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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and they do not necessarily represent the views of Sportskeeda
Over the past month and a half, there have reports of a plethora of WWE Superstars asking for their release from the company. Names like Luke Harper, Lio Rush, The Revival, and Sasha Banks have reportedly requested for their release.
The company has turned down the release requests of each of these superstars, and in Harper's case added a few months to his existing contract due to his absence when he was injured.
This is perhaps the first time in the company's history where there have been so many disgruntled superstars who have become disillusioned with their positions in the company, and are looking to get out of the world's biggest wrestling promotion.
While WWE has every right to not grant talents their release, the way the company has been treating some of the superstars who have requested for their release has been absolutely horrendous.
Take the case of The Revival for example. It was reported at the start of the year that Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder asked for their releases, as they were unhappy with the creative direction of their characters and the overall state of tag team wrestling in the company.
This resulted in the company hastily putting the RAW Tag Team Championships on The Revival, a decision which was clearly done to make Dawson and Wilder reconsider their decision.
They then lost the titles to Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder on the pre-show of WrestleMania 35. It was then reported that The Revival had turned down a huge money deal with the company, and things have only gotten worse for The Top Guys ever since this news broke out.
Being the global juggernaut they are, and the amount of talent they have on hand, it is easy to see why some superstars might be disgruntled. But the way the company has handled the situation has been totally uncalled for, and could well turn out to be a PR nightmare for them in the coming months.
WWE hasn't had a great 2019 so far, with the company's TV ratings witnessing an all-time low and their live event attendances not inspiring confidence. The company's revenue also witnessed a dip, as was made public during their Quarterly Earnings Report.
One would think that in such trying times the company would be tactful in handling their talent. However, these news reports have put the company in a bad light and generated a lot of bad press.
Add to that, with the impending competition from All Elite Wrestling, the company is already looking the most vulnerable it has been in over three decades.
The WWE management isn't doing anything to salvage the situation, and are in fact only making things worse by mistreating superstars who have asked for their releases.
We just hope that the company irons out its differences with the disgruntled superstars and lets them go if that's what they want. Holding back talent will only portray the company as insecure, especially with fresh competition from AEW.
