5 Times WWE Superstars were surprised by the release of their colleagues 

#1. AJ Styles was shocked by the WWE release of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

BREAKING: WWE has come to terms on the release of Drake Maverick (James Curtin), Curt Hawkins (Brian Myers), Karl Anderson (Chad Allegra), EC3 (Michael Hutter) and Lio Rush (Lionel Green). We wish them all the best in their future endeavors. https://t.co/cX449nNSLU

— WWE (@WWE) April 15, 2020

AJ Styles wrestled The Undertaker in a Boneyard match back at WWE WrestleMania 36, which also featured Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Despite making a cameo as part of this match, Gallows and Anderson were released from WWE a few days later alongside several other WWE stars.

Styles was taking a hiatus from WWE following his loss to The Undertaker at the time and was seemingly devastated by the release of his closest friends. This led to issues between Paul Heyman and Styles. The two men now have to work on separate brands.

Here's AJ Styles thoughts on the #WWE releases from yesterday 😭 pic.twitter.com/bdf4yMUwf5

— ChanMan (@ChandranTheMan) April 17, 2020

Styles' reaction to their release on his live stream just days later shows how the former WWE Champion felt losing his two closest friends:

“That one hurt really bad. The only way I can explain it is that these guys are my family and I couldn’t take care of my little brothers. I didn’t manage to do that and I feel responsible for them being released. It’s devastating.”

Gallows and Anderson have since gone on to make a name for themselves in IMPACT Wrestling whilst Styles has made it clear that he will retire from WWE when his current contract expires.