10 Biggest WWE Roster Cuttings Ever

This past Friday was a day that ran the gamut of emotions for many WWE fans. Reactions to WWE's spate of roster cuts went from, "Why did they release Sandow?" and "What a way to waste Barrett!" to "Santino was still under contract?" and "Wait, they released JTG two years ago?"

From time to time, the WWE roster hits some sort of financial iceberg, and a handful (or a few handfuls) of talents get knocked off of the bow and into the icy waters below. Some of the 'victims' draw more tears than others. The events of Friday were hardly the first time that WWE fans have had to deal with a drastic change in the roster's complexion.

Quite a handful of times in the modern age has seen WWE release a hefty amount of lesser-used performers, sometimes totaling into the twenties, as will be seen in one example on this list. Other times, it's a group of prominently-positioned stars that all leave in a short period of time, giving WWE a very different make-up when the dust settled.

This is by no means a complete list of house-cleanings, but is strictly looking at time-frames where WWE suddenly became a very different place in a relatively short period of time.

Of the four top singles matches at WrestleMania 8, four of the eight participants would leave the company in short order. Both main eventers, Hulk Hogan and Sid Justice, would soon depart. The event was Hogan's swan song for the time being, while Sid quit later in April 1992 after failing a drug test, and refused to serve a suspension.

Among other two performers, an unhappy Jake Roberts negotiated his release from the company just prior to walking out for his loss to The Undertaker. Meanwhile, Rowdy Roddy Piper had put Bret Hart over clean as a sheet in the Intercontinental title match, and then left the company, making only one appearance over the next couple of years.