Over the past few years, WWE has released an incredible dearth of wrestlers after initially appearing to hoard talent following the creation of All Elite Wrestling. After a long period of prosperity, WWE has made several cuts to its roster using COVID-19 and budget cuts as an excuse. The slashing of talent has led many to speculate that Vince McMahon and the McMahon family may be preparing to sell their ownership of WWE to an outside company, with NBC and Disney among the favorites to take over the reins.
Other fans blamed WWE Executive Nick Khan for the cuts, with some believing that the man was destroying WWE by cutting talented wrestlers from the roster. While no fan should take pleasure in a wrestler losing their job, especially if it's a budgetary reason, some wrestlers are probably breathing a sigh of relief when the latest firing news goes around and their name isn't on that list.
10 Noam Dar
The Scottish Supernova became the first Israeli-born wrestler to sign with WWE. Dar joined WWE after the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic tournament where he made it to the quarterfinals before losing to Zack Sabre Jr. Dar was one of the many cruiserweight wrestlers who began appearing on Raw following the cruiserweight tournament, and was subsequently a part of 205 Live when the brand was created the same year. In 2019, Dar would be moved to the NXT UK roster and began appearing at ICW events.
Since NXT UK was on break during COVID-19, it wouldn't have come as a surprise to see WWE release many of the wrestlers on the roster. Dar would have probably fallen into this category, as he has already been moved from the main roster to NXT UK, and from NXT UK to Insane Championship Wrestling. Luckily for Dar, the promotion appears to have bigger things in mind as he is currently the number one contender for Tyler Bate's UK Heritage Cup.
9 Riddick Moss
Riddick Moss has been under a WWE contract since 2014, the formed college footballer for the University of Minnesota spent 5 years in NXT before arriving on the main roster. Despite having the size and look that is reportedly much sought after in WWE wrestlers. For a long time, Moss was stuck as a part of NXT's traveling talent for house shows.
Given that NXT stopped touring during the pandemic, many wrestlers in that group were cut. One of the names spared was Riddick Moss who was eventually moved up to appear on WWE Main Event and Raw. Moss would pin Mojo Rawley on an episode of Raw to win the 24/7 Title which he would then lose to R-Truth a month later. Moss has now been renamed Madcap Moss and has been paired with Baron Corbin.
8 Jordan Devlin
Unlike some on this list, Jordan Devlin was a popular wrestler at one point in his career. The Irish ace was a hot prospect in WWE after being trained by Finn Balor in Ireland. Devlin was signed after appearing at the United Kingdom Championship Tournament, where he was defeated in the second round by eventual winner, Tyler Bate.
Devlin would win a Fatal Four Way that involved Travis Banks, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, and Angel Garza to win the NXT Cruiserweight Title before Devlin was stuck in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, Devlin was accused by an ex-girlfriend of emotional and physical abuse. While Devlin denied the allegations, WWE investigated the matter and eventually appeared to clear Devlin of any wrongdoing.
7 Jaxson Ryker
Jaxson Ryker first joined WWE after working in TNA as Gunner. Ryker signed with WWE in 2017 and was teamed with Welsey Blake and Steve Cutler in a trio called The Forgotten Sons. Ryker would often be at ringside for Blake and Cutler's matches, helping them make it to the final of the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. In 2020, The Forgotten Sons appeared on an episode of SmackDown where they defeated Lucha House Party. The Forgotten Sons also faced off against The New Day for the SmackDown tag team championships at Money in the Bank but were unsuccessful.
The group was broken up backstage after Ryker posted a controversial message supporting Donald Trump at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests. Following the break-up, Blake and Cutler were aligned briefly with Corbin, before being released from their WWE contracts. Ryker would be paired with Elias before being turned face. The concept that Blake and Cutler were released while Ryker was retained still doesn't sit well with many fans.
6 Humberto Carrillo
Humberto Carrillo signed his first WWE contract in 2018, alongside the likes of Matt Riddle, Mia Yim, Chelsea Green, Omos, Damien Priest, and Xyon Quinn. Carrillo is the real-life cousin of fellow WWE wrestler Angel Garza. During the pandemic period, Carrillo was in a storyline where he was feuding against Garza and Andrade without much success. The storyline petered out as Zelina Vega and Andrade were released and it seemed like WWE was cleaning out everyone involved in the storyline.
However, Carrillo was kept in the company and began having matches on Main Event for over eight months. Carrillo's character, largely a smiling babyface, had gotten stale before Carrillo was turned heel and paired with his cousin Angel Garza.
5 Gran Metalik
Gran Metalik was one of the many cruiserweights signed after the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic. The Mexican luchador made it to the finals of the tournament before losing to TJP. Metalik would be paired with Kalisto and Lince Dorado to form Lucha House Party.
In 2021, it was reported that Metalik had asked for a release from his contract. One-third of Lucha House Party cited a lack of opportunities as the main reason that he wanted out. Given his discontent with the promotion, it's surprising that the company didn't cut Metalik sooner. Given that his former tag team partner, Kalisto was one of the many wrestlers released in 2021 following WrestleMania 37.
4 Drew Gulak
This former Cruiserweight and 24/7 Champion is another wrestler in WWE who was lucky not to be released in the last year. There were already reports circulating that Gulak had been released in 2020 before being corrected to saying that his contract with WWE had expired and not been renewed. Gulak would spend the first few months of 2020 feuding and then later teaming with Daniel Bryan.
Gulak would be resigned by WWE in May 2020 and has since spent most of his time chasing the 24/7 Title or wrestling on Main Event. It's perhaps surprising to some that Gulak has kept his job in 2021. Gulak has also been working as a trainer in WWE's Performance Center.
3 Austin Theory
For several years, Austin Theory was on his way to becoming a huge star in professional wrestling. Despite being only 24 years old, Theory has already wrestled for several independent promotions, including Evolve, Crash, and Progress before signing a developmental contract with WWE in 2019. Within a year of signing for WWE, Theory was pushed up to the main roster and paired with Zelina Vega, together with Andrade and Garza. It appeared that Theory was destined for stardom in WWE before he was moved back to NXT in 2020.
Around the same time Theory was taken off the main roster, Theory had been accused by a 13-year-old fan of having sent inappropriate messages via Snapchat after the two met backstage. Theory was then teamed with Johnny Gargano and formed "The Way" stable alongside Indi Hartwell, and Gargano's wife Candace LaRae. In 2021, Theory was drafted back to Raw and is currently in a feud with Jeff Hardy.
2 Aliyah
From 2015 to 2021, Aliyah worked on a WWE developmental contract and was one of the longest-serving members of NXT until she was drafted to SmackDown in 2021. Despite spending over six years in NXT, Aliyah only challenged for a title a handful of times. In 2019, Aliyah was originally supposed to be brought to the main roster alongside Vanessa Borne. Unfortunately for Borne, and Aliyah, Borne was released from her WWE contract in May 2021, ending the plans of an elevation to the main roster.
Given the length of time Aliyah had spent in NXT, coupled with several failed attempts to get onto the main roster, it's surprising that she wasn't added to the list of released stars. Plenty of wrestling fans would have preferred if WWE retained the likes of Mickie James, The IIconics, Mercedes Martinez, Santana Garrett, and Ruby Riott. Yet, WWE chose to keep Aliyah.
1 Akira Tozawa
Akira Tozawa, like many in the cruiserweight division, was signed after participating in the inaugural Cruiserweight Classic in 2016. Tozawa is a former Cruiserweight Champion after defeating Neville for the title on an episode of Raw in 2017 before dropping the title back to Neville a week later on the SummerSlam Kick-Off show. Tozawa would then feud with Drew Gulak before teaming with Hideo Itami.
More recently, Tozawa has been part of the wrestlers that have been chasing the 24/7 Title. He holds the second most reigns with the belt behind R-Truth. As a result, Tozawa has been lost in the shuffle among the many other wrestlers that are occasionally seen chasing for the title. Other wrestlers that have been involved with the 24/7 Title have also found themselves on the cutting list, including Mojo Rawley and Tucker.