8 WWE Superstars Released Today In Mass Firings

1. Wade Barrett

Barrett joined WWE in 2010 as part of the cast of the first season of NXT. He won the competition, and soon afterwards the entire field of competitors debuted on Raw as "The Nexus," with Barrett as leader. The group interfered in and disrupted WWE shows for months until falling to an all-star team led by John Cena at SummerSlam. Still, Barrett remained a major player, challenging Randy Orton for the WWE Championship.

When The Nexus disbanded, Barrett led the short-lived spinoff group The Corre. As leader of The Corre, Barrett claimed his first Intercontinental Championship, but the group fizzled out and Barrett soon became a solo act. He spent much of the next few years missing time due to injuries and visa issues, but when he was active, he showed much improvement in his ring work. Barrett collected more Intercontinental Championships and soon adopted the gimmick of "Bad News Barrett" - an obnoxious loudmouth who would gleefully deliver bad news to fans.

In 2015, Barrett won the reinstituted King of the Ring tournament, then changed his name to King Barrett. He joined up with The League of Nations, but still found himself on the losing end of matches more often than not. Rumors - which Barrett didn't deny - began to spread that he was leaving the company when his contract expired in June.

On the Raw after WrestleMania, Barrett was ousted from the League and beaten down by his former partners. That was his last appearance on WWE TV.