Top 10 Most Shocking WWE Releases of 2021
WWE has been hiring as many superstars as possible in the last few years to prevent them from going to other companies. However, things have obviously changed in WWE's management, as they have been releasing many of their employees since 2020. The year 2021 has been an especially challenging year when it comes to these releases, and if reports are to be believed, there will be more to come. Let's rank the most shocking WWE releases of the year 2021.
Windham Lawrence Rotunda was an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Bray Wyatt. Rotunda is a third-generation professional wrestler, following in the footsteps of his grandfather Blackjack Mulligan, his father Mike Rotunda, and two of his uncles Barry and... read more One of the most shocking releases, not only in the 2020s but of all time, Bray Wyatt was released on July 31, 2021, ending his 12-year tenure with WWE. It seems Wyatt was released due to budget cuts as he had one of the biggest contracts in the company.
This is so shocking. WWE won't be the same without the Fiend anymore.
Still can't believe it... And I was so looking forward to his return...
Adam Scherr is an American professional wrestler and former strongman. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Braun Strowman. In WWE, he is a one-time Universal Champion, a one-time Intercontinental Champion, and a two-time Raw Tag Team Champion. Listen, people are making a big deal out of these releases, but in all honesty, the only three that really hurt WWE are "Moxley", Rusev, and Strowman. It's a business, and the company decided to release some of their performers. Most on this list are not top-notch. On the other hand, I can't stand the fact that they have brought back Cena and Goldberg. What is this? AEW? Once a performer hits 50 or is no longer relevant (Cena), they need to retire or stay retired. AEW is full of "managers" (Arn Anderson, Jake Roberts, Sting, Chavo Guerrero, Tully Blanchard, etc.) of this ilk. This is not the '70s or '80s.
Tom Budgen is a Dutch professional wrestler best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Aleister Black. Prior to signing with WWE, Budgen worked for promotions across Europe, United States, and Japan, under the ring name Tommy End. He was released from WWE in June 2021. He... read more Fans were shocked when Black was released on June 2, 2021, as WWE reportedly had big plans in the works for him and had just returned to TV with a new character. Fortunately for Black, WWE made the mistake of not changing his non-compete clause in his contract when he was moved from NXT, which allowed him to join AEW after 30 days, 60 days shy of the usual 90-day non-compete clause.
They had something going with him, and just a few weeks in, BAM, he's gone just like that.
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa, better known by his ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE and performing on NXT. He is most well known for his time in NXT, where he was a former two time NXT champion. Though Samoa Joe returned to WWE's NXT shortly after his release, fans were shocked by the news of his release on April 15, 2021. Joe is arguably one of the best on the mic ever in WWE and wrestling in general, and one of the most believable wrestlers in the ring.
Matthew Adams is an Australian professional wrestler best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring names Murphy or Buddy Murphy. He was released from WWE in June 2021. Released on June 2, 2021, his release was shocking as he is in the prime of his career at 32 years old and is one of the best in-ring talents they had. He had great matches with the likes of Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, and Aleister Black, as well as a great run as Cruiserweight Champion.
Mickie Laree James-Aldis better known as Mickie James, is an American professional wrestler, actress, model and country singer best known for her time with WWE. She was released from WWE in 2021. She then signed with Impact Wrestling that same year. One of many to have been released on April 15, 2021, it was shocking, to say the least, as she is a veteran of the wrestling business and has a lot of experience to share.
Richard Morgan "Ric" Fliehr, better known by his ring name Ric Flair, is a professional wrestling manager and American retired professional wrestler currently signed to the WWE under a legends appearance contract. You might wonder how or why Ric Flair is on this list. Well, it's simple: he had a Legends Contract with WWE for years now, meaning they could use his name for merchandising and other purposes, as well as have him appear on TV. Flair asked for his release, and his wish was granted on August 2, 2021.
I was going to put Peyton Royce and Billie Kay separately, but let's be honest, they are best remembered for their run as a duo. Both their releases were shocking as WWE seemed to have plans in the works for their careers as singles stars.
I'm a huge fan of them, so this one really broke my heart. The releases this year have been absolutely insane.
Emanuel Alejandro Rodriguez is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the ring name Kalisto. He was released from WWE in April 2021.
Catherine Joy Perry is an American professional wrestler, actress, dancer, model, professional wrestling manager and singer. She is best known for her time with WWE, where she performed under the name Lana. She was released from WWE in 2021. Lana was released on June 2, 2021. It was a shocking release as she was in a team with Naomi, and WWE lacks teams in the women's tag team division. Many fans were sad she never got to hold gold in her tenure with WWE.
Such a huge shock. He should've had a much longer reign as the North American Champion.
Mattias Clement is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he competed under the ring name Tyler Breeze. He is a former NXT Tag Team Champion alongside Fandango, in the tag team Breezango. He was released from WWE in June 2021. Breezango was one of my favorite tag teams, so this one really made me upset.
He even appeared on NXT the night before he was released, which is crazy.
Chelsea Green, who you may know, is in a relationship with Matt Cardona, also known as Zack Ryder in WWE. She was released on April 15, 2021. There were a lot of reports that Green was backstage at SmackDown a few times and that there were plans for her, but it seems all of that was cut.
Curtis Jonathan Hussey is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Fandango. He was an NXT Tag Team Champion alongside Tyler Breeze, where they performed under the tag team name Breezango He and Breeze were released from WWE in June... read more
Anthony "Tony" Nese is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the name Tony Nese. He was released from WWE in June 2021.
This one was so shocking and came out of nowhere.
Dean Muhtadi is an American professional wrestler and former defensive lineman best known for his time in WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Mojo Rawley. He was released from WWE in April 2021.
Released on November 4th, this release is very confusing as WWE gave Keith Lee a new gimmick, giving him the "Bearcat" nickname, which was working pretty well for him so far, and now he is just gone. This makes no sense whatsoever.
Apparently, Lee had attitude issues backstage. I can understand if he was frustrated with his booking, though.
Released on November 4th, similarly to Keith Lee, Karrion Kross was reportedly getting a new gimmick, more similar to his run in NXT. Many fans had high hopes to see Karrion Kross become a massive star, even having a match against Roman Reigns at some point, but it shockingly won't be the case, it seems.
When I heard about him getting repackaged and Scarlett coming back to his side, I was excited. Now he's gone.
I almost cried. Oney Lorcan was one of my favorite wrestlers ever. This definitely isn't the most shocking for most people, but it was the saddest for me. If I could book Oney, I would put him on the main roster and make him WWE Champion. Move him up.
Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, singer-songwriter, painter and musician.