Every WWE Release Of 2021 - Where Are They Now? (Five Years Later)
53. Ariya Daivari
Then: Ariya Daivari actually formed an alliance with Tony Nese towards the end of 205 Live's cycle. Together, they were known as the '205 Live OGs', which was a reference to their collective experience on the Cruiserweight focused show. Sadly, 205 Live was too low down on the priority list for fans, so not many folks saw their work.
That last sentence kinda sums up Ariya's entire WWE career. He was as peripheral a "WWE Superstar" as you're likely to get. Technically, he was one, but Daivari rarely got to work on the bigger shows like Raw, SmackDown or even NXT. He was 205 through and through.
His role on that show wasn't enough to save his skin - WWE released Ariya alongside a number of others on 25 June 2021.
Now: AEW came calling and brought Daivari in for a match vs. Dante Martin on the 12 November 2021 episode of Rampage. Then, WWE rehired him in a producers role come April 2022, but it was short-lived and he was back on All Elite telly by June.
Yep, it was quite the 12 month span for Ariya. He went from WWE > AEW > WWE > AEW in the blink of an eye, but has settled down a bit to become a coach behind the scenes. Like his old buddy Nese, Daivari has been able to marry AEW/ROH bookings with some independent shows, but he hasn't been as busy on the road as Tony.
Ariya is still making a living from the biz, so good on him for that.