The WWE has released a bunch of its talent in 2021, and with less than two months left in the year, it appears the culling is still happening. A slew of talent reportedly received their release notices on November 4, and Monday Night Raw, SmackDown, and even NXT will see their rosters chopped following the departure of many notable superstars. Nia Jax, Eva Marie (who only just returned), Karrion Kross, Keith Lee, and others are seemingly out of the WWE following the latest round of firings.
It’s being said the WWE released Frankie Monet, Ember Moon, Jessi Kamea, Katrina Cortez, Jeet Rama, Oney Lorcan, Trey Baxter, Zayda Ramier, Scarlett, B-Fab, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Karrion Kross, Harry Smith, Nia Jax, Eva Marie, Keith Lee, and Mia Yim at some point today. The news comes from Bryan Alvarez of f4wonline.com, who said the reason for the releases was tied to “budget cuts.” Alvarez followed up on the report with a tweet that mentioned WWE’s revenue for the quarter.
WWE today announced revenues of $256 million for the quarter.November 4, 2021
WWE has yet to officially confirm the releases and has not commented on the reports, though one would imagine an announcement is coming. While the Vince McMahon-owned company didn’t immediately make a statement about the releases, many of the released talents have already reacted to the news on social media. One of which is recently released NXT star Ember Moon, who posted a cryptic tweet around the same time as the releases.
All I can do is laugh...November 4, 2021
Fans have a similar reaction to Ember Moon, and that's not hard to believe given the surprise news. After all, a solid chunk of these stars had slots on television, and while none of them could necessarily be considered a top star, there was some expectation for a few of them to rise in the ranks. Both Karrion Kross and Keith Lee came up from NXT and seemed primed to be the future top superstars of the brand. Nia Jax was at one point the Raw Women’s Champion, and even though she’s since struggled to get that type of notoriety again, she still regularly had matches with top talents like Charlotte Flair and others.
The WWE is clearing its roster, and once again, fans are left to wonder why. Budget is said to be the reason, but amid recent reports that some in the WWE believed Bray Wyatt’s exit had little to do with budget, one has to wonder. Keep in mind that a rival wrestling organization, Ring of Honor, recently released a bulk of its superstars. Could the WWE be clearing space to bring a few in? Or, is this just another way to keep the roster number low while also saving money for the organization? We can only guess and wonder if there’s any way that rival organization AEW can possibly gobble any of these folks up in an effort to grab more prime WWE talent.
Monday Night Raw airs over on USA on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET, and SmackDown airs at Fox on Fridays at 8:00 p.m. ET. It’s always a great time to watch pro wrestling when there’s real-life drama brewing, so this Friday’s SmackDown should be another great one to watch.
