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Up until last night, there had been just five releases from the company in more than four months with Matt Hardy, The Revival, Jazzy Gabert, and Killer Kelly the only stars to have walked away from the company, whilst Cathy Kelley also decided to end her employment in WWE.
Over the past few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused issues across the globe with many companies going into administration as a result. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon revealed at yesterday's earnings call that cuts needed to be made across the board and whilst last night's releases were much faster than expected, they didn't come as a surprise.
WWE released on-air talent, backstage producers and even creative members as part of last night's cull that looked to take some pressure off the company, who are currently looking for ways to make back the deficit that WrestleMania at the Performance Center looks to have left them with.
Whilst many more releases are both rumored and expected, here is the full list of stars who were released from the company last night. This list only includes stars who WWE revealed have been released or that have announced it themselves.
#20. Kurt Angle
It came as a huge shock when the news came through that Kurt Angle had been released by WWE. The former World Champion was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame back in 2017, was a General Manager of Monday Night RAW, and had his final match at WrestleMania just last year.
The WWE Universe knew that Angle had retired from the wrestling side of WWE employment but he had quietly stepped into a backstage role as a producer. This is a role that many stars including Mark Henry, D-Von Dudley, and even Tyson Kidd have stepped into following their retirement. The former Olympic star reacted to his release on social media just hours after it became public knowledge.
#19. Rusev
Rusev was the final WWE release of the night and he actually revealed his release himself on Twitter when he shared a post that said "Rusev Out." Of course, The Bulgarian Brute has been known to troll his fanbase in the past, but just minutes later WWE confirmed that this time Rusev wasn't joking and he had become another star on the list of last night's releases.
Rusev was recently part of a storyline including his wife Lana and Bobby Lashley but hasn't been seen on WWE TV since before WrestleMania as rumors of Rusev refusing a new contract filtered through. The former United States Champion reportedly wasn't ready to re-sign with WWE and follow in his wife's footsteps, which is why the company decided to keep him off TV.
#18. Deonna Purrazzo
Deonna Purrazzo made an impressive appearance on RAW a few weeks ago, she was a woman who had been making waves in NXT ever since the original Mae Young Classic, even though she was never fully able to make the impact of many other women on the roster.
The star posted on Twitter last night where she herself revealed that she had been released by the company.
#17. Drake Maverick
Drake Maverick is a former 24/7 Champion as well as the former General Manager of 205 Live, but he was the first man on the list of releases last night and easily one of the most heartbreaking. Maverick released a video after the news was made public where he broke down in tears as he talked about his final matches in WWE as part of the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
The matches will still go ahead and Maverick believes that this could save his career with the company if he's the man who's able to come out on top in the tournament.
#16. Zack Ryder
Zack Ryder has been part of WWE for more than 13 years, he's the underdog that the WWE Universe has pushed for throughout his career. In recent year's Ryder has finally been able to hear his theme at WrestleMania, became the shock Intercontientnal Champion and even became Tag Team Champions at last year's show withCurt Hawkins.
That being said, Ryder and Hawkins have been enhancement talent in the Tag Team Division over the past year and obviously even though Ryder is a popular star both backstage and with the WWE Universe, he was someone that WWE had nothing for at present.
#15. Curt Hawkins
Curt Hawkins was interestingly brought back to WWE after SmackDown went live back in 2016. His Face the Facts gimmick wasn't a huge hit with the WWE Universe but he hit gold when his defeated streak was able to go on for more than a year and led him to a historic victory at last year's WrestleMania.
Hawkins and Ryder didn't hold the Tag Team Championships for long but they had a memorable win and for a few weeks, they were Champions. It's been downhill for the duo since then, but Hawkins has been released by WWE before and will know how to bounce back and once again become the best he's ever been.
#14. Karl Anderson
Karl Anderson came to WWE back in 2016 and came with a pedigree that stated that he could become a real heavy hitter in the Tag Team Division. As former members of The Bullet Club, a lot was expected of Luke Gallows and Anderson, but the company took a while to decide whether they wanted them to be with Finn Balor or AJ Styles.
The duo then became The Club with Styles and whilst they are former Tag Team Champions, they never managed to show their best in WWE. It's fitting that their last appearance in the company was as part of The Boneyard match where The Undertaker took on AJ Styles at WrestleMania. Both Gallows and Anderson became victims of the Deadman that night with Anderson being thrown off a roof.
#13. Luke Gallows
Luke Gallows has been in WWE numerous times already as Festus alongside Jesse and most obviously as part of CM Punk's Straight Edge Society. That being said, Gallows had proved his worth in Japan before being signed back to WWE and hoped that this time around things would be different.
The Club was made into a joke as The Good Brothers for a while, even though the WWE Universe knew what they were capable of and as with Karl Anderson, the duo will always be remembered as two-time Tag Team Champions and The Best Tag Team In The World. Gallows' final WWE appearance also came at WrestleMania as part of The Boneyard match.
#12. Eric Young
Whilst he was part of Sanity in NXT, Eric Young was someone that the WWE Universe believed could move on to be a huge hit on the main roster. Sadly, Sanity went their separate direction and are now all on completely separate WWE brands, and with Young all alone on RAW, WWE reduced him to being enhancement talent.
Young has made a handful of WWE appearances over the past year and wasn't a shock addition to the releases last night, even though he is yet to make any kind of public comment.
#11. Erick Rowan
With Luke Harper walking away from WWE late last year, his Bludgeon Brothers partner Erick Rowan debuted a new character where he was protecting something inside a cage that he would regularly bring to the ring.
After he revealed that it was a pet spider, which looked very much like a toy, Aleister Black went on to destroy the cage ahead of WrestleMania and Rowan has been kept off WWE TV since. Reports suggested that the company wanted to end the storyline and with nothing in the pipeline for the former Tag Team Champion, he was added to yesterday's list of releases.
#10. Sarah Logan
The only main roster female wrestler who was released from WWE last night was former Riott Squad member Sarah Logan. The former NXT star wrestled her last match this past week on RAW when she came up against Shayna Baszler and the match was over in seconds.
Mike Rome announced Logan as the winner by mistake since it was Baszler who picked up the win when Logan couldn't continue. Unlike her Riott Squad teammates, Logan hasn't had much of a storyline on RAW since the team split last year but given recent performances at Elimination Chamber and as part of the feud between Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan, things were looking up for Logan.
#9. Mike Choida
WWE stars were not the only ones on the release list last night since WWE also released a number of backstage staff and producers. Mike Chioda is someone who has been part of the business for decades and his release came as a huge shock last night.
Choida made history as the longest-tenured referee in WWE history since he has been signed to the company since the late 1980s, refereeing some of the biggest matches in WWE history including The Rock vs Hogan at WrestleMania X8 and even Money in the Bank 2016 where all members of The Shield became WWE Champion.
#8. Mike Kanellis
Mike Kanellis came to WWE off the back of a successful run in both Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor, when he and his wife Maria debuted back at Money in the Bank in 2017. They were expected to be the next IT Couple on SmackDown Live but this wasn't the case.
Kanellis has been pushed from feud to feud over the past few years over on 205 Live and has made a handful of appearances on the main roster as part of a controversial storyline with his wife Maria. The couple requested their WWE release and recently signed new five-year deals with WWE.
#7. Maria Kanellis
Maria Kanellis first came to WWE back in 2004 but after leaving and returning with her husband in 2017, things were believed to be different. Maria is a former 24/7 Champion, the only pregnant Champion in WWE history, and recently gave birth to the couple's second child called Carver.
Kanellis revealed yesterday that their youngest child is now just two months old but both children are happy and healthy and that Mike and Maria would get though this latest set back.
#6. Lio Rush
Lio Rush rose to fame as the Hype Man for Bobby Lashley on Monday Night RAW, but after Rush parted ways with Lashley, he went on to become NXT Cruiserweight Champion and lit up the developmental division when he was given the freedom he deserved in the ring.
Only recently the Man Of The Hour was rumored to be returning to partner Lashley on Monday Night RAW since the former Intercontinental Champion has been having some issues on the brand under the leadership of his wife, Lana. If this was the plan, it appears that it could have now changed.
#5. EC3
EC3 came to WWE after a successful spell in Impact Wrestling but like many other stars on this list, he was never given the opportunities that he deserved. EC3's run in NXT proved that he was capable of being a huge star in WWE as well, but after he was called up to the main roster at the end of 2018, EC3 was completely wasted.
A feud with Dean Ambrose went nowhere and the character change during the main roster promotion didn't go over well with the WWE Universe. In the end, EC3 was reduced to chasing R-Truth on a regular basis in the hopes that he could lift the 24/7 Championship, a title that he won on four separate occasions.
#4. Aiden English
Aiden English is a former NXT Tag Team Champion but after a successful run alongside Rusev on SmackDown Live a few years ago, English was interestingly added to the announcer's desk where he would provide the commentary for 205 Live.
It was thought that this was short term, but English continued to work behind the desk for more than a year and even went on to appear on NXT UK as their commentator a number of times.
English had an incredible singing voice and could back up this character in the ring, but WWE opted to move him into the commentary booth after his feud with Rusev came to an end.
#3. Primo and Epico
Primo and Epico Colon have been repackaged more than any other team in WWE, seen as The Colons, Los Matadores, The Shining Stars, and even just Primo and Epico throughout their career, which interestingly began back in 2011.
The duo are former Tag Team Champions but over the past few years, they have been used to make up the numbers in the Tag Team Division and haven't even come close to a second run as Champions.
Their most recent appearance came as a dark match back in Jauary 2019 and many members of the WWE Universe believed that the duo had already been released, since they have been wrestling in World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico alongside their father in recent months.
#2. Shane Helms
Shane Helms had a lengthy run with WWE as The Hurricane, winning a number of Championships including the Hardcore and European Championships. Helms was originally released from his WWE contract back in 2010 but returned to the company at the 2018 Royal Rumble where he was eliminated by John Cena.
It was later revealed that Helms had rejoined WWE and was working as a backstage producer, which allowed him to attempt to become 24/7 Champion but he was another interesting name on yesterday's list of releases.
#1. Heath Slater
Heath Slater has been signed to WWE for almost 16 years and in that time he has been part of several stables and teams and has won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, the WWE Tag Team Championships, and even the 24/7 Championship.
Slater was a heavy fan favorite and the only member of 3MB who hasn't won a WWE Championship. The star who rose to fame when he went undrafted back in 2016 and made it clear that he needed the job because "I've got kids" was another surprising addition to the release list last night.
