WWE Releases: Where might each main roster star land next?
For the second time in less than two months, WWE has sent shockwaves around the professional wrestling industry by making some surprising cuts to its talent roster.
It was only recently that WWE announced its latest raft of talent departures. Performers including Samoa Joe, Chelsea Green, The IIconics and Kalisto (among others) were let go by the company on April 15, much to the shock of fans.
On Wednesday, WWE culled its locker room once again.
As initially reported by Fightful, main roster superstars Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, Ruby Riott, Lana and Buddy Murphy were all released from their contracts with the promotion. In addition, WWE has also parted ways with NXT performer Santana Garrett.
Although it is always sad to see talented men and women lose their jobs, we have seen many examples of performers going on to achieve great success after departing WWE. There has even been a report suggesting that a few of the individuals affected may have requested their own release - although no names were given.
The likes of reigning IMPACT Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo and current AEW TNT Champion Miro (Rusev in WWE) are proof of this. Both were released by WWE last April after months of doing very little, but quickly found their feet in other promotions.
Of course, all of the recently released talent will likely be subject to a no-compete clause in their WWE contracts. In the case of the main roster performers, this is typically 90 days long.
This means that all the superstars mentioned in this article should - at the latest - be free to sign with another promotion by the beginning of September.
The professional wrestling landscape has not been as rich in opportunities outside of WWE since WCW and ECW closed their doors in 2001. All of the talent mentioned in this article have fantastic ability and potential. As such, each can thrive following their WWE departures.
Here is a breakdown of where each of the main roster superstars released today might fit best moving forward.
#5 Former WWE Superstar Lana could join up with her husband in AEW
When Lana first came to the attention of WWE fans, it was as the 'Social Ambassador' of Rusev in NXT. The pair had fantastic chemistry on-screen, with The Ravishing Russian a major reason why Rusev connected with the audience so well after debuting on RAW in 2014.
It turned out that Lana and Rusev also had a great relationship behind the scenes as well. After several years of dating, the couple married in July 2016. They stayed associated with each other on television (either as allies or rivals) until Rusev was written off WWE television in February 2020. He was then released by WWE two months later.
In September 2020, the former WWE United States Champion debuted for AEW under his new name of Miro. After an underwhelming alliance with Kip Sabian came to an end earlier this year, The Best Man has really begun to find his stride as a monster heel in Tony Khan's promotion.
In truth, although she has played a babyface role in WWE recently, Lana's strongest work has always come as an arrogant heel, who believes she is better than everybody else.
When booked effectively by WWE, Lana and her husband made for great television. AEW can now recapture this dynamic for its own product. Realistically, fans never wanted to see the pair split in the first place.
It is easy to imagine Lana's first AEW appearance getting a massive reaction from the audience. It would be up to all involved to keep the momentum rolling from there.
Lana has put tremendous effort into improving her in-ring work over the last year too. Between these and her microphone skills, the real-life CJ Perry has major potential as a member of the All Elite roster. It is difficult to see her landing anywhere else following her WWE exit.