WWE has performed another round of budget cuts.
On Thursday evening, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com reported that WWE has released eight more superstars: Top Dolla, Ashante Adonis, Isaiah Swerve Scott, John Morrison, Drake Maverick, Shane Thorne, Tegan Nox and Jaxson Ryker. According to Sapp, WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis informed the eight talents that they were being released due to budget cuts.
Maverick posted the following Twitter video following the news of his release:
Top Dolla, Adonis and Scott were members of the Hit Row stable. F-Bab, who was also part of Hit Row, was released from her WWE contract earlier this month. The release of the entire faction will come as a surprise to many considering that Hit Row was only brought up to the main roster a month ago, when they were drafted to the SmackDown roster.
Since his tag team partnership with The Miz ended, Morrison has rarely been seen on television. The former Intercontinental Champion returned to the WWE in Jan. 2020, and he spent most of his latest WWE tenure working with The Miz.
Maverick was released from his WWE contract in April 2020, when the company began its first massive round of cuts amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he was brought back to the company on a new deal shortly after.
The latest series of cuts comes just two weeks after WWE released 18 superstars, including Karrion Kross, Keith Lee, Nia Jax and Oney Lorcan. More than 70 superstars and employees have been released by the WWE in 2021.
WWE Keeps Gutting Its Roster
Less than two years ago, WWE was keen on stockpiling superstars, presumably so that the rival AEW promotion wouldn't be able to land them. But WWE has made the controversial decision to release dozens of talented wrestlers who provided great value to the company, including major fan favorites who never really got a chance on the main roster.