Every WWE Release Of 2021 - Where Are They Now? (Five Years Later)

13. Ashante 'Thee' Adonis

Then: Earlier, the multi-tiered plight of Hit Row on WWE's main roster was laid bare. They had some traction in developmental on NXT, but flopped big style once they reached SmackDown. To put a bow on that point, Ashante 'Thee' Adonis here didn't even really get to step foot in the ring as a serious worker before the entire group was let go in November 2021.

Now: Triple H was willing to give Hit Row another stab at it in August 2022. The group made a surprise return to screens (via SmackDown again), but they'd suffer the same fate as before. At least Adonis got to wrestle a few matches before everything fell apart for a second time.

WWE also kept him under contract post-Hit Row. Granted, his tag-team with Cedric Alexander was bottom rung and going precisely nowhere fast, but Ashante was wrestling plenty of matches rather than sitting in catering or standing around awkwardly during promos.

He went back down to NXT before being released yet again in August 2025. This time, Ashante's WWE contract had expired, and the company didn't seem all that keen to renew terms. Being sent off to work a 4 minute loss to Jake Something for TNA in January 2025 probably told Adonis where he stood with management.

Ashante signed with AEW in September, but hasn't wrestled higher than ROH to date. It's been a nasty slide in importance for the dude since Hit Row was tearing it up the first time around on NXT, to be brutally honest.