Grey, Ever-Rise, Curt Stallion, the Bollywood Boyz (Sunil and Samir Singh), Arturo Ruas, Marina Shafir, and Killian Dain. Essentially the moves, like others, are ways to lower the budget and up the profit margin because of a number of things related to stock price and attractiveness to potential buyers. None of those cut fit majorly into the current plans, but you can also tell this wasn’t thought out far in advance since just a week ago Fandango & Breeze got a TV win and did the beginnings of an angle with Imperium, and Ever-Rise has been featured as a comedy act. It was a numbers game. A lot of these people have real talent and will get chances elsewhere. Nese is a solid top-level worker inside the ring. The Bollywood Boyz can make anything asked of them work. Breeze & Fandango can wrestle and entertain but really had done about all they were going to do in WWE. Dain is a big agile guy who can work. Daivari is a strong worker. Shafir is a good athlete and the last time WWE cut a strong judoka she turned out to be Tay Conti in AEW, whether Shafir can follow in her footsteps probably isn’t fair but with there being a premium right now on woman wrestlers someone who is a good athlete should get chances on the outside.
Smackdown tonight at 8 p.m. on FOX has a Roman Reigns victory celebration for his win last week over Rey Mysterio, Cesaro & Bianca Belair vs. Seth Rollins & Bayley, plus Apollo Crews vs. Big E in a Money in the Bank qualifying match. 205 Live has a pair of unofficial loser leaves town matches, although not billed as such, with August Gray vs. Grayson Weller and Ikeman Jiro vs. Ariya Daivari. Daivari and Gray were both cut earlier today.
New Japan Strong at 10 p.m. tonight has Tom Lawlor vs. Karl Fredericks for the Strong title, Rocky Romero vs. Clark Connors and Fred Yehi & Wheeler Yuta vs. Kevin Knight & The DKC.
Bellator makes its debut in Moscow at the VTB Arena on 10/23 featuring Fedor Emelianenko in the main event.
Today (or tomorrow, depending on where you live) is the 45th anniversary of the Antonio Inoki vs. Muhammad Ali match from Tokyo. It was the first national closed-circuit pro wrestling event in history with two boxer vs. wrestler main events, Ali vs. Inoki and Andre the Giant vs Chuck Wepner from Shea Stadium. In most of the rest of the country, various wrestling promotions put on undercards from major arenas such as Shea Stadium, The Omni in Atlanta, the Sam Houston Coliseum, the Cow Palace in San Francisco, the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, the Amphitheater in Chicago and others. The show aired the night of June 25 in the U.S. and the morning of July 26 in Japan. It is still among the highest-rated television shows in the history of TV-Asahi. Ali was the biggest name in sports at the time while Inoki didn’t have much of a name at all in the U.S., and overall the show did disappointing business outside of the Northeast where Bruno Sammartino had a grudge match with Stan Hansen that fans in that part of the country considered the real main event. Sammartino literally came out of the hospital with a broken neck to do the match because Vince McMahon Sr. told him that they had invested so much into the show and it was feared it would bomb and could lead to the closing of the WWWF. Sammartino was promised points from every arena where his match aired, and while he did get his points from Shea Stadium, he did not from the other arenas with McMahon claiming Bob Arum turned down the request. A notable part of the story is that when Paul Levesque was negotiating with Sammartino to do the Hall of Fame, he asked for a dollar figure that he believed he was screwed out of to agree to do it and Vince McMahon Jr. did eventually agree to the figure. As for Ali vs. Inoki, it was a 15 round fight and ruled a draw, although if you watched the fight with today’s eyes Inoki probably won about 12 rounds and should have easily taken the decision, but people didn’t get low kicks in 1976 or understand what they were.
There are several major Japan shows available this weekend. FITE has a show Saturday at 6 a.m. with Pro Wrestling NOAH featuring Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Masa Kitamiya, the tag team champions, facing each other in a hair vs. hair match, plus a Rumble match for the No. 1 contender for the junior title with Daisuke Harada, Junta Miyawaki, Seiki Yoshioka, Niaoh, Tadasuke, Haoh, Hajime Ohara, Ikuto Hidaka and Eita from Dragon Gate. Atsushi Kotoge defends against the winner on a Sunday at 6 a.m. show, also on FITE, plus Great Muta vs. Kenou and Naomichi Marfuji & Masato Tanaka vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Takashi Sugiura.
All Japan runs Saturday at Ota Ward Gym with the Triple Crown decision match with Kento Miyahara, Jake Lee and Yuma Aoyagi where it’s a series of singles matches that continue until one man has beaten each of the other two.
Bellator tonight at 9 p.m. on Showtime:
Christian Edwards (206) vs. Simon Biyong (204.5)
Myles Jury (155) vs. Sidney Outlaw (156)
Daniel Weichel (145.5) vs. Keoni Diggs (146)
Liz Carmouche (125.5) vs. Kana Watanabe (125.25)
Valentin Moldavsky (234) vs. Timothy Johnson (260) for the interim heavyweight title
PFL tonight at 10 p.m. on ESPN 2:
Denis Goltsov vs. Brandon Sayles
Lance Palmer vs. Movlid Khaybulaev
Antony Pettis vs. Raush Manfio
Kayla Harrison vs. Cindy Dandois
All matches are part of a qualifying tournament in their respective divisions, with Goltsov vs Sayles at heavyweight, Palmer vs. Khaybulaev at featherweight, Pettis vs. Manfio at lightweight and Harrison vs. Dandois at women’s lightweight.
UFC tomorrow starting at 1 p.m. Eastern for an ESPN+ card:
Yancy Medeiros (155.5) vs. Damir Hadzovic (155.5)
Charles Rosa (146) vs. Justin Jaynes (145.5)
Julia Avila (135.5) vs. Julija Stoliarenko (135.5)
Marcin Prachnio (206) vs. Ike Villanueva (205)
Warlley Alves (171) vs. Jeremiah Wells (171)
Shavkat Rakhmonov (170.5) vs. Michel Prazeres (170)
Kennedy Nzechukwu (205.5) vs. Danilo Marques (205.5)
Renato Moicano (156) vs. Jai Herbert (155.5)
Tim Means (170.5) vs. Nicolas Dalby (170)
Andre Fili (145.5) vs. Daniel Pineda (145)
Raoni Barcelos (135) vs. Timur Valiev (136)
Tanner Boser (240) vs. Ovince Saint Preux (230)
Cyril Gane (245) vs. Alexander Volkov (265)
Fast 9, with the debut of John Cena in the series, opens in North America this weekend.
WWE
Drew McIntyre will be appearing on the show “Shark Rumble” on Discovery + that comes out on 7/11.
An announcement about September in Chicago will be taking place in the next few days. They will almost certainly be doing both Rampage on Friday night and the PPV on Sunday from the Sears Center. Not sure where Dynamite that Wednesday will be from but that is likely to be announced as well.
CWE on 7/9 in Red Deer, Alberta at the Quality Inn with Danny Duggan vs. Mentallo. Former UFC fighter Mitch Clarke is also on the show. They also run 7/7 in Medicine Hat, Alberta at the Cypress Centre Auditorium. and 7/8 in Calgary at the Royal Canadian Legion #1.
Dragon Lee will be doing a seminar in San Jose for the Pro Wrestling Revolution promotion on 7/23. For more info you can send to [email protected]
New England Fights on 8/21 in Milford, NH at the Hampshire Dome with MMA and kickboxing fights.
There’s an axiom that goes back to the beginning of time, which is that you draw based on the main event and not the depth of the show. It’s been shown over-and-over again in every combat sport. Granted, in wrestling, things have changed in the sense that WWE draws based on the name value of its biggest shows although in the PPV era, the highs and lows of those shows were always main event based.
Double or Nothing on 5/30 turned out to be the exception, because most saw it as a deep card, but it didn’t have the killer main event that other shows had. But it ended up as the second most successful PPV show in company history, trailing only Revolution earlier this year.
Unlike with Revolution, which, when it became clear it was breaking the old record, we asked people why and the reason was largely exactly what one would think, people were interested in the explosive barbed wire match with Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley for the AEW title and that match got people to buy.
The now former Aleister Black (Tommy End) took to Twitch this afternoon to discuss his WWE release, Vince McMahon, and other subjects.
On the hour-long stream, Black said that he was told that budget cuts were the reason for his release. He said that the last few years were like a “slow death” for the Aleister Black character, but would always be pitching ideas. He was excited for the ‘Dark Father’ storyline that had been playing out on TV for the last month, which culminated in an attack on Big E nearly two weeks ago on SmackDown, which was his final WWE appearance.
Regarding Vince McMahon, Black recalled having positive conversations with him.
“Being on the main roster, in all my conversations with Vince, he was always positive,” Black said. “I had a good relationship with Vince. I always told him how I felt and he respected that about me. He always praised me on my creativity and manners of respect but being honest about how I felt. From my point of view, I always felt Vince was always high on me. ”
Regarding WWE’s creative process, he asked for people not to get mad at them. “Creative tries their absolute hardest, and there are good people working there” he said.
Others he thanked include Triple H, Bruce Britchard, Paul Heyman, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Rowan, and Brodie Lee for what they did for him. He also said that Roman Reigns was one of the best locker room leaders he has ever been around.
At one point during the stream, he addressed various reports made about him during his WWE run. Black said that reports of him asking to be sent to NXT being shut down were not true, and were in fact praised. However, Vince wanted to see how his character went first before going back to NXT. He said reports that Vince were never high on the Black character were also not true, though he did say that the seven months being at home “murdered” him.
Towards the end of the stream, he mentioned that he had just created new music for the new character and thought it was the best song he’s had.
WWE thus far have released six people today from their contracts, including Black, Braun Strowman, Lana, Murphy, Ruby Riott, and Santana Garrett.
WWE is continuing to pare down their talent roster, announcing on Wednesday that Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, Lana, Murphy, Ruby Riott and Santana Garrett have all been released.
The 37-year-old Strowman was last seen at May’s WrestleMania Backlash, competing against WWE Champion Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre in a triple threat and had been involved in the Raw main event mix for several months.
A member of the WWE system since 2013, Strowman is a former Universal Champion, Intercontinental Champion and a two-time Raw Tag Team Champion.
After a long absence following his wife Zelina Vega’s release last fall, Aleister Black had finally made his return to SmackDown at the end of May following several weeks of vignettes and appeared to be set to start an angle with Big E. On Twitter, he said the decision came out of left field as they had just started his new “Dark Father” character.
It was reported last month that Vega appeared to be on the verge of a return to WWE, but this decision puts that into question. Black had been with WWE since the summer of 2016 and is a former NXT Champion. He was called up to the main roster in February 2019.
Originally the mouthpiece for Rusev (AEW’s Miro), Lana eventually transitioned into an in-ring character and had been involved in the women’s tag team scene, most recently teaming with Naomi on Raw. The 36-year-old originally signed with WWE in June 2013.
Used sparingly after the Seth Rollins/Rey Mysterio family angle came to an end, Murphy only wrestled three times this calendar year. The 32-year-old last appeared in the Andre The Giant Memorial battle royal on the pre-WrestleMania SmackDown. He is a former NXT Tag Team Champion, a former Raw Tag Team Champion and a former Cruiserweight Champion.
Riott was most recently seen on the May 28th SmackDown as she and Liv Morgan lost to Natalya and Tamina. The 30-year-old had signed with WWE in December 2016 and was called up to the main roster in 2017 after starting out in NXT.
Garrett was signed to a deal in August 2019 and worked sparingly in NXT with only three main roster appearances during that time. She was last seen in this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble.
Six wrestlers and two referees in NXT have been released by WWE.
Dave Meltzer has confirmed that Kavita Devi, Jessamyn Duke, Ezra Judge, Skyler Story, Vanessa Borne, Alexander Wolfe, and referees Drake Wuertz and Jake Clemons have been released from the company. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful was the first to report the cuts, and more are expected.
Wuertz had been a referee for the NXT brand since 2014, and had been seen as recently as this week’s episode of NXT. Wolfe signed with WWE in 2015. He also appeared on last night’s NXT, where he was laid out by members of Imperium after they turned on him. Devi had been training at the WWE Performance Center since 2017, Duke since 2018, Judge since 2019, and Borne since 2016. Story, who previously worked under the name Brandi Lauren in EVOLVE, had started with the company in October.
Fightful additionally reported that Wuertz had “nuclear heat brought on by himself” for the better part of a year. He had to be warned about attending events without a mask and not being vaccinated, and was known for loudly criticizing wrestlers for getting vaccinations or even flu shots. Additonally, there was an incident last year where he stormed out of a Triple H speech prior to the In Your House event. Wuertz left after Triple H mentioned that “(paraphrasing) that all people, races, genders, and religions were welocmed,” with Wuertz becoming upset once relgiion was mentioned.
Wuertz has made controversial statements in recent weeks, most recently at a Seminole County Public School Board meeting back on May 11. In his statement to the board, Wuertz argued that wearing masks in schools assists predators who “wish to prey upon our children”. At a Semionle County Board of County Commissioners meeting on Zoom wearing NXT attire earlier this month, he argued against the mask mandate in the county, saying that “child sex traffickers love COVID masks.”
Prior to signing with WWE as a referee, Wuertz wrestled regularly in CZW under the name Drake Younger.
Mickie James has responded after her tweet of her gear being sent back to her in a trash bag went viral.
James first responded to Stephanie McMahon, who apologized to James directly after James posted on social media a picture of her gear that was returned to her in a trash bag following her release from WWE on April 15.
“Thank you Stephanie,” she wrote. “I appreciate that as I am equally embarrassed. I know this wasn’t a malicious act. However it did feel very symbolic to how I was presented in the last 3 years.”
She later expanded her feelings on the subject, writing the following on social media:
I would like to address this one last time, then we can all move on. I have so many amazing things on the horizon. The last thing I desire it to have any of that tainted with ugliness and negativity. I take zero pride or joy in the fact that someone would lose their job ever. Especially someone I considered a friend. I am confident that Vince & The McMahons had no idea that this is how we were sent packing. It hurt a fragile me much more ten years ago when my belongings arrived on my doorstep, because WWE was my everything.
I am stronger today than I’ve ever been and smart enough to know that it wasn’t a deliberate attack on me. However, the symbolism can not be denied. I am sorry that a thoughtless and tone deaf act would cost anyone their job. But I am not sorry that I had the courage to ensure that it will never happen to anyone else moving forward.
So if that’s my final mark in this company moving forward I am ok with that. When I first started in this business one of the best pieces of advice I received was, “Just leave the business better than you found it kid” and that has always been my ultimate goal. I love you all so much. I am legitimately grateful for my time at WWE and throughout my whole career. I am looking forward to everything that is next. I truly hope you are too and perhaps you will join me.
Sincerely and Humbly Yours,
Mickie Laree James-Aldis
Following the trash bag tweet, Mark Carrano, who was senior director of talent relations, was released from the company. This comes as a number of personnel have been released from the talent relations department, though Carrano’s release is the only one related to the incident.
In a new interview, Chelsea Green described her experiences with WWE creative, a long meeting she had with Vince McMahon and finding out when she was released last week.
Green told Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful that she was surprised by her release as she had been waiting for a return since breaking her wrist in a Survivor Series qualifying match last year on SmackDown in her main roster debut.
“I actually was totally shocked, not going to lie,” she said. “I was totally shocked. I understand it…I wasn’t used. When I was used, I broke my arm. So, I was definitely shocked.”
She noted that she didn’t go to WrestleMania 37 due to COVID-19 restrictions, but had been planning on going to SmackDown this past Friday prior to the releases that took place Thursday afternoon.
She had been called up from NXT in late 2019, but was not used on television for months. A number of ideas had popped up, including being Charlotte Flair’s protege, a “Pussycat Dolls meets Charlie’s Angels” group with Vanessa Borne and Santana Garrett, and a storyline where she would stalk Mickie James in an angle similar to the James/Trish Stratus storyline from 2005.
In regards to meeting Vince McMahon, Green recalled trying to get a meeting him, which she was able to do after waiting outside his office after four weeks. She was eventually able to pitch fifteen to twenty different ideas for her character over a half hour meeting.
“We talked about each one,” she said. “We talked about what ones would work and what wouldn’t. He asked me why I thought certain things would work and why I thought certain things wouldn’t. Two weeks later, I was in that Survivor Series qualifying match.”
When asked if she thought she would have been released if she hadn’t broken her wrist, she said no. “I’m not really one to dwell on what-ifs,” she said. “There’s a couple of what-ifs in my career that I linger on, but that’s life. And not only is that life, that is definitely pro wrestling.”
Green confirmed that she was offered a contract renewal prior to her injury and re-signed with the company for three years. She also confirmed that it was John Laurinaitis who called her with the news that she was released, citing budget cuts.
The two days of WrestleMania, the first U.S. shows during the pandemic with a sizable audience, were shows with hard working wrestlers and very questionable decision-making.
The big surprise was that of the 17 matches, ten were won by the supposed heels (the concept of faces and heels is not particularly strong but this was based on designations going into the matches). There was the feeling that the first shows with live crowds would be presented as a major celebration, particularly now when booking and building the next house are no longer important with all the money guaranteed. But instead of a celebration, the weekend ended with the company having, in theory, eight heel champions and one babyface, Bianca Belair, who ended night one winning the title in the main event. One could argue Rhea Ripley was a face in the end and while the heel in the build, was presented as a face coming out of her title win over Asuka for the Raw women’s championship.
WWE has announced that Mojo Rawley has also been released from the company. Rawley hasn’t wrestled since June 2020.
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WWE announced on Thursday that 10 wrestlers have been released from the company.
In a statement posted on WWE.com, WWE announced that Samoa Joe, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Mickie James, Chelsea Green, Tucker, Kalisto, Mojo Rawley, Bo Dallas, and Wesley Blake have been released: “WWE has come to terms on the release of Samoa Joe, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Mickie James, Chelsea Green, Tucker, Kalisto, Mojo Rawley, Bo Dallas and Wesley Blake as of today April 15, 2021. We wish them the best in all of their future endeavors.”
It had been announced this Monday that Joe was no longer part of the Raw commentary team but remained on the WWE talent roster. He hasn’t wrestled since February 2020 due to concussion issues but stated earlier this year that he doesn’t believe his in-ring career is over.
Royce & Kay were formerly WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions as The IIconics. Their team was split up in August of last year. Kay was in action at WrestleMania 37 night one this past Saturday, teaming with Carmella in the Tag Team Turmoil match that was won by Natalya & Tamina.
James was part of the pre-show panel for NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver nights one and two last week and also did commentary for the event’s pre-show matches. James tweeted about her release: “Grateful for the memories. Grateful for the locker room. Grateful for the fans. Grateful for these little keys to my golden handcuffs. You can never expected others vision of you to be big as your own dreams. Thank you @VinceMcMahon #AlwaysBlessedAndGrateful”
While making her SmackDown debut in November of last year, Green suffered a broken wrist. She posted a picture while backstage at SmackDown last month but didn’t appear on the show.
Tucker was formerly part of Heavy Machinery before the tag team was broken up, while Kalisto was formerly part of The Lucha House Party and Blake was formerly a member of both The Forgotten Sons and Baron Corbin’s Knights of The Lone Wolf. Blake’s stablemate Steve Cutler was released by WWE this February. Dallas’ former tag team partner Curtis Axel was released last year.
WWE confirmed the release this evening, writing on their website: “WWE has come to terms on the release of Andrade. We wish him all the best in all of his future endeavors.”
Andrade confirmed on March 18 that he had recently requested his release from the WWE, writing “The rumors are true and I don’t know what the future holds but I want to make my dreams come true. Thank you for giving me so much support these last days.”
Earlier this afternoon, Andrade wrote on Twitter: “Good news!!!! Buenas noticias!!! #Tranquilo #Happy”
Andrade signed with the WWE in 2015, where he started out in NXT. He won the brand’s top title before moving to the main roster in 2018. One year into his run, he captured the United States title. He had not been on television since October, losing a match to former tag team partner Angel Garza and was left to be laid out by The Fiend.
Andrade asked for his WWE release earlier this week, but was denied.
Wrestling Inc. was first to report that he asked for his release at the Raw tapings this past Monday with Dave Meltzer confirming both the request and denial.
The 31-year-old has not been on WWE TV in over five months, last seen losing to Angel Garza in a match back in October. Afterward, he was taken out by The Fiend.
When it came time for the WWE Draft, he was one of the top names not drafted to either brand and hasn’t wrestled for the company since.
Signing with WWE in 2015, Andrade reached main event level status in NXT, pairing himself with Zelina Vega and winning the NXT Championship. He was called up to the main roster in 2018, winning the U.S. title once the following year. Prior to disappearing off TV, he teamed regularly with Garza before their team split up.
WWE officials have confirmed that Sullivan, real name Dylan Miley, is no longer with the company. PWInsider first reported the story, noting he was released from the company last month.
Miley had not been seen on WWE television since last fall, when he made his return to the company on the SmackDown brand following a knee injury. He routinely attacked a number of stars, including Jeff Hardy and The Miz, and also had sit-down interviews with Michael Cole. He soon vanished from television, however, with no explanation given.
Signing with WWE in 2013, Miley wouldn’t start appearing on NXT television until 2017, first using his real name then later going by the Sullivan name. He challenged then-NXT Champion Aleister Black at NXT TakeOver: Chicago II for the title in a losing effort in 2018.
Vignettes for Miley started to air on main roster television in the fall of 2018, but plans for his television debut were delayed due to anxiety issues. He eventually made his debut in April of 2019, attacking Kurt Angle. A few months later, he suffered a knee injury in a match against the Lucha House Party that kept him out of action for over a year.
“There is no excuse for the inappropriate remarks that I made years ago,” he wrote on social media at the time. “They do not reflect my personal beliefs nor who I am today, and I apologize to anyone I offended.”
AOP, the team of Akam and Rezar, have been released from their WWE contracts.
WWE’s website posted the following message: “WWE has come to terms on the release of Akam and Rezar (AOP). We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”
The team has not been seen on WWE television since Rezar suffered a bicep injury early this year.
Akam and Rezar were put together as a team on NXT starting in 2016 under the name The Authors of Pain, managed by Paul Ellering. They won the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, defeating TM-61 in the finals. They also won the NXT Tag Team titles on January 28, 2017 at TakeOver: San Antonio, defeating DIY.
The Authors of Pain made their debut on Raw on April 9, 2018, defeating Heath Slater and Rhyno. They immediately dropped Ellering as their manager. A number of changes took place in the following months, including shortening their name to AOP and adopting Drave Maverick as their manager. They won the Raw Tag Team titles on November 5, 2018, defeating Seth Rollins in a handicap match after Rollins’ tag team partner Dean Ambrose turned on him. They would lose the titles a month later to the team of Chad Gable and Bobby Roode.
In January 2019, Akam underwent knee surgery, keeping the team dormant for most of the year. Upon their return in November, Maverick was dropped as their manager and the team formed an alliance with Seth Rollins. That was dropped when Rezar suffered the bicep injury.
