Following the shock release of 26 WWE Superstars in November, that takes the number of competitors released this year up to a staggering 80.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported via Twitter that both Franky Money and Scarlett had been given their releases, this comes following several large-scale roster cutbacks throughout 2021 seeing names such as former Universal Champions Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman released from the promotion.
Both Scarlett and Franky Monet took to social media to respond to the news with Franky declaring simply the return of the beloved Taya Valkyrie – her previous name in both Lucha Underground and IMPACT Wrestling.
PWInsider has confirmed that talent began receiving phone calls around 6:30 pm EST and that Ember Moon has officially been released from the WWE following nearly 7 years with the company.
Former NXT Tag Team Champion Oney Lorcan took to social media to announce his release becoming the fourth confirmed name gone from the company.
PWInsider later confirmed that former NXT Champion Karrion Kross was released by the WWE becoming the first main roster name released during the latest set of cuts, Kross had recently been repackaged following his WWE NXT call up.
Keith Lee had also recently undergone changes to his character, following his return to the main roster after a series of serious health issues. While his partner Mia Yim has also been released. Yim hadn’t been seen on WWE television since being defeated by Nikki Cross in December 2020.
Eva Marie re-joined WWE in June 2021 after four years away. The reality TV star initially appeared alongside Doudrop, before the pair broke up shortly after SummerSlam. The former NXT Superstar had been absent from Raw after being taken out by Shayna Baszler.
On November 18th, Sean Ross Sapp reported a further 8 releases including John Morrison, Top Dolla and Drake Maverick.
This is only the latest in the string of releases that WWE has undertaken this year. The budget cuts actually stretch back to a host of releases in 2020 as well.
Now Denise Salcedo has listed those released from WWE in 2020 and 2021, although she notes on social media that there are some producers and backstage staff missing from the lists. Still, there are 80 names listed for 2021 and added to 2020’s list, there are an incredible 133 names listed as leaving WWE in the past 2 years.
80 talents have been released by WWE this year alone. #wwereleases
you can re-count if you want. I counted 80. https://t.co/ewhxcYpGKh
— Denise Salcedo (@_denisesalcedo) November 19, 2021
Currently, on WWE.com the on-screen talent roster currently stands at 224 names across the companies four brands. However, this does also include broadcasters such as Michael Cole and rarely seen characters such as Vince McMahon.