Full List Of Talent Reportedly Released By WWE
Following the announcement of a new TV deal for "WWE SmackDown" starting next October, reportedly netting the company $1.4 billion over 5 years (via Wall Street Journal), WWE began informing talent of their releases this morning. Some performers have come forward on social media with their own announcements while others have been confirmed by various outlets.
Mustafa Ali took to X this morning to reveal that he was no longer a member of the WWE roster. Ali was the first to make the announcement, which came while the WWE star was in the midst of a "WWE NXT" North American Championship feud with Dominik Mysterio and Dragon Lee.
Dolph Ziggler was confirmed to be part of today's releases by Fightful Select. Ziggler's last match took place May 29 on "WWE Raw" against JD McDonagh, ending after a double count-out.
Shelton Benjamin, former Hurt Business member, announced on X that he was released today. Benjamin had two lengthy stints with WWE — from 2000 until 2010, and again from 2017 until now.
Emma, as well as her husband Riddick Moss, both confirmed on social media that they had been let go this morning. Prior to receiving the call, Emma had just been celebrating the company's announcement that WWE Elimination Chamber will take place in the city of Perth in Australia next year.
Elias, who hasn't been seen on WWE programming in a number of months, was confirmed by Fightful Select to have been released today. The former WWE 24/7 Champion last competed in a battle royale in May to determine a new number one contender for the WWE Intercontinental Championship — a match won by Ali.
Rick Boogs, or Eric Bugenhagen, was also released today, as confirmed by Fightful Select. Along with his own singles career, Boogs was best known as the musical accompaniment to Shinsuke Nakamura for a time.
Hit Row member Top Dolla was released today, confirmed by Fightful Select. The performer's last televised match took place on August 11, where he was defeated by LA Knight in just over 2 minutes.
Aliyah was confirmed by Fightful Select as another member of the WWE roster to be cut this morning. In early 2022, Aliyah set the record for the fastest victory in WWE history at 3.17 seconds — a record that has yet to be broken.
Mace and Mansoor, Maximum Male Models, have also been released. Both wrestlers had played various parts in the company before being paired together alongside Maxxine Dupri.
Shanky, who was seen on WWE programming in an alliance with Jinder Mahal, has been released.
Dana Brooke was released by WWE today, as well. She joined "WWE NXT" in 2013 and lasted more than a decade with the company, ultimately best known for her 15 reigns as 24/7 Champion. She had recently returned to "NXT" and was involved in a storyline with newcomer Kelani Jordan.
Other releases from "WWE NXT" thus far include Quincy Elliot, Dabbo-Kato, Yulisa Leon, and Ikemen Jiro. WWE has also released other developmental prospects whose television exposure prior to their departure was either limited or nonexistent, including Bryson Montana, Daniel McArthur, Kevin Ventura-Cortez, Brooklyn Barlow, and Alexis Gray. Haus of Wrestling's Nick Hausman is reporting that 18 "NXT" talent have been released, many of whom had yet to appear on TV.
Correction: Mark Henry stated on "Busted Open Radio" Tegan Nox was part of today's cuts, as originally reported in this piece. Wrestling Inc. is aware he was corrected on the air and Nox, one of the performers brought back when Paul "Triple H" Levesque took over as head of creative, is not believed to be among today's talent releases.