WWE Release Emma
Australian's tenure with company ends abruptly,
WWE.com has today announced the release of Raw branded superstar Emma.
In an extremely brief boilerplate statement on their website, the company dryly noted that they have come to terms with the performer, before wishing her the best in her future endeavours.
The news comes just a week after Emma was selected as Asuka's first opponent following her main roster ascension. Essentially a sacrificial lamb for the incoming former NXT champion, it wasn't exactly a privileged position. After tasting defeat at TLC, she went on to lose a rematch on the following night's episode of Monday Night Raw.
Emma, born Tenile Dashwood, joined WWE fold as part of their FCW developmental territory, transitioning to NXT when the finishing school was rebranded in 2012. She enjoyed a prosperous time with the yellow and black group, contesting excellent matches with the likes of Charlotte and Bayley, but she was unable to translate her potential to the main roster.
The booking did not help. Emma's first stint on the big shows came at a time before women's wrestling was treated with anything approaching seriousness, as she was flung into feuds with unevenly matched opponents such as Aksana and Summer Rae. After a brief spell back in NXT, the Australian returned to main roster, only to be sidelined by injury.
It was clear it wasn't going to work out for Emma when a rebrand into the pin-up 'Emmalina' character was nixed after just one week. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer described the scenario as a "running joke" behind the scenes, with the company seemingly uninterested in pushing the former Shimmer star.
During a set of matches where she was expected to be squashed, Emma was surprisingly competitive in defeat versus Asuka. The context of her sudden release makes this stranger still - though few will be surprised at the news.