WWE News: More Releases Coming, And News On Why Some Superstars Were Let Go Last Week

Last Friday was very reminiscent of what fans dubbed ‘Black Thursday’ back in 2014 when the WWE released 10 performers and one referee. The company announced the releases of eight superstars this time around as Damien Sandow, Wade Barrett, Santino Marella, Hornswoggle, El Torito, Cameron, Zeb Colter, and Alex Riley were all handed their walking papers. Management did it a little earlier in 2014, when on April 24, WWE released Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, JTG, Curt Hawkins, Evan Bourne, Aksana, Yoshi Tatsu, Camacho, Brodus Clay, Teddy Long, and referee Marc Harris.

WWE releases are not uncommon this time of year, as generally the company likes to stack its WrestleMania card with as much talent as possible and trim the fat after the fanfare dies down. But when the releases come in bulk like this, it tends to generate more buzz. And according to PWInsider, more cuts are on the way. In fact, the expectation was that the announcement of more releases would come by the end of May, with some indicating that they could come as early as Monday of this week.

The two names that have generated the most speculation over the last week have been Ryback and Adam Rose, as a result of their inclinations to speak out against the company via social media. On the most recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer pointed out that it might be a bad PR move for WWE to release Rose immediately, but Meltzer believes Rose’s fate is already sealed, and it’s only a matter of time. The writing is also on the wall for Ryback, but WWE may just wait for his contract to expire and not offer him a renewal.

Perhaps the most surprising release was that of popular superstar Damien Sandow. However, it appears the decision on Sandow was made before WrestleMania. Despite Sandow’s ability to draw with poor gimmicks, WWE did not know what to do with him, nor did it seem they had any long-term plans for him or his character. It was a surprise to many that he was able to get what he did out of the Damien Miz-dow gimmick, but everyone realized it had a shelf-life anyway. WWE was just unable to capitalize on any momentum he created organically.

As for the WWE release of Zeb Colter, his impending termination stemmed from his break-up with Alberto Del Rio upon the latter’s return to the company at the end of 2015. It was noted that Colter and Jack Swagger were perfect fits for one another, and their split only hurt both of them rather than helping one or the other. It’s become apparent that WWE has a tendency to book break-ups for the sole reason to break a group or pairing up. Rusev and Lana and The Wyatt Family are further examples.

Interestingly, Meltzer also pointed out that Cameron’s release saved someone else’s job. It was not revealed which superstar, and it’s not known whether that person could be a part of the next round of cuts. Cameron’s fate was sealed when she publicly supported Ryback on Twitter after Ryback posted his lengthy blog bashing the company. Santino’s release was of little surprise because it was assumed he had retired and was not under contract to begin with. Hornswoggle and El Torito are thought to have a chance at signing with Lucha Underground. Hornswoggle and Zeb Colter have already booked their next gig with Global Force Wrestling.

Last week, speculation ran rampant over a long-time top-level talent adding his name to the chopping block, though nothing came of it. For the time being, Randy Orton’s name has been crossed off the list of potential candidates. It will be interesting to keep an eye on how this all plays out, and we could be waiting for the last of the names to come out until the end of the month.

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