23 WWE Wrestlers Cut in Massive Shakeup

Inside WWE’s latest mass releases: why 23 superstars were let go, how it impacts Raw, SmackDown, and NXT, and what’s next for the fired wrestlers.

In the days following WrestleMania 42, WWE made a sweeping round of roster cuts, releasing more than 20 superstars across its main roster and NXT brands in a move that has quickly reshaped the company’s landscape.

According to CBS News, among the most notable names are Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, and Kairi Sane—all of whom had active roles on television heading into WrestleMania season. Vega confirmed her departure during a Twitch stream, while additional releases were reported shortly after.

Black’s exit stands out in particular. The former upper-midcard fixture had built momentum in recent months, picking up wins over high-profile opponents, including Sami Zayn and Randy Orton.

His return to WWE just one year ago, following a run outside the company, had positioned him as a potential breakout name—but that trajectory appears to have ended abruptly.

Vega, his real-life partner, was also a consistent presence on SmackDown.

Elsewhere, Sane’s departure halts her involvement in a long-running storyline tied to Damage CTRL, alongside Asuka, Iyo Sky, and Bayley. The group had also been featured prominently on WWE programming.

Several members tied to the Wyatt Sicks faction—including Bo Dallas, Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis, and Erick Rowan—were also let go. The group, introduced in 2024 as a tribute to the late Bray Wyatt, had recently wrapped a feud after losing a multi-man street fight.

Cross addressed her departure publicly, writing, “Goodbye and thank you, WWE… I’m really excited for whatever my next chapter will hold,” while also acknowledging the coaches and performers who shaped her career.

The cuts extend beyond those names, with additional talent including Apollo Crews, Santos Escobar, and Zoey Stark others reportedly parting ways with the company.

The scale of the releases reflects a familiar pattern for WWE, which often reevaluates its roster following WrestleMania, its biggest annual event.

Testimony From Mark Shapiro Contradicts Public Comments And SEC Filing Regarding Vince McMahon And TKO

Mark Shapiro was deposed in December as part of the ongoing shareholders’ lawsuit against WWE, which claims that Vince McMahon predetermined the transaction with Endeavor to secure his continued role at the company in light of the sexual misconduct scandal surrounding him, rather than shopping WWE to maximize shareholder value.

In his deposition, Shapiro was asked if he viewed McMahon remaining in the Executive Chair role as a necessary condition for the success of the combined company.

The following exchange took place (via Brandon Thurston of POST Wrestling):

“You personally didn’t view Vince being in the executive chair role as a necessary condition for the future success of the combined company; right?” an attorney for the plaintiffs asked Shapiro.

“Correct, especially with all the baggage,” Shapiro said.

“But at the end of the day, Vince is [sic] remaining with the company was a Vince goal, not an Endeavor goal; right?” the examining attorney followed up.

“Wasn’t a goal of ours, no, no, it was not,” Shapiro responded.

This testimony contradicts public comments made by Ari Emanuel, Shapiro’s partner at TKO.

Speaking to CNBC on April 3, 2023, when the WWE merger to form TKO was first announced, Emanuel said about keeping Vince, “I would have body-slammed him if he [Vince McMahon] thought he was going to leave, because as I said to you before, here’s a man who has seen around the corners at every beat over the last 40 years of this business and has a vision for where this business, way before a lot of people see it. Him now being able to utilize what we have built in our flywheel, I’m the luckiest guy in the world, because I got Vince McMahon, a visionary, that sees around corners.”

He reiterated his desire to keep Vince on when asked outright if he wanted Vince to stay.

“Oh my god yes,” replied Emanuel. Vince then confirmed that he wanted to stay. Emanuel also said that he wouldn’t let Vince walk away.

Shapiro’s testimony also contradicts an SEC filing regarding the merger, which stated that the proposal was increased on the condition that McMahon would serve as the Executive Chairman of TKO.

“Endeavor had conditioned the proposed increase in valuation upon Mr. McMahon serving as Executive Chair of the newly formed public company until his death, resignation or incapacity, having the right to nominate the five WWE representatives to serve among the 11 total directors on the newly formed public company board of directors and having a veto right over certain transactions, in each case until he sold down a to-be-agreed percentage of his equity or he no longer served as Executive Chair. The WWE advisors discussed with the WWE Board that Endeavor had stated that these governance changes were fundamental to Endeavor’s thesis for pursuing the potential transaction in light of, among other things, Endeavor’s belief that Mr. McMahon’s continued leadership as contemplated by the March 23 Endeavor Proposal would be critical to the value creation driving Endeavor’s desire to engage in the Potential Transaction.”

The merger lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in June.

Ric Flair Explains Ban From WrestleMania, Tried To Fight Ludwig Kaiser

Ric Flair has gone off on Ludwig Kaiser, alleging that his altercation with the WWE star led to him being banned from attending WrestleMania.

In his appearance on "The Ariel Helwani Show," Flair revealed that he argued with Kaiser, following the drama that unfolded during the storyline between Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair last year.

"I didn't get invited to WrestleMania this year. I threatened to beat up Tiffany Stratton's husband last year. I wasn't allowed to go. A 24-year-old kid [Kaiser's 35] being threatened by a 76-year-old man, and I can't go to WrestleMania. Are you kidding me? That English kid [Kaiser's German], he's going to go as far in wrestling as a net. He'll be a fly in the wall in a year," Flair began angrily. "Well, they had that thing, you know, where Tiffany's made a smart remark about Ashley's [Charlotte] divorces, which we both know she's not smart enough to have written. Somebody gave her a script and then he implied that — you know I'm just going based on social media once again, which there's a lot [of misinformation] — that he was implying that he wouldn't bum one off Ashley, and I went, 'Okay, I need your number.' I got it — which I can get anybody's number I want any minute of any day — and I called him. I said, 'When I see you, I'm going to beat the sh*t out of you.' So, he went like a little bi*ch [and] told Hunter, and I wasn't allowed to go."

Flair angrily stated that Kaiser will not go far in the pro wrestling business, and seemingly didn't know his whereabouts — despite him currently portraying the El Grande Americano character with great success in AAA — even questioning whether he is part of the WWE roster.

"Is he even on the roster?" asked Flair, with Helwani responding that he's currently in Mexico. "I'm sure he is. I hope he stays [in Mexico]."

"The Nature Boy" stated that he doesn't get the respect he deserves, asserting that WWE should roll out the red carpet for him for his impact on the pro wrestling business.

Mark Shapiro Claims TKO Has Full Creative Control Over WWE

Mark Shapiro clarified TKO had total control over WWE creative while answering criticism of celebrity involvement on the road to WrestleMania 42. 

Shapiro, TKO's Chief Operating Officer, visited the University of Alabama ahead of the "Show of Shows" last weekend. 

During which, he was asked by one student about the reception to TKO's perceived involvement in creative, with the likes of Pat McAfee, Jelly Roll, IShowSpeed, and influencer turned WWE Superstar, Logan Paul, so involved with the build to and then eventually the event. 

"First of all, [TKO] has complete control. So we're responsible," Shapiro clarified, continuing to defend the product that has been distributed thus far. "What I will tell you is WWE is growing every way," he said. "It's really exploded... As far as the stars part of it, I don't think that's true."

Shapiro pointed to the trajectory of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson from WWE into Hollywood, and justified that stars moving the other way is not new to the industry, it's just being done at a grander scale. 

"Having Hollywood tie-ins and celebs and stars; Logan Paul, and Pat McAfee, and Mark Wahlberg shows up and does his thing, or Tyrese Haliburton... That's not new, it's just on a larger stage. We're spending a lot more money to market the brand, market the content. And when you do that you're gonna win some folks over, but you're also going to chase some folks away."

Wahlberg was conspicuous considering the fact that he is a name to have been involved in anything recent with WWE. His last significant role saw him open WrestleMania 38 as "The Most Stupendous Two-Night WrestleMania in History."

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Triple H Opens Up On WWE Creative Transition After Vince McMahon Exit

What was the WWE creative transition like for Paul "Triple H" Levesque?

The current Chief Content Officer of WWE became a key figure in the role several years ago when Vince McMahon first retired from the company in July 2022.

McMahon had stepped down previously as Chairman and CEO of WWE following a Wall Street Journal report regarding sexual misconduct allegations. He returned to WWE in January 2023.

It was recently revealed via text messages from another lawsuit involving TKO and its shareholders that there seemed to be hesitancy from Triple H as to McMahon's potential participation in creative.

Levesque appeared on Cody Rhodes' What Do You Want To Talk About? podcast on Wednesday to discuss taking over WWE creative.

When asked by Rhodes about whether WrestleMania 40 in April 2024 was the first WrestleMania where he was the primary creative leader, Levesque shared that there wasn't a single moment that defined the transition from McMahon to him.

“I think so,” Levesque said. “And again, this is where I’m terrible with times, but it’s not like one day, ‘Here, it’s yours,’ and everything else went away. There were so many aspects to that of, ‘Vince is stepping away, you’re going to take this spot, but he’s chiming in.’ And he was still meeting with me all the time and still directing traffic from the side. And there’s no real clear moment for me. But I would consider it that, yes.”

Levesque also opened up on some frustrations with the perception that decisions being made were all his during that transition period.

“When people are like, ‘Yeah, but it’s your decision, right?’ Levesque said. "Yeah, sort of. You know what I mean? You have to defend your position, and you have to be able to sell that to people and explain it to people if it’s a little bit not your position or a little bit, ‘Well, why did this happen?’ And you don’t want to say, ‘Well, because it wasn’t totally my decision.'”

Lawsuit Texts Show Triple H's Reaction To Vince McMahon Attempting WWE Return

In September 2023, months after Vince McMahon returned as Executive Chairman to oversee a sale, WWE and UFC officially merged into Endeavor, and TKO Group Holdings was created. One day prior to the merger, Paul Levesque wrote that he was "wound up tight today... DDay tomorrow, expecting the worst" in a text message to Nick Khan, then-President of WWE. This is according to new reporting from Brandon Thurston of POST Wrestling.

The uncovered texts are part of the shareholder's lawsuit over the merger, and show that Levesque seemed paranoid and concerned about McMahon's involvement. By October, Levesque would be in complete control of creative, with Endeavor's Ari Emmanuel and Mark Shapiro publicly stating he was prior to that. However, in December 2023, McMahon was reportedly coming to Cleveland for TV and texts show that Levesque was very concerned. He texted Khan, "Was just told by security that VKM is coming to Cleveland on Monday. What's that about??????" Khan responded right away, but those texts were deleted by Khan.

The following day, Levesque again texted Khan about McMahon coming to TV. He told Khan he was "disappointed in that Ari convo" and showed concern about how McMahon was being handled when attending TV and giving creative notes. Levesque asked Khan his opinion on involving Shapiro in the matter. Whatever response Khan gave, he later deleted.

Nearly an hour later, Levesque texted Khan again. "Between you and I, It feels like they are both backtracking on the 'he's out' narrative," Levesque wrote. The retired wrestler shared his belief that the TKO executives were moving their position to be more accepting of a McMahon role within creative, and he mentioned an email regarding a script for Emmanuel. Khan responded, "They already know. No need to send." The text conversation appears to end there.

Levesque has been heavily featured on Netflix's "WWE Unreal", which gives a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process for storylines. He has also made appearances on TV, including during last night's episode of "Raw".

Ric Flair Claims WWE Is Trying To Destroy His Legacy With Recent Decision

Ric Flair claims WWE is trying to kill him and diminish his legacy.

WWE Hall of Famer and current AEW star Ric Flair took to X/Twitter to reveal that WWE has banned him from partnering with Roots of Fight, a premium apparel and media brand. He listed some of his achievements and noted that he always played by the promotion’s rules by calling himself a 16-time world champion despite having 21.

Ric Flair also mentioned repaying the $800,000 he borrowed from Vince McMahon, despite McMahon’s initial indication that he would forgive the loan. While he is thankful for his other sources of income, including AEW, he asked WWE what more of his legacy they want to destroy despite his history of honoring agreements.

“I Woke Up This Morning To Find Out That I’m No Longer Allowed To Be With @rootsoffight Per @WWE. Let Me Think- I’m The Only Wrestler To Ever Be On 30 For 30 & Ranked In The Top 25 Of All Time, An Emmy Nominated Documentary-Courtesy Of The WWE, Which I Should Have Won But l Lost To A Team Not An Individual,” Ric Flair posted.

“21 World Championships, But I Always Played By Your Rules And Kept It At 16. Paid Vince McMahon Back 800k When He Said He Would Forgive It. I Honored It. Fortunately, I Still Make 1 Million Dollars From The GREAT Ryan Fiterman Fiterman Sports. 500k From Ric Flair Drip. And Thank God For Tony Khan. What More Of My Legacy Do You Want To Destroy WWE? You All Grew Up Loving Me And I Set The Bar. Now You Are Trying To Kill Me And Diminish My Legacy. Thank You, But It Ain’t Happening. Nice Try. LFG!”

Vince McMahon faces graphic sexual abuse allegations in new court filing from ex-WWE employee

A former WWE employee who is suing the company and its former CEO, Vince McMahon, made new and graphic allegations in a filing in the U.S. District Court of Connecticut earlier this week.

Janel Grant, who filed her initial lawsuit against WWE, McMahon and former executive John Laurinaitis, detailed more claims about how she was allegedly recruited to work for WWE, the alleged "abuse" she encountered while WWE leaders allegedly did nothing and other assertions.

Laurinaitis was previously removed from the lawsuit.

Fox News Digital reached out to McMahon’s lawyer and WWE for comment.

Grant, who worked at WWE from June 2019 to 2022, alleged she was "subjected to repeated physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and sexual trafficking perpetrated" by McMahon, and "most senior officials and talent knew about and facilitated the abuse" she experienced.

"Instead of protecting Ms. Grant, WWE and McMahon conspired to use his coercive control over her to conceal its leaders’ wrongdoing and bar Ms. Grant from speaking out or seeking help," the lawsuit states.

Grant made allegations of having "violent" sexual encounters with McMahon and others.

"Throughout the three years, sex was violent, invasive, degrading, and produced injuries that could not heal because there would consistently be subsequent violent encounters, often involving other men or objects," the lawsuit says.

"Ms. Grant did not raise a complaint concerning her abuse because she lived in a state of duress and was fully under McMahon’s control, her survival ultimately depending on her complete submission to McMahon."

Grant claimed in the lawsuit that McMahon pressured her to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and that he allegedly sexually assaulted her after she signed the document.

The sordid allegations are a part of an ongoing lawsuit between the parties.

McMahon stepped down as the CEO of WWE in 2022 and stepped down from TKO in 2024 after the initial lawsuit was filed. He has maintained his innocence through the process.

"The Complaint’s outrageous claims of sexual abuse and coercion are pure fiction — plainly intended to garner publicity — and are flatly contradicted by Plaintiff’s own contemporaneous statements," McMahon said in an April 2024 filing.

"Contrary to Plaintiff’s false allegations, Plaintiff and Defendant (collectively, the ‘Parties’) engaged in a consensual relationship during which Defendant never coerced Plaintiff into doing anything and never mistreated her in any way.

"In fact, in a love letter Plaintiff wrote to Defendant shortly before the Parties ended their relationship, Plaintiff described Defendant as ‘[m]y best friend, my love and my everything,’ praising him for being the ‘wonderful, tender, vulnerable, heart-on-your-sleeve soul you really are.’

"It is incredulous that Plaintiff, a then 42-year-old woman who claims on her resume to have a law degree from Pace University, would have written these words to Defendant months after all the events in the Complaint of alleged abuse, coercion, and ‘sex-trafficking’ took place."

TKO Group told The Associated Press in January 2024 it took Grant’s allegations "very seriously."

"Mr. McMahon does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE," the company said at the time. "While this matter predates our TKO executive team’s tenure at the company, we take Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally."

source: foxnews.com

How John Cena Came to Host WWE WrestleMania 42

John Cena will return to WWE programming sooner than many expected to host WrestleMania 42 later this month.

The WWE retirement tour of John Cena wrapped up last December at Saturday Night's Main Event when the "Never Seen 17" tapped out to Gunther in his final match. Based on his comments following the event, it didn't seem like we'd see Cena back on WWE programming any time soon.

v However, in a move that surprised many, John Cena announced earlier this week that he would be the official host of WrestleMania 42. Cena will return to the same city and venue where he defeated Cody Rhodes last year to capture his 17th World Championship.

But how did all of this come about?

On the latest episode of WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select, it was revealed that when John Cena retired from WWE as an active in-ring competitor last December, his hosting WrestleMania this year wasn't part of the plan.

John Cena agreed to a new long-term deal with WWE following his retirement, keeping him with the company for several years to come. WrestleVotes states that Cena was approached back in February about hosting the Showcase of the Immortals this year, and he agreed to do so.

It was noted that WWE made this move to increase ticket sales for WrestleMania 42, which are still far behind those for last year's event in the same stadium.

source: si.com