5 fallouts from the recent wave of WWE releases

Over the past four months, WWE has released several stars who had promising futures in pro wrestling.

The likes of Samoa Joe, The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce), Andrade, Aleister Black, Braun Strowman, Murphy, and Ruby Riott were all let go by WWE. Other stars like Chelsea Green, Lana, Santana Garrett, Tucker Knight, and Kalisto also saw their tenures in WWE come to an end.

Garrett and Green could have helped bolster the women's division on SmackDown but were never used. Green's unfortunate wrist injury didn't help either. Lana improved in the ring but still wasn't on the level of some of the other women in WWE.

Names like Andrade, Black, and Strowman will be main-event level stars wherever they land. Andrade has already popped up in AEW alongside Vickie Guerrero. He has a match with Kenny Omega for the AAA Mega Championship in August. Black, Strowman, Murphy, and Riott will have to wait out their 90-day non-compete clauses before they can make an impact in a new promotion.

While the cuts might be seen as necessary, several aspects of the releases will affect WWE in different ways. Some of the departures probably haven't sat well with the fans. Here are five fallouts from the recent wave of WWE releases.

#5 It shakes up some divisions in WWE

The SmackDown women's division has six active women following the releases - Carmella, Bayley, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Tamina and Natalya. Sasha Banks is on hiatus after losing the SmackDown Women's Championship to Belair at WrestleMania. Sonya Deville is still considered part of the Blue brand but hasn't had a match since last year's SummerSlam.

To anyone who dares to challenge us: YOU should be fired up and coming after us. These titles are only as valuable as the lengths people are willing to go to win them. A message from the WOMENS TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD. #WWERaw #SmackDown #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/Ckgl8V1eZJ
— Nattie (@NatbyNature) June 8, 2021

Ruby Riott and Lana were both part of different tag teams in the women's division. With their releases, two teams have been taken out of the running for the titles. That also doesn't account for the inevitable dissolution of former Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler.

Will WWE dip into the uber-talented crop of NXT women to fill some voids? Recent reports suggest that could soon be the case.

"It's just a STUPID DOLL!"@QoSBaszler does not hold back her words.#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/8nuqentjKF
— WWE (@WWE) June 8, 2021

Black was reworking himself back into the SmackDown mid-card after months off TV. Murphy was ready and able to do anything but WWE opted not to use the talented Aussie grappler.

The mid-card on SmackDown has mainly consisted of Big E (who hasn't been on TV for a few weeks), Apollo Crews, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura, and King Corbin. Rotating some performers in and out of action would have kept things fresh.

Challengers for the WWE and Universal Championships are also dwindling with the release of Strowman. Within the last year, Strowman faced both Roman Reigns and Lashley for their titles.

While he is only one man, it will still force WWE to come up with new challengers for each major Champion. Will AJ Styles return to the main event soon or will he continue his RAW Tag Championship run with Omos?