Today has been a strange, yet sadly familiar day for wrestling fans.
Whilst it's clearly somewhat shocking to have seen Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, Ruby Riott, Lana, Santana Garrett and Buddy Murphy released by WWE, there's equally an element to this that isn't actually all that surprising.
That's down to how this is the third batch of major releases that WWE has made in the past two months, with nine talents fired in April, followed by another ten in May. And that's not it for 2021, for names like Lars Sullivan, Steve Cutler and Andrade were let go earlier in the year.
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Of all of the 2021 releases to date, none have been as shocking as the WWE exit of Braun Strowman. A former Universal Champion and someone consistently featured at the top of the card, Strowman and his hulking frame seemed destined to be a WWE lifer.
If ever a talent ticked a multitude of the relevant boxes to get Vince McMahon giddy, surely it was the Monster Among Men - which is why his release more than any other has wrestling fans perplexed.
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So, why has Braun Strowman been released by WWE? Simon Miller gives his take on WWE's shock releases.
Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics.
As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.
