In a shocking series of developments, the WWE has released Braun Strowman as well as a number of other top talents that also include, Aleister Black, Lana, Ruby Riott, Buddy Murphy, and Santana Garrett.
Strowman and Black are probably the biggest surprises considering Strowman’s very recent involvement in the WWE Championship picture. Black also went under a repackages of sorts complete with a number of vignettes and a re-debut back on May 21 where it looked like he was about to be involved in an angle with Big E.
It was also reported that Black’s wife Zelina Vega was also recently rehired by the company after being let go back in November, however, that was never confirmed and it’s unclear at this point if the plan by the WWE is still to bring her back.
As far as the others go, Lana and Ruby Riott’s releases are also somewhat surprising considering the mild dedication creative was directing towards them when you consider how established Lana’s teaming with Naomi had become while Riott’s history with Liv Morgan as tag partner continued to chug along. Likewise, it’ll be interesting to see what direction Naomi and Morgan go from here and if their releases are coming down the road if creative doesn’t have anything for them.
Among the top names mentioned, Murphy’s release probably is the least surprising since he failed to get any type of traction when his program with Seth Rollins and the Mysterios ended.
Bottom line, this series of releases further illustrates the laziness on the part of WWE creative and just how out of touch Vince McMahon has become. I mean as much as I like both Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre, they’re about to face off in yet another match for the WWE Title while creative rode the champion reigns of Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler for way too long.