WWE's Black Thursday Releases: Where Are They Now?
Maybe one of those released today will win WWE title at WrestleMania 42.
Every spring, WWE fans look forward to a high point of the wrestling season: WrestleMania is typically the culmination of months of storylines and build-ups in one marathon PPV full of in-ring action, pomp, circumstance, pyro and ga-ga.
The night after WrestleMania, we typically see several “new” superstars debut or older ones return from long hiatuses. All of this is a huge positive that fills fans with hope.
But what traditionally has followed that high of highs is the low of lows: a mass release of WWE talent, often under-utilized, injured or simply forgotten superstars.
In recent years, that annual mass of releases has subsided, as WWE has chosen to bloat its roster more and more. That changed Wednesday, when the company released dozens of wrestlers, agents and other personnel as part of a massive cutting. The talent released could fill the roster of a start-up indy promotion overnight.
Until Wednesday, the most infamous “spring cleaning” day in WWE was June 12, 2014, a day commonly referred to as Black Thursday. On that day, WWE released 11 people, including nine superstars. It came just months after the company had launched the WWE Network, which was struggling to amass subscribers, and the cuts were viewed as a financial move more than anything else.
In light of this recent bloodletting, let’s take a look at where all of the talent released on Black Thursday are today.
Let’s get to it…
11. Yoshi Tatsu
Where Is He Now: All Japan Pro Wrestling
It might shock you to realize that Yoshi Tatsu was part of WWE for seven years before his 2014 release. The Japanese superstar spent two years in FCW before joining ECW during its final months. He transitioned over to Raw, where his high point likely was winning a dark match battle royal before WrestleMania 26. His last years saw him serving as a pro on the game show version of NXT and losing all his televised matches.
After his release, Tatsu returned to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he targeted IWGP champion AJ Styles and the Bullet Club. During a match that fall, Yoshi took a Styles Clash and landed on his neck, breaking bones and taking him out of action for all of 2015. Tatsu returned in 2016 and formed a faction to battle the Bullet Club, trading the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship with the Club. He left New Japan in early 2017.
Since then, Tatus has been wrestling for All Japan, winning their World Tag Team Championship and Gaora TV Championship. Earlier this year, he signed fulltime with All Japan.