WWE Executes Major Layoffs: Former World Champion Among 15 Others Released, Backstage Shocked by One Exit

The WWE has carried out mass releases, which went from the internal employees to the in-ring talents. Some big names were also named in the internal list of talents being released. Former Champion Braun Strowman, Women's superstar Dakota Kai, Shayna Baszler among others were released from the wrestling promotion.

WWE Execute Mass Releases

After the WWE pulled off some internal staff releases at the headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, they also made cuts from their active wrestlers roster. Right ahead of Friday Night SmackDown, the wrestling promotion released several in-ring talents who barely featured in WWE TV, be it RAW, SmackDown or NXT. The staffers' release included the exclusion of Christine Lubrano, who was the SVP of Creative Writing Operations. The department is headed by WWE Hall of Famer Triple H.

WWE have released several in-ring talents from their active roster, and the count has gone up to 15 on May 2nd, 2025. The released superstars include Former Universal Champion Braun Strowman, Former NXT Tag Team champions Gallus, two-time NXT women's champion Shayna Baszler and Dakota Kai.

The entire list of released wrestlers is below:

• Braun Strowman
• Dakota Kai
• Shayna Baszler
• Kayden Carter
• Katana Chance
• Gigi Dolin
• Riley Osborne
• Eddy Thorpe
• Jakara Jackson
• Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang)
• Oro Mensah
• Javier Bernal

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Backstage Shocked Over One Wrestler's Release

The WWE releases sparked buzz after the internal memos were rolled out, which listed the names of the released wrestlers. Perhaps many of them saw it coming because of the lack of TV time they have had lately. However, there are certain names which have surprised the backstage staff. One such name is Shayna Baszler, and the reason is that the former UFC fighter had re-signed with the WWE and had inked a multi-year contract.

All the released main roster superstars have a 90-day non-compete clause, while the NXT wrestlers have 30. It is yet to be seen where would the superstars head to next after being future endeavored by the WWE.

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