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The pro wrestling community just witnessed the beginning of a new wave of layoffs in WWE. The company had previously made news for firing several of their stars, including one of its most loyal talents, Dolph Ziggler. Now, the Stamford-based wrestling outfit has released five more superstars.
The news of these releases came out when Friday Night SmackDown was still airing on April 19. Several members of the WWE Universe expected this to happen, especially since the TKO-controlled pro wrestling outfit announced a budget cut recently.
Here are all the stars who have now been shown the exit by the company.
#5. Xia Li bids goodbye to WWE
Xia Li exited the company with grace. The 35-year-old Chinese star started training with the Stamford-based promotion in January 2017 and later made her debut in July that year.
She had a decent run on the promotion and was brought to the main roster in 2021, before being sent back to NXT in 2023. She had a great feud with Becky Lynch for the NXT Women’s Championship recently.
She also participated in the Women's Royal Rumble Match earlier this year and the Last Chance Battle Royal to earn the final spot in the Women's Elimination Chamber Match but failed to make an impact.
She expressed her gratitude with a post on X (formerly Twitter) and thanked the company for everything, saying that it is not an ending, but a new beginning.
#4. Xyon Quinn was released after seeing little action
Xyon Quinn hails from Australia and joined WWE NXT in May 2018.
Born Daniel Vidot, the 34-year-old superstar made his way to the squared circle after leaving his rugby days behind. After an average run in NXT, Quinn did move to the main roster but only had a couple of matches since the move.
Moreover, his last fight on March 1, 2024, saw him take a humiliating loss to Bron Breakker in just six seconds.
#3. Sanga was laid off from the company
Sanga joined the promotion in January 2018 after making a name for himself in the Indian pro wrestling scene.
Born Saurav Gurjar, he is an Indian national kickboxing gold medalist.
He initially had the gimmick of Grayson Waller’s bodyguard, which was quickly discarded, following which he made his RAW debut in May 2023. Notably, Sanga wasn’t the only Indian who was sacked from the roster.
#2. Veer Mahan released with his tag team partner
Rinku Singh Rajput, known in WWE as Veer Mahan, found his way into the company after making his exit from baseball. The 35-year-old signed his contract parallelly with Sanga, with whom he later formed the Indus Sher tag team.
Veer appeared in both singles as well as tag team action. While the tag team of Indus Sher has been released, their manager, a well-known and long-time talent has also been released.
#1 The surprising WWE exit of Jinder Mahal
Jinder Mahal is probably the most unexpected name on the list of released superstars.
The Modern Day Maharaj made his way up the ranks of the roster and won the WWE Championship in April 2017. His reign lasted 170 days before he lost his title to AJ Styles.
Jinder Mahal was the manager and spokesperson of Indus Sher but was released along with the tag team. Notably, Mahal wrote a post on X, saying that he had quit. This confused several fans. However, it was then reported that he was released from the company and didn’t resign.
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