Predicting Where Every Released WWE Wrestler Will End Up
Predicting what's next for Samoa Joe, The IIconics, and co.
They did it again, the b*stards.
Exactly one year to the day of 2020's Black Wednesday, WWE released a further ten wrestlers on what is now known as Black Thursday. In total, Samoa Joe, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Chelsea Green, Kalisto, Bo Dallas, Mickie James, Mojo Rawley, Tucker, and Wesley Blake all found themselves canned.
The potential of these names ranged from should-have-been WWE Champion to former NXT Champions to women's wrestling legends. Just like last 15 April, we now wait to see what's next for the ten names in question.
Promotions like All Elite Wrestling and IMPACT Wrestling benefitted hugely from WWE's mass releases, while both Ring Of Honor and Major League Wrestling got one or two names in the door. Looking at those releases one year on is truly remarkable; Deonna Purrazzo, Eric Young, and The Good Brothers have all been IMPACT champions, for example, whereas Brian Myers, Matt Cardona, and Miro are all being used to their full potential.
WWE let go of some genuinely talented people who will no doubt follow in the footsteps of last April's released crop. Just where they land, though, is now the biggest question on the minds of wrestling fans...
9. Wesley Blake
Prediction: The indies
Wesley Blake suffered on WWE's main roster by way of association with Jaxson Ryker.
The Forgotten Sons had barely made it out of NXT before they were removed from television due to Ryker's social media comments. A brief run for Blake and the also-released - albeit a few months ago - Steve Cutler as King Corbin's cronies ended abruptly before Cutler was cut.
The future of Blake post-WWE could be promising. He's not half-bad in the ring, despite what WWE allowed him to do. He'll always have that crazy ladder bump from NXT TakeOver 25 and a run as NXT Tag Team Champions with Murphy, mind; not nearly as full a CV as you'd expect to have after eight years in WWE.
It's unlikely he'll be snatched up right away by any of the major promotions, but a solid run on the independent circuit could work out well for him. A Forgotten Sons reunion with Steve Cutler seems most likely for poor Wes.