More details have come to light on the 17 WWE releases that occurred on May 2nd, 2025.
Ahead of last night’s edition of SmackDown, WWE released various in-ring talents across the main roster and NXT. The move comes a day after the company let go of several staff, including Senior Vice President of Creative Writing Operations Christine Lubrano.
Among the WWE stars released yesterday were former Universal Champion Braun Strowman, two-time NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler, former NXT Tag Team Champions Gallus (Wolfgang, Mark Coffey & Joe Coffey) and Dakota Kai.
Fightful Select has since reported various details regarding the releases, noting that all of them will be subject to the standard 90-day non compete (30 for NXT talents). At this time, it isn’t believed that any of them were let go via contract expiry, which would negate the non compete clause.
Dakota Kai specifically is expected to have a lot of interest, as it’s said both external promotions and top industry agents are already keen to get in touch with her.
Taking to social media, NXT star Dani Palmer revealed she was no longer with the company. It was also confirmed that WWE informed Shotzi that her contract was not being renewed.
One Particular WWE Release Was “A Big Surprise” Backstage
One released name who’s said to have been a surprise is Shayna Baszler, as she was recently helping out at NXT. The former UFC fighter re-signed with the company back in September with a multi-year contract, a move that’s said to have come together quickly as her previous deal was due to expire at the end of 2024.
Another star who wasn’t a surprise to some backstage though, was Jakara Jackson. The outlet reports that some at the company knew the move was coming following her split from long-time tag team partner Lash Legend on NXT earlier this week.