Every Wrestler Fired By WWE in 2021 (So Far)

WWE has received lots of criticism for its mass firings as of late, and here’s every wrestler to get released by the company in 2021 so far. Of course, a large company firing employees en masse is by no means a new phenomenon, and it certainly isn’t new for WWE. The Vince McMahon-owned enterprise has made it a dubious annual tradition to do what’s been dubbed by fans as “spring cleaning,” getting rid of wrestlers it deems no longer necessary to employ.

It’s never fun when someone loses their job, but the past year has been a time of almost unprecedented turmoil for the world economy, thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic. In addition to sadly claiming millions of lives worldwide, the pandemic also did lots of harm to the world of business. This was true for WWE as well, at least to an extent, forcing them to cancel WrestleMania 36 and move it to a fan-less Performance Center building in Florida. Still, WWE was coming off a billion-dollar TV deal with FOX that went into effect in 2019, so it would seem likely the company had the reserves to pull through.

According to their financial disclosures in 2020 and 2021, WWE is still indeed profitable, albeit not to the extent they had forecast prior to the pandemic. Given the tenuous situation though, WWE earned lots of backlash for letting dozens of wrestlers go during the height of the pandemic in 2020, and so far in 2021, WWE has fired dozens more. This has been doubly criticized due to competitor AEW doing no similar mass layoffs during the crisis. Here’s the full rundown of every talent turfed by WWE so far this year, with more likely to follow.

Braun Strowman

Easily the most surprising WWE firing of 2021 is that of Braun Strowman, “The Monster Among Men,” and main event-level star. Braun just won the WWE Universal Championship from Goldberg at WrestleMania 36 in 2020, and has continued to be heavily featured on TV since his loss of the title to former mentor Bray Wyatt. Braun has said in the past he would retire after his WWE career ended, but it can be assumed he didn’t expect that to happen at age 37.

Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe’s release earlier this year was less of a shock than Strowman’s to be sure, but still surprising. While Joe had been out of the ring with a reported head injury since February 2020, he’d transitioned successfully into a color commentary role on WWE Raw. In an odd move, Joe even did commentary for WrestleMania 37 on April 10 and 11, before being fired a few days later. Strangely, WWE’s NXT branch would swing around and re-hire Joe mere months later, and he’ll soon be back in the ring, to the delight of fans. With the continuing waves of mass WWE releases though, one wonders how long he’ll be safe.

Aleister Black

Aleister Black’s WWE firing was another odd move, as he had just recently returned to WWE TV after a long absence before being let go mere weeks later. Black’s career in WWE was largely a bust, as he was a big success on NXT, only to be booked horribly after transitioning to the main roster. Black’s wife Thea Trinidad (known onscreen as Zelina Vega) was also fired by WWE in late 2020, although she recently returned. Black, now going by the first name Malakai, has resurfaced in AEW as of a few weeks ago.

Andrade

Andrade was another of the far too common instances of a wrestler becoming a major player in NXT, only to flounder on the main roster due to lackluster booking by WWE’s creative team. Unlike the other 2021 WWE releases, Andrade actually asked WWE to let him go, as he had grown unhappy. Andrade has already moved on to the hopefully greener pastures of WWE’s lead rival AEW, debuting as Andrade El Idolo.

Mickie James

It’s doubtful Mickie James will be without a home for long following her recent WWE release, as she’s one of the most highly regarded female performers in modern wrestling history. She became a star feuding with Trish Stratus in 2006, and would go on to be a decorated multi-time champion with WWE. She also had a run in TNA, although her most recent WWE stint sadly saw her relegated to the back-burner for most of it. James quickly resurfaced in the NWA – which employs her husband Nick Aldis – and is now set to produce an upcoming all-women’s pay-per-view titled Empowerrr.

Billie Kay & Peyton Royce

Billie Kay and Peyton Royce were clearly well-liked within the WWE locker room, as their firings drew saddened responses from many still employed by the company. Kay and Royce are also favorites of many diehard wrestling fans, thanks to their goofy likability, charisma, and hilarious mic work. Unfortunately, WWE saw fit to separate them as a team, and they never really recovered.

Ruby Riott

Ruby Riott was another favorite of both the WWE locker room and hardcore wrestling fans, coming to WWE after a great run on the independent scene as Heidi Lovelace. She was another big deal in NXT, but when brought to the main roster, was suddenly the leader of a makeshift stable called The Riott Squad. She somehow made it work, but the group was later broken up, with Liv Morgan being the only remaining WWE employee among the trio. Now going by Ruby Soho, Riott is expected to sign with AEW very soon.

Lana

“The Ravishing Russian” Lana was another performer heavily featured on WWE TV over the course of the pandemic, but she’s also surprisingly been canned. She was never a big success as an in-ring wrestler, but got over as the manager of her real-life husband Rusev. One assumes she’ll end up jumping to AEW, where Rusev currently works as Miro. She would join him, the aforementioned Andrade, Paul Wight, Mark Henry and Christian Cage as AEW stars who used to be in WWE.

The Velveteen Dream

The firing of Patrick Clark, aka The Velveteen Dream, from WWE was overdue in the eyes of many, as the former top-level NXT star was accused last year of sexual misconduct involving a teenager. WWE investigated and said they found no evidence to support these accusations, but Dream has still been mostly off TV or out of major storylines since. Now he’s gone outright.

Lars Sullivan

Lars Sullivan is another man many feel WWE should’ve released long ago, as it was previously discovered he had a history of posting racist, sexist, and homophobic remarks online prior to his WWE hiring. Sullivan was another big NXT deal, although it wasn’t booking that ruined his main roster run. First, he had issues performing to anxiety, then he went down with an injury, and left again not long after returning from that.

Bobby Fish

For nearly four years, Bobby Fish was a huge part of WWE’s NXT roster, spending most of that time as part of the dominant Undisputed Era faction. While he had some injury layoffs, Fish’s WWE release on August 6 came a surprise to most fans, as he’d recently been feuding with the new Diamond Mine stable and ex-partner Roderick Strong. Fish being let go is rumored to be a part of a new direction for NXT.

Bronson Reed

Bronson Reed, NXT’s formerly resident “thicc boi,” was another big surprise of a release for WWE fans, as he too had been heavily featured in recent NXT storylines. In fact, Reed was NXT North American Champion just mere weeks ago. Blessed with both imposing size and incredible athleticism to go with it, many had pegged Reed as a surefire success on the main WWE roster. Instead, he’s now unemployed.

Ric Flair

One of the greatest legends in wrestling history, the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair seemed like a WWE lifer, especially since his daughter Charlotte is one of WWE’s top female stars, and he’s very close friends with top executive Triple H. However, according to reports, a difference of opinion concerning how Flair should be used as an on-air character, including a tasteless pregnancy storyline last year with the much younger Lacey Evans, led Flair to ask for his release, and WWE to grant it.

Bray Wyatt

Arguably the biggest WWE release of 2021 so far is Bray Wyatt, aka The Fiend. Wyatt has been a big star and consistently near the WWE main event scene since 2014, and has successfully reinvented his character several times. Known for being one of the most creative performers in the business, one assumes Wyatt will land on his feet, likely in AEW. While he’ll have to invent a new character, that probably won’t be an issue.

Tyler Breeze

While it had long since become clear that Tyler Breeze had a definite ceiling as to how far up the card he would be allowed to climb in WWE, the “part-man, all-model” performer had been a popular and appreciated member of the WWE roster for nearly a decade. Whether as a singles wrestler or in a tag team with Fandango, Breeze showed a willingness to do whatever was asked of him, and do it to the best of his considerable abilities.

Fandango

Like his usual tag team partner Tyler Breeze, Fandango (aka Johnny Curtis) was another long-tenured WWE performer that managed to excel in whatever role he was given, despite spending most of his time in the mid-card. Whether it be his briefly meme-worthy ballroom dancing gimmick, or his time as part of the hilarious Fashion Police tandem with Breeze, Fandango always seemed to be enjoying himself at work.

Mercedes Martinez

A respected veteran of the mat wars, Mercedes Martinez competed in the Mae Young Classic tournament, before finally landing a full-time gig in NXT. She’s another performer who had been heavily featured recently on the show, engaging in a feud with Xia Li and her mysterious Tian Sha group, and facing off with her at NXT Takeover: In Your House 2021. Martinez will likely end up in AEW once her non-compete clause expires, as she’s worked briefly with the promotion in the past.

Killian Dain

Killian Dain, the husband of current WWE Raw Women’s Champion Nikki A.S.H. (aka Nikki Cross), was another big, bad dude who most assumed would be a lock for success in WWE. Yet, once the Sanity stable was pointlessly called up to the main roster and then separated, nothing was done with Dain, leading him to spend time on NXT UK then return to stateside NXT. Dain was most recently part of a tag team with Drake Maverick that seemed to be getting over with the crowd, but his release abruptly kiboshed that storyline.

Kona Reeves

While most of the wrestlers WWE has released in 2021 earned some measure of surprise and disappointment from fans, the reaction of many to Kona Reeves’ release was shock that he had still been employed. Reeves had been knocking around in NXT for nearly seven years, and in that time, several attempts had been made to try and get him over with the crowd. None worked though, as while he has a good look and size going for him, Reeves just isn’t very good either on the mic or in the ring, but he’s still young and can hopefully turn things around. Reeves last wrestled on TV way back in February 2020.

The Rest

Buddy Murphy, later shortened to just Murphy, had a solid run on the main roster, dominating the cruiserweight division for a while, and later having a stint as the muscle for “The Monday Night Messiah” Seth Rollins. Lately though, he’d just seemed adrift since a planned face turn was aborted. The high-flying Kalisto was another former cruiserweight champ to be fired by WWE in 2021, although he was said to have wanted out anyway.

Chelsea Green, the former Laurel Van Ness in Impact, seemed like a surefire star in WWE, but repeated injuries kept stopping her starts. Tucker was the long-term tag partner of Otis in Heavy Machinery, but got lost in the shuffle after the team broke up. Bo Dallas had been off WWE TV for over a year, so no one was really surprised when he finally got let go. Other lower card names to recently get the WWE ax include Steve Cutler, Wesley Blake, Kavita Devi, Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir, Vanessa Borne, Skyler Story, Ezra Judge, Alexander Wolfe, Santana Garrett, Jake Atlas, Zechariah Smith, Giant Zanjeer, Stephen Smith, Desmond Troy, Arturo Ruas, Curt Stallion, and Tino Sabbatelli, who was actually released and hired back previously.

One WWE show that’s been hit particularly hard by the 2021 release waves has been 205 Live, which has seen its roster absolutely decimated. Leon Ruff, Ari Sterling, Asher Hale, the Bollywood Boyz, August Grey, are all recent 205 Live releases, with the most surprising firings being Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese, who have been on the show for its entire five-plus year existence. Another surprising release was that of Tyler Rust, who was a member of the only recently debuted Diamond Mine stable. Likewise, the Ever Rise tag team of Chase Parker and Matt Martel had just gotten their own online WWE talk show before getting the ax, although they quickly jumped to AEW. The lack of logic behind many of these releases is baffling to fans. Still, one wonders how many of WWE’s 2021 castoffs will one day appear on an episode of AEW Dynamite.

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