Predicting Where EVERY Released WWE Star Will Sign Next
What next for Rusev, Ryder, EC3, and co.?
One of the many tragedies of WWE's swathes of talent releases is that they won't be anywhere for these newly-unemployed men and women to work for the foreseeable future.
The 40 wrestlers, producers, and other staff members let go or furloughed face an uncertain few months. Promotions like AEW, NJPW, and Impact Wrestling won't be as willing to open the chequebook for them with revenues crushed by the ongoing global situation. That WWE was the promotion best-suited to enduring the crisis means the smaller companies may soon need to make their own cuts as well, making it even less likely that they'll enter the market.
Exceptions may be made for some of the names on our list, though most will be out of work longer than one would usually expect. Still, WWE let a lot of talented people go on Black Wednesday - all of them should eventually find their place in wrestling after this thing blows over.
Let's take a look at where they might land...
(Note: This list looks exclusively at onscreen performers who had appeared on WWE television at least once, as forecasting the futures of producers and Performance Center trainees is too obtuse.)
20. Dorian Mak
Formerly known as Dan Matha, Mak is perhaps best known for an unconventional debut angle that saw him built up through multiple vignettes in 2016, only to be jumped and destroyed by Samoa Joe while walking out for his first match. He never re-emerged under his old persona.
Mak had been working as one half of The Outliers; a Robert Stone-managed tandem comprised of Dorian and Riddick Moss. This was dissolved, however, and the big man was made to settle for the NXT house show loop.
That we still don't know what the Performance Center product is capable of makes a big contract unlikely. He certainly looks the part, but can he work?
Destination: The indies.