10 Most Shocking WWE Releases Ever

8. Dawn Marie

Braun Strowman Blood
WWE.com

Nobody should have been that shocked when news broke that Dawn Marie had been released in 2005, but they were because - your writer included - everybody somehow always forgets that WWE is far from a nice company and is owned and operated from somebody who is far from being a nice man.

Marie wasn't being used regularly at the time, though had appeared at the beloved ECW reunion show One Night Stand just days before getting her release

Also, she was pregnant.

Pleasingly, Marie challenged the company over her exit, with the legal case noting that her job had been considered "safe" before she was cut. Going through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, she cited the termination of her contract as a wrongful dismissal that had caused her considerable (and understandable) mental distress

The two sides came to a settlement in 2007 and Marie kicked off a new chapter of her life, retraining as a nurse. Better to help people than work for a man that's beyond the very notion of it.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett