Wrestlers WWE Let Go More Than Once

From straight-up talent releases to contracts not being renewed without much notice, WWE is often criticized for how it handles its independent contractors, those who put their bodies on the line for the company without even being considered employees. WWE is currently under fire for how the contracts of Karrion Kross and Scarlett were handled, despite the pair getting massively over with fans and Kross even having a match at SummerSlam.

The couple's contracts were reportedly allowed to expire, though there are some conflicting reports and rumors as to whether or not the entire situation is a storyline, but it wasn't the first time they were let go. Following a successful run in WWE NXT that began in February 2020, where he even held the brand's top title, Kross and his wife were released in November 2021. Kross would go back to MLW and started going by his indie name, Killer Kross. The pair returned to WWE, now more fully under control by Paul "Triple H" Levesque, in August 2022. That deal came to an end this month, leading to their second WWE departure.

Kross and Scarlett's situation isn't unfamiliar in the world of WWE; many more star have been let go by WWE more than once, though this list is not exhaustive.

One of WWE's biggest and most recent offenses in the eyes of fans was letting the contract of R-Truth expire. Truth started working for WWE as K-Kwik back in November 2000. He was released from the company for the first time in August 2001. Ron Killings would then work in NWA and TNA until he returned to WWE in 2008, where he had success as the United States Champion, as a multiple time 24/7 Champion, and with various tag teams throughout the years.

Truth revealed on social media on June 1 that he had been "released" from WWE after 17 years, though he really meant his contract with the company had been allowed to expire following his Saturday Night's Main Event Match with John Cena. Following massive fan outcry, as well as backlash from the locker room, R-Truth returned to WWE at Money in the Bank 2025 a few weeks later.

The Hardy Boyz, Matt and Jeff, are two other talents who have been released from WWE multiple times, for various reasons. The Hardy Boyz gained popularity in 1998, but both started in the then-WWF as jobbers in 1994. Matt was released for the first time in 2005 after WWE deemed his social media conduct unprofessional following his split from real-life girlfriend Lita, when it was revealed she was having an affair with Edge. Matt was brought back to the company that year and was involved in a storyline with his ex and Edge.

Matt remained in the company until October 2010, when he was released. He wrestled on the independent circuit and in TNA as "Broken" Matt Hardy, once again alongside his brother, now "Brother Nero," until the Hardys made their surprise return to WWE at WrestleMania 33 in 2017.

Jeff's first run in WWE didn't last as long as Matt's, as he was first released in April 2003 after refusing to enter rehabilitation. He, however, returned to WWE in 2006 to reunite with his brother as a tag team. The run lasted until August 2009 when his contract expired while he was recovering from injuries. Following their WrestleMania return, Jeff left WWE again in 2021 after he walked out of a tag team match at a December house show. Matt left the company in less dramatic fashion when his contract expired, announcing his departure due to creative differences in March 2020.

Braun Strowman began training in WWE in 2013 and found immediate success as a member of the Wyatt Family upon his main roster debut in August 2015. He started his singles career shortly after and even won the Universal Championship from Goldberg at WrestleMania 36. Despite his success, Strowman was initially let go in June 2021. He wouldn't be gone for long, however, as he was seemingly another talent brought back by Triple H. He re-signed with WWE in September 2022.

Strowman was an ever-present force in WWE throughout his second run with the company when he was healthy, but never rose to the levels of his previous success after being out for neck surgery in 2023 as well as for other injuries. His final match was a Last Man Standing bout against Jacob Fatu, which he lost. In May, it was revealed WWE would not be renewing Strowman's deal, which expired at the end of July.

John Morrison is a man who has gone by many names throughout his career, but when he was with WWE, he was known best as Johnny Nitro initially. He competed on "Tough Enough 3" and was sent to OVW to continue training. He debuted on TV in March 2004 as Eric Bischoff's assistant, but didn't see success until he was called up with Joey Mercury and Melina as their "MNM" tag team in April 2005. The pair became tag team champions and Morrison started a singles career the following year. He also teamed with the Miz from 2007 to 2009. In November 2011, WWE revealed Morrison's contract had expired.

He worked in Lucha Underground, AAA, and TNA, where he became Impact World Champion, before returning to WWE in 2019. He reformed his tag team with the Miz and became the SmackDown Tag Team Champions in February 2020. Morrison was released from his contract once again in November 2021 due to COVID-related budget cuts.

A former WWE Cruiserweight Champion and trainer behind-the-scenes, Brian Kendrick is another talent with multiple runs, and releases, in WWE. His first run lasted from January 2003 until the following year when he left to return to Zero1. He worked all over the country, including in TNA and ROH before returning to WWE a second time, where he teamed with Paul London and reigned with the WWE Tag Team Championships. He was released a second time in July 2009 and returned to the indie circuit.

His final run in WWE started in 2014 when he became a trainer at the Performance Center. He entered the Cruiserweight Classic and lost, but won the title in October 2016. He would compete on "205 Live" and transitioned to a backstage producer role in 2021. He officially left the company after asking for his release in January 2022, but would return to produce a few matches.

The Good Brothers, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, have worked all over the world, including two runs in WWE. The Bullet Club stablemates left NJPW to pursue other ventures and ended up in WWE in January 2016 when other NJPW talent like AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura were signed. The Good Brothers would reunite with Styles, and later fellow Bullet Club member Finn Balor, throughout their first run in the company, but were cut in April 2020 due to pandemic cuts.

They competed back in NJPW, AEW, and other promotions until they were re-signed by WWE in October 2022 to reunite with Styles during his feud with the Judgment Day. They weren't used much throughout their second signing, and even appeared in "WWE NXT" before they were released once again in February 2025.

Carlito was successful during his first run in WWE after he debuted as a heel, "Carlito Caribbean Cool" in October 2004. He had a run with the Intercontinental Championship, the United States Championship and a memorable feud with John Cena. He was released in May 2010, however, due to a Wellness Policy violation and a reported refusal to attend rehabilitation, according to WWE.

He worked in World Wrestling Council for 10 years following the release until he was brought back to WWE during the 2021 Royal Rumble. He didn't officially sign another WWE deal until 2023. He became a member of the LWO, then turned heel and joined Judgment Day. He was released once again in June 2025, with his final match being the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal before WrestleMania 41.

ECW original Rob Van Dam worked for the extreme brand from 1996 to 2001. He was initially signed to a short-term WWF contract after the closure of ECW. RVD stayed with the company through 2007, however, and was drafted by Paul Heyman to WWE's new ECW brand. He captured the WWE Championship from John Cena at ECW One Night Stand in 2005.

Van Dam left the company in June 2007 due to burn out. He worked the indie scene and in TNA for a few years and returned to the company in June 2013 to compete in the Money in the Bank ladder match. He had a short run until he departed once again after his final match against Seth Rollins in August 2014.

The second time fan-favorite Dakota Kai was released by WWE, in May 2025, it caused an small uproar amongst fans online, but it wasn't the first time it had happened. Kai signed with WWE in December 2016 and made her debut in the 2017 Mae Young Classic. She competed in developmental until April 2022, when she left the first time after seven years. Kai reportedly told WWE she didn't plan to re-sign. 

She made her return at SummerSlam in 2022 alongside Bayley and IYO SKY in what would soon become known as Damage CTRL. She became a two-time Women's Tag Team Champion alongside SKY. Kai entered the tournament to crown the inaugural Women's Intercontinental Champion, but lost to Lyra Valkyria in the finals on a January 2025 episode of "Raw." Her final match was a "Main Event" win over Ivy Nile. Kai was once again released in May after three more years with WWE.

After impressing in ROH and TNA, Samoa Joe joined WWE in May 2015. He was initially signed to a non-exclusive deal, but after a few matches, WWE signed him to a full-time contract. He won the NXT Championship twice during his run in developmental. Joe debuted on the main roster in January 2017. He was suspended in February 2020 and when he returned, he was placed on the "Raw" commentary desk, where he stayed until his first release in April 2021.

Joe was quickly rehired in June of the same year at the behest of Triple H. He went back to "NXT," but only had one match, where he won the NXT Championship. He relinquished the belt without any defenses after catching COVID. He was released once again by WWE in January 2022.

Christian was a staple in WWE during the Attitude Era as part of the Brood. He debuted in September 1998 and would team, and feud, with both Edge and Chris Jericho over the years. "Captain Charisma" first left the company in November 2005.

He competed mainly in TNA over the years until he returned to WWE's ECW brand in 2009. He became ECW Champion in his first match back. He'd go on to win the World Heavyweight title, but battled injuries and had to retire from in-ring action due to multiple concussions in 2014. He appeared on the WWE Network show "The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness," until it was cancelled in July 2017. It was revealed Christian had also been released from his talent contract.

Christian had one last brief stint in WWE in 2020 after Edge's return to the ring. He entered the 2021 Royal Rumble, but it was reported in the days following he was no longer under contract.

Wrestling legend William Regal is currently the WWE Vice President of Global Talent Development, but he is yet another star who went through multiple releases during his time in the ring. He got his start in WCW and briefly joined WWF for a year in 1998. Following an injury he sustained while training, he made his full-time debut in October. He checked in to rehab in January 1999, which led to his release from the company that April. Following another stint in WCW, he returned once again in 2000 and captured the European Championship. He worked in a wide variety of angles, including as "Raw" General Manager, through 2013, and his in-ring career ended in "WWE NXT."

Regal became manager of NXT in 2014 and also worked with talent behind-the-scenes. He was released in January 2022 after 22 years with the company. He worked in AEW for a brief year before returning to WWE once again in a backstage position, as he had a clause in his AEW contract that said he couldn't appear on WWE TV for a year following his departure. Regal would return to WWE to appoint Ava as NXT General Manager in January 2024.

Ashante "Thee" Adonis and AJ Francis, also known as Top Dolla, are two stars from former faction Hit Row who were released multiple times by WWE. The entire faction, including the now Swerve Strickland and B-Fab, was released in November 2021 after first getting together in May of that year.

Adonis originally signed in August 2020 and was brought back in August 2022 alongside Top Dolla and B-Fab. He was most recently released this August, after spending time in "WWE NXT" after his return.

Top Dolla was released from his contract again alongside a host of other WWE talent in September 2023. He has gone on to find success in TNA, and has even appeared on NXT television again due to the company's partnership with TNA.

Jinder Mahal had two runs in WWE, with the second being much more successful and resulted in him winning the WWE Championship for the first and only time. He started in FCW in February 2010 and made his televised WWE debut in April 2011. He both teamed and feuded with the Great Khali and was part of 3MD alongside Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre. He was first released in June 2014.

Mahal returned to WWE in September 2016, and then showed up to "Raw" with a new and improved muscular physique in December. He shockingly won the title in April 2017 in a victory over Randy Orton. Mahal would fall back down to the mid-card over the new few years until he was released again in April 2024.

Eva Marie was a divisive figure in WWE during both of her runs, from 2013 to 2017 and 2020 to 2021 due to her lack of in-ring ability. Marie was initially brought in to WWE in 2013 and was quickly called up due to her role on the reality TV series "Total Divas." After two weeks of formal wrestling training, Marie was performing on "Raw." She did have a brief run in "NXT," but was back on the main roster at the beginning of 2016. She was first released in August 2017 after she started business ventures outside of the ring earlier that year.

Marie re-signed in October 2020 though she didn't appear on TV until the summer of 2021 when she briefly aligned herself with Piper Niven, then known as Doudrop. Marie adopted a gimmick where she would do everything she could to get out of matches, from faking being stuck in traffic to wardrobe malfunctions. She was released a second time in November due to COVID cuts.

The Authors of Pain, Akam and Rezar, alongside their manager, Paul Ellering, made their NXT debut in June 2016 and quickly made an impact by winning the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and became NXT Tag Team Champions. They were called up to the main roster in April 2018, though they ditched Ellering, and won the Raw Tag Team Championships in November. They competed in the tag division and allied with Seth Rollins, but were released in September 2020.

The pair launched their own promotion in 2022, though it never got off the ground. They returned to WWE to team up with Kross as the Final Testament, and brought back Ellering. They fought in a street fight at WrestleMania 40 in a losing effort to the Street Profits, and in February 2025, AOP and Ellering were released once again.

Tenille Dashwood, better known as Emma in WWE, first worked for the company in 2011 and debuted on NXT in August 2012. She'd battle the likes of Paige, Bayley, Charlotte Flair, and more in the brand until she was called up in January 2014. Her first run featured the now-infamous "Emmalina" gimmick where weeks of video vignettes hyping a change to her character aired, only for Emmalina to come out during her debut and announce she was changing back to Emma. Her time on the main roster didn't last long and she was released in October 2017.

She returned to WWE in October 2022 after working in other companies like TNA. She would face Ronda Rousey and briefly teamed up with Tegan Nox before she was released once again in September 2023.

Tegan Nox first signed in April 2017, though an injury took her out of the Mae Young Classic where she was set to debut. She got in the NXT ring in April 2018, where she began teaming with Dakota Kai. She entered that year's Mae Young Classic, but suffered a knee injury. Nox's time in NXT was plagued by injuries, as she suffered a torn ACL in September 2020. Nox debuted on the main roster in July 2021. She teamed with Shotzi until the draft that year, and was released that November.

She returned in December 2022 and helped Liv Morgan against Damage CTRL. She also teamed with Natalya, but never received any major singles success. She was released for the second time in November 2024.