Former WWE Superstar reveals pitch to have match with popular announcer before release
WWE released several superstars on Thursday as part of talent cuts following the merger with UFC to form TKO Group Holdings. One of those released superstars was Top Dolla, who revealed that he pitched having a match with Michael Cole.
It was a sad day on Thursday as many superstars were let go by WWE, including Dolph Ziggler, Elias, Shelton Benjamin, Mustafa Ali, Emma and Dana Brooke among others. Hit Row's Top Dolla, who now goes by Dolla, was also released from his contract.
Dolla went on X, formerly Twitter, to answer some fan questions, including if there were ever plans for him to face Michael Cole in a match. Cole took a lot of shots at him on commentary every week.
The former WWE Superstar then confirmed that he pitched a program with the popular play-by-play announcer. He also didn't mind the things Cole was saying about him because it led to people talking about him more.
"I offered to put Cole over & he wanted to do it too… we talked about it at length of how we could build it… even had him winning by a small package out of a stalling suplex… they didn't care beyond having him drag me every week… which made ppl talk about me so I loved it," Dolla wrote.
It would have been a good program on WWE television, considering Dolla is talented on the mic. Michael Cole's work under Triple H made him popular among fans, who appreciated all the things he did. There could have been a lot of possibilities, including Cole getting help from fellow announcers such as Wade Barrett, Corey Graves and Pat McAfee.
Full list of WWE releases on Thursday
A total of 22 superstars from the main roster and NXT were released on Thursday. Dolph Ziggler was the biggest name to get axed, but he's got a budding stand-up comedy career and could always work for other wrestling promotions. All of the talents released reportedly have a 90-day no-compete clause on their contracts.
Here's a full list of superstars let go by WWE on Thursday:
- Dolph Ziggler
- Shelton Benjamin
- Elias
- Mustafa Ali
- Rick Boogs
- Riddick Moss
- Top Dolla
- Mansoor
- Mace
- Dana Brooke
- Emma
- Aliyah
- Alexis Gray
- Brooklyn Barlow
- Bryson Montana
- Dabba-Kato
- Daniel McArthur
- Ikemen Jiro
- Kevin Ventura-Cortez
- Quincy Elliot
- Shanky
- Yulisa Leon
Who was the most shocking release from the massive talent cuts on Thursday? Share your answers in the comments section below.