WWE Releases Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, Lana & MORE!

In yet another batch of WWE cuts, six talents have today been released!

by Andrew Pollard
Aleister Black
WWE

Earlier today brought rumblings that even more WWE releases may be happening, and now comes news that six names have been let go by Vince McMahon’s sports entertainment juggernaut.

As reported by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, WWE has today released Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, Ruby Riott, Lana, Santana Garrett and Buddy Murphy.

WWE has since moved to confirm these six releases.

Advertisement

Those same early rumblings suggested that some major names may find themselves on the chopping block, and that has indeed proven true – with former Universal Champion Braun Strowman the name that likely grabs the most attention here.

Advertisement

Strowman seemed destined to be a WWE lifer, with his hulking frame and Monster Among Men act clearly ticking a whole lot of the right boxes for a talent Vince McMahon would want around for as long as possible.

It’s also surprising to see Aleister Black one of those released, for the one-time NXT Champion has only recently returned to WWE programming after nearly six months in the wilderness. Not to mention, there was speculation last month that Black’s real-life wife Zelina Vega was likely to be rehired by WWE.

Of course, even though losing your job is never a good thing, the important part to remember here is that the pro wrestling business exists beyond the walls of Titan Tower. All six names bring plenty to the table, and one has to imagine that none of them will be short of offers away from WWE.

This latest batch of releases follows main roster and NXT cuts across the last two months, and it remains to be seen whether more names will be added to these six talents over the coming hours and days.

As of yet, no reason has been given for this round of releases, but it seems logical to expect the same "budget cuts" reasoning as those previous sets of firings - all while WWE rakes in record revenue numbers.

Watch Next


Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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.