10 Biggest Wrestling Scandals Of The 2020s So Far

4. The Pandemic Releases

WWE were lucky to survive Covid-19. Given that it's a full-contact sport, pro wrestling isn't exactly ideal during a pandemic. Still, the company was able to pull through, although not without several major casualties. 

On April 15th 2020, around a month after the world shut down, WWE announced a massive round of releases. Recognisable names like Zack Ryder and Rusev joined developmental talent and non-wrestlers on a list of over 30 cuts. 

Normally, a wrestler waits out their non-compete clause and then goes to find work. The problem was, there was no work during the pandemic. Aside from a handful of major companies, all of these released wrestlers had nowhere to go. 

Then, a year later, they did exactly the same thing again! Dozens and dozens of wrestlers were dropped throughout 2021, including Braun Strowman, who had won the Universal Championship just over a year earlier. 

WWE's decision to leave so many people without work during a global crisis was met with the highest level of scorn. The wrestling business is usually pretty cutthroat, but this was on a whole other level.