3 Fired/furloughed WWE employees who have already returned and 2 who could follow
WWE took the unprecedented step of releasing over 20 Superstars and employees in April 2020 as a cost-cutting measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rusev, Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and Heath Slater were among the most notable Superstars who received their release, while several producers were also furloughed.
As we have seen in recent weeks, two ‘fired’ WWE Superstars have already returned to our screens – one of them even rejected a managerial role on SmackDown – and it has been reported this week that a producer is also back with the company.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at three fired/furloughed WWE employees who have already made their returns, as well as two who could potentially follow in the near future.
#5 Returned to WWE: Drake Maverick
Technically, Drake Maverick never actually left WWE. The former 205 Live General Manager was released by the company in April 2020 but he remained on weekly television as a participant in the NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament.
Maverick turned out to be one of the most popular Superstars on NXT after he posted an emotional video on social media of his reaction to WWE firing him. This led to Triple H turning the real-life situation into a storyline on NXT, with Maverick needing to win the Cruiserweight Championship to keep his job.
Despite losing the tournament final against El Hijo Del Fantasma (aka Santos Escobar), Triple H decided to rehire Maverick – both in storyline and in real life – and the NXT founder explained in a media call that the Superstar earned a new contract with his performances.
“When the release happened, he wasn’t involved in anything but it just happened the way it did, during the process of this tournament, he captured people’s hearts and their imagination and he earned that spot. It was already out there so you either ignore it or you turn it into something. We turned it into something based on him and his performances.” [H/T SEScoops]
Some fans and former Superstars, including Lio Rush, have hit out at WWE for turning Maverick’s situation into a storyline when other released Superstars are struggling with the “real trauma” of losing their jobs.