10 WWE Releases That Actually HELPED A Wrestler

7. Marina Shafir

Will Ospreay Jon Moxley Marina Shafir
AEW

None featured elsewhere on this list started out with a lower floor than Marina Shafir.

In NXT, Shafir was paired Jessamyn Duke, helping fellow 'Four Horsewoman' Shayna Baszler recapture and retain her NXT Women’s Championship. Besides the notoriety of being part of the MMA 'Horsewomen', Shafir did not really stand out in NXT/WWE before being released in 2021.

Marina would compete in GCW’s Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport a few times while also wrestling for AEW and Ring Of Honor. Still, nothing really seemed to be clicking for her and she just toiled away on AEW Dark and ROH.

Then in 2024, Shafir appeared alongside Jon Moxley (more on him in a bit), where she became an intriguing figure that evoked memories of Chyna as muscle for a male wrestler. As the Death Riders evolved, Shafir’s role continued to grow, and she began getting more involved in matches and then wrestling herself.

Although she hasn’t won any titles or become immensely successful on her own, there’s no denying that Shafir has benefited tremendously from being away from WWE and being under Moxley’s tutelage.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.