'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Ever since All Elite Wrestling burst onto the scene, other promotions, and mainly WWE, have been forced to change how they go about some of their business practices.
One of the main practices AEW's emergence has changed in WWE is how the company goes about releasing Superstars.
In year's past, there was usually a 'Spring Cleaning' of superstars after WrestleMania. They would also sporadically release Superstars throughout the year if they themselves asked for his or her release.
But since WWE fears the perception of its stars wanting to leave and potentially join the competition, they've gone about giving releases in a much different manner.
They often won't release a Superstar nowadays if they think they can make plans for the them or if those wrestlers could potentially join the competition and hurt WWE.
A lot of the Superstars in WWE don't get enough attention or a push from creative so that they don't seem important enough in WWE or that they are expendable.
While a lot of the fault for the lack of exposure and care to some Superstars falls on WWE's shoulders, a portion of the blame, whether warranted or not, also falls with the superstars.
That doesn't mean that there still are Superstars who could easily be released by WWE in order to make room for the inevitable free-agent signings and call-ups from NXT.
Here are some Superstars that WWE could easily release without much fear of that release coming back to haunt them.
#10 The Colons
Primo Colon has been on the main roster for almost a decade. He's held tag team gold with his brother, Carlito, as well as with cousin Epico.
While that's a decent accomplishment, the team hasn't been booked in much of anything of consequence since 2011 when Rosa Mendes was still strangely employed by WWE.
They were repackaged a few times as Los Matadores and as timeshare salesmen for Puerto Rico.
Nothing came from either change and it just appears that WWE either doesn't know what to do with the Colons, they do not care about them or there just isn't room for them in the context of the current tag team divisions.
Since WWE hasn't done anything with them, it wouldn't be a huge loss if they outright released the Colons. They are talented in the ring but the charisma part is lacking.
While they could join a competitor like NJPW or AEW, what I've seen from them in during their WWE tenures makes me believe that they wouldn't be a huge loss that would come back to bite WWE in the rear.
#9 No Way Jose
Dancing gimmicks have a short shelf life on the main roster in WWE. Just ask Adam Rose, Tons of Funk and Fandango.
While it does get the fans on their feet when his theme hits, is he merely an act dependent upon his theme or not?
Like most of the Superstars on this list, he's perfectly fine in the ring and actually has some enthusiastic charisma. But like a lot of NXT Superstars, they were called up with no plan or they were buried merely for being from NXT.
Perhaps Jose should at least undergo a gimmick change first before he might get released by WWE, but his time on the main roster is already a failure.
You'd have to think he'd want more from his WWE, but perhaps he is one of the people Drew McIntyre spoke about who are just happy to be in WWE an collect a check.
Perhaps he is not and he is secretly upset. But until we get news of Jose asking for his release, we won't know of his mindset.
Unless he gets a new gimmick that skyrockets him to the top like the Undertaker, a release of Jose wouldn't be earth-shattering should WWE decide to pursue it.
#8 Tamina
Tamina, as most wrestling fans know, is the daughter of Jimmy Snuka. She's been on the main roster since around 2010 and has been hurt on and off.
She's usually been used as a secondary player in practically every feud she's been a part of, like when she was AJ Lee's bodyguard, or a part of Team BAD or with Lana.
Her current pairing with Nia Jax is mostly because they are Samoan and WWE is pushing the women's tag team titles. Compared to the other women on the roster, Tamina is among the sloppiest in the ring.
The splash off the top rope isn't really a splash but more of her trying to jump of the top rope and land on her feet.
I'm sure she's a decnt wrestler but with the talent of women like Asuka, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Ruby Riott and all of the talented women down in NXT, what's Tamina's value to the current women's divisions?
#7 The Ascension
The Ascension were doomed from the time they started out on the main roster. JBL constantly bashed them as rip-offs from the past. When JBL was on commentary, he was often Mr. McMahon's voice to fans.
Since they started off behind the eight ball so to speak, any success they could have mustered would have been a surprise.
Had they been handled differently, they could have been treated more like a dangerous heel team rather than a joke from the past.
They have shown a penchant for being a comedy duo along the likes of Breezeango, but that doesn't get them very far if creative doesn't see any potential in them.
The duo did have a brief partnership with Cody during the Cosmic Wasteland days, so who knows if they were close or not during that partnership.
They might be a part of any promotion's tag team division, but how successful they'd be is debatable. Booking is always a big part of a team's success, so would they be booked a lot better elsewhere?
As of right now, they are usually a jobber to teams higher in the pecking order or the fourth team when a fourth team is needed.
#6 Mike and Maria Kanellis
Another set of Superstars with a catchy theme, Mike and Maria Kanellis limped onto the scene in their WWE debuts. It fell flat immediately, and only the guilty pleasure theme song seemed to keep them afloat.
Not to mention that not shortly after debuting, Maria got pregnant and Mike had to go to rehab. While it was the best option for both people, it killed what little momentum they had and caused the WWE Universe to forget about them.
Personally, I never thought the duo was anything special. Sure, they were a good mid-card act in both New Japan, Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor, but I didn't see them as 'must-sign' by WWE.
But WWE was in 'sign up everyone' mode over the last few years, so the couple was signed. They were sent to 205 Live when both returned to action, but allegedly both requested their releases last month.
Maria was a part of the women's rumble match while Mike has remained a member of 205 Live.
If they were in fact released, they'd likely return to one of their previous homes and be booked the same as they previously were. It wouldn't hurt WWE as it did not hurt them before the duo was signed.
#5 Shelton Benjamin
This wrestler was doing things Kofi Kingston does before the faux-Jamaican was creating new ways to stave off eliminations in the Royal Rumble.
Benjamin is one of the most physically gifted Superstars WWE has ever had (watch any ladder match he's been in) but he's never been seen as more than a mid-card guy or a tag team specialist.
He did have some good matches with Daniel Bryan and others upon his return to WWE, but he's been seen on SmackDown about as much as we've seen Bray Wyatt lately.
Like the Kanellis', he was resigned to help the brand split and to keep him from the competitors.
While he did have some success in NJPW and as a tag team with Charlie Haas in ROH, if he was released, he would probably experience the same type of booking prior to getting the call to come back to WWE.
He's still uber-talented but his release wouldn't sink the WWE. If they thought more of him then he'd be on TV or in more storylines.
#4 Sin Cara
In the quest to find the next Rey Mysterio, WWE signed Alberto Del Rio and the original Sin Cara with the hopes that either man would take over as the next Latino star in WWE.
Well, they failed on both fronts. Both men who put on the mask were prone to a botch here and there and without speaking, failed to really connect with the WWE Universe.
Those two factors have kept Sin Cara from being little more than a opponent for people to beat in warm-up matches.
He did have a great match with Andrade when the latter debuted last year, but he got hurt and has been nearing a return to action for some time.
Since the roster is already stacked from top to bottom and he's already had runs in a tag team (Lucha Dragons) and as a singles' competitor, there's little more for him to do than what he used to do.
A release of Sin Cara wouldn't really put a dent into WWE as there are several more talented stars in NXT and yet to be signed.
#3 Kona Reeves
I understand that he needed a gimmick to get over more in NXT, but the whole "I'm the Finest!" mantra got old the first time he said that phrase almost 10 times upon debuting again, if you may say.
It didn't help that he came back right along the same time that EC3 was also resigned. Reeves is perfectly fine in the ring but he doesn't do anything that stands out to set him apart.
A different gimmick or more backstory would have suited him better rather than just constantly saying that he's the finest and wearing shades and chains.
He's been off of NXT TV for months and it appears he isn't really much of a priority. That's seems fine since his gimmick was more annoying than effective.
Perhaps the hiatus from the screen is to repackage him which would suit him well. But if he did get released to make way for some of the new performance center recruits, it wouldn't shock me.
#2 Dana Brooke
Brooke seemed like someone that WWE wanted to push due to her look and her bodybuilding background.
Everyone knows how much both Vince McMahon and Triple H love bodybuilders, but Brooke was signed without any experience in the ring. And man, did it show.
While she did get a little better in the ring, she was called up too soon and hasn't really improved much to the point where she is a competitive threat to any of the bigger names in the women's division.
Her time in Titus Worldwide gave her some new life, but that partnership was quickly dissolved after a short run.
Like Tamina, what's her spot on the roster with so many more talented women in NXT and more to be signed every month?
If Brooke was released, she would probably get signed by a promotion like Impact rather than AEW because the type of women AEW are looking for are a lot better in the ring than Brooke has proven to be.
But with new management in Impact, maybe they won't be so quick to snap up any released WWE superstars like they did in the past.
#1 Mojo Rawley
While the jury is still out on this new 'yelling at himself in the mirror' phase of Rawley's main-roster tenure, this might be the third strike in trying to get over as a believable WWE superstar.
His Andre the Giant match win was mainly due to the mainstream appeal of having Rob Gronkowski show up at WrestleMania. His tag team with Zack Ryder didn't last long on the main roster either.
He's shown more potential as a heel than he did as a grown man hyped up on sugar all the time.
Some former athletes don't always have the greatest success when trying out pro wrestling and Rawley has found it difficult to stand out in WWE.
He does seem like he loves the business and he hasn't been constantly booked into storylines on the main roster. So those are two factors which might keep him around.
But a lot of guys who think they can make it in pro wrestling simply because they were former athletes don't understand that guys like Daniel Bryan, Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe get over because A) they toiled away on the independent scene for much of their careers and B) hardcore fans and wrestlers respect wrestlers like that more so than failed athletes.
Rawley could find his footing elsewhere in another promotion, but I don't think he would bring the WWE house down if they decided to cut ties with the former NFL player.
