Six WWE superstars released amid rumors of potential sale
As rumblings of a WWE sale swirl, six WWE superstars were shown the door on June 2.
In an announcement following a report from Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, WWE confirmed that Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, Lana, Murphy, Ruby Riott and Santana Garrett are no longer with the company.
Strowman was most recently challenging for the WWE Championship on May 16 at the Wrestlemania Backlash show, and Black made a surprise return on Smackdown Live on May 21, taking out Big E. Lana wrestled on Monday Night Raw just two days prior to her release.
Murphy last appeared on the March 5 episode of Smackdown Live in a losing effort to Cesaro. Riott was the longtime leader of the Riott Squad stable, and Garrett had been in NXT.
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This set of cuts follows the April 15 releases, which included names like Samoa Joe, Mickie James, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay and more. Since that time, around 60 backstage employees have also been handed their walking papers.
All of these releases have taken place around a time of much speculation on the future of WWE. WWE President and CRO Nick Khan dismissed the rumors back in February, but that hasn’t stopped the whispers.
The feeling is the company may be trying to get all its ducks in a row, trim the fat, and strengthen its bottom line before a potential historic sale.
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