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Since the on-set of the Covid 19 pandemic in early 2020, WWE has released a host of superstars due to budget cuts. Some famous names like Braun Strowman, Nia Jax, Keith Lee, Bray Wyatt and most recently John Morrison have been let go as a result.
2021 itself has seen more than 80 talents being discharged by the company, with the latest batch of eight superstars released on November 18. This after eighteen superstars were already released earlier this month.
As a result of these lay-offs, there are complete teams that have been released from Vince McMahon's promotion which brings us to the topic in question today. Here's a look at six entire teams that have been released by WWE in 2021:
#6 WWE Team - Lucha House Party
Lucha House Party was a team consisting of three luchadors in Kalisto, Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado. After gaining prominence on 205 Live, they debuted on the main WWE RAW roster in 2018. They had some memorable feuds with teams comprising of Jinder Mahal & The Singh Brothers and The O.C. (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) on the Red Brand.
In 2019, they were drafted to SmackDown and challenged, then SmackDown Tag Team Champions Shinsuke Nakamura and Ceasro - albeit not being able to dethrone them for the titles. Kalisto was the most successful member of the trio, having held multiple titles in WWE. He was a former two-time United States Champion, a former NXT Tag Team Champion with Sin Cara as well as a former Cruiserweight Champion.
The team was released from WWE in 2021 with Kalisto being let go in April and Metalik and Dorado in the first batch of releases on November 4. Kalisto has since joined Tony Khan's AEW, while the next course of action is yet to be determined for his former partners.
#5 WWE Team - Ever-Rise
The team of Mathew Martel and Chase Parker wrestled on NXT under the name 3.0 in 2019, before being repackaged as Ever-Rise in September of the same year.
Ever Rise had some memorable feuds in NXT as well as 205 Live against the teams of Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch and Rinku Singh & Saurav Gurjar. They were also popular among fans with their show Ever-Rise Live.
The team was released by WWE on June 25, 2021 and has since joined AEW under the new ring name of 2.0.
#4 WWE Team - The Fogotten Sons
The Forgotten Sons, a team featuring Jaxson Ryker, Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake, made quite the impact on WWE NXT with rivalaries against established teams like the Street Profits and Heavy Machinery from 2018 to 2019.
This led them to debut on the main SmackDown roster on April 10, 2020 as they beat the Lucha House Party in their first match. The trio would also feud with the Smackdown Tag Team Champions at the time, The New Day, even beating them in a non-title match.
Unfortunately for the trio, the team was taken off-air due to some issues and was eventually disbanded.
Jaxson Ryker was also known for his alliance with Elias later as the three men were let go from WWE in 2021. On February 4, Cutler was released, followed by Blake on April 15, and Ryker on November 18.
#3 WWE Team - The Singh Brothers
The Singh Brothers - Samir and Sunil Singh were best known in WWE as the managers and allies of the former WWE champion Jinder Mahal between 2017 to 2019. They helped Mahal retain the WWE Championship by interfering in his bouts against Randy Orton at the time.
The real-life brothers debuted in the promotion in 2016 on the 205 Live and NXT roster as The Bollywood Boyz before their gimmick was changed to the Singh Brothers when they aligned with Jinder.
In October 2019, Samir and Sunil were sent back to 205 Live separating them from Mahal where they reverted back to a gimmick similar to that of the Bollywood Boyz.
On October 21, 2019 Sunil managed to win the 24/7 Championship from R-Truth with help from his brother Samir. He subsequently lost the title 10 days later to R-Truth in a Battle Royal at the Crown Jewel PPV. Later in the evening at the same event, Samir managed to pin R-Truth backstage to win the 24/7 title, only to lose it 18 days later to Truth again.
The brothers would continue to compete as a tag team until they were released from the company on June 25, 2021.
#2 WWE Team - The IIconics
The IIconics, consisting of Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, were certainly one of the more famous tag teams on the WWE roster over the last few years.
Having made the step up from NXT to the main roster in 2018, they captured the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 35, defeating The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Sasha Banks and Bayley), Nia Jax & Tamina and Beth Phoenix & Natalya in a Fatal Four-Way contest.
The win made them the first Australian female duo to win a major championship in WWE. The two women were released from the company in April 2021. Following which they signed with Impact Wrestling under the new name 'The IInspiration'.
#1 WWE Team - Hit Row
Hit Row, a team comprising of Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Ashante "Thee" Adonis, Top Dolla, and B-Fab was released by WWE this month which was certainly very surprising.
The faction, having won hearts in NXT since its formation in May this year, was drafted to SmackDown in October. It was rumored that seeing their success on NXT, WWE planned to give them a big push on the main roster.
Dutch Mantel, a WWE veteran, was surprised by the decision to release the entire stable and had this to say on this week's Smack Talk episode:
"So, that may have had; they may have let them go as a set, I guess. What surprises me is that Hit Row, they (WWE) just brought those guys there. I didn't know who they were, and they have already let them go. I don't understand that at all, but that's the way it is," Mantell said.
While B-Fab was released on November 4, the remaining three members of the faction received their marching orders in the latest batch of the November 18 release.
WWE superstars who are released have a 90-day non-compete clause and it remains to be seen what the future course of action will be for this faction.
What do you think of the massive amount of WWE releases in the past several months? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
