WWE has released multiple talents.
On Friday, names began to come out with several talents confirming their releases by WWE.
Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp & PWinsider.com have confirmed the following names being let go:
* Braun Strowman
* Katana Chance
* Kayden Carter
* Shayna Baszler
* Dakota Kai
* Gigi Dolin
* Eddy Thorpe
* Cora Jade
* Jakara Jackson
* Riley Osborne
* Joe Coffey
* Mark Coffey
* Wolfgang
* Oro Mensah
* Javier Bernal
* Dani Palmer
* Shotzi
It is unknown if all these are cuts, or if some are being notified that their contracts will not be renewed.
Strowman (Adam Scherr) was previously released by WWE in 2021 and returned in September 2022. After a torn groin sustained in September 2023, he missed several months and returned in December. Throughout this year, he had been feuding with Jacob Fatu and climaxed with a Last Man Standing match, which Fatu won to secure his U.S. title shot at WrestleMania 41.
Dakota Kai (Cheree Crowley) is also being released for the second time after her deal was not renewed in 2022. She came back three months later at SummerSlam and formed Damage CTRL with Bayley and IYO SKY. Kai went to the final of the Women’s Intercontinental title tournament before losing to inaugural champion Lyra Valkyria in January. Kai last wrestled on March 24.
Baszler, who competed in Strikeforce and UFC before moving to professional wrestling, was part of the Mae Young Classic in 2017 and lost in the finals to Kairi Sane. Baszler became a two-time NXT champion and was called up to the main roster in February 2020 and programmed with Becky Lynch. Baszler would win the Women’s tag titles on three occasions with Nia Jax twice and Ronda Rousey. Her most high-profile feud was with Rousey in 2023, where the two had a match at SummerSlam at Ford Field in Detroit before Rousey left WWE.
Katana Chance (Kacy Catanzaro) came from a gymnastics background and competed on American Ninja Warrior before signing with WWE in 2017. She has been teaming with Kayden Carter for the past five years, where they won the WWE & NXT Women’s tag titles together. The two were drafted to Raw in 2023. The two were recently part of the Women’s Tag Title #1 Contenders Gauntlet match to determine the challengers at WrestleMania 41. Carter (Allysa Lane) was a college basketball player and trained at the Team 3-D Academy. She signed with WWE in 2018 and was part of the second Mae Young Classic.
Gigi Dolin (Priscilla Kelly) spent years on the independent scene and appeared on several AEW events, including the Casino Battle Royale at the first All Out event in 2019. Kelly signed with WWE in January 2021 and debuted as Gigi Dolin and participated in the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Her biggest push occurred as a member of Toxic Attraction with Mandy Rose and Jacy Jayne during the NXT 2.0 era. The group split after Rose’s release in December 2022, and they focused on Dolin as a singles performer before linking her with Tatum Paxley. The two just represented NXT at TNA Rebellion this past Sunday, and Dolin appeared on this week’s episode of NXT.
Eddy Thorpe (Karl Fredericks) has been wrestling for ten years and joined the New Japan Dojo in Los Angeles in 2018. He was part of a Young Lions group, which included Clark Connors and Alex Coughlin. He let his contract expire with New Japan in 2022 and signed with WWE several months later. After turning heel last year, he had a feud with Trick Williams earlier this year, where he beat Williams in a strap match at Vengeance Day but lost in the rematch in an NXT Underground match. He was part of a Fatal Four-Way match on April 15, which was won by Ethan Page for a shot at the North American title at Stand & Deliver.
Jakara Jackson (Jamara Garrett) was part of the WWE tryouts in Las Vegas in 2021 during SummerSlam weekend and signed with the company. She had never had a pro wrestling match before WWE. She started having matches one year later and began to appear on Level Up before appearing on NXT. She joined Meta-Four with Noam Dar, Oro Mensah, and Lash Legend. Jackson & Legend would form a team and had multiple appearances on the main roster, including last year’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. Meta-Four disbanded this past Tuesday on NXT, with the four agreeing to go their separate ways.
Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) were migrated over from NXT UK when it shut down in 2022. Mark Coffey & Wolfgang won the NXT tag titles in February 2023 at Vengeance Day and held the titles for nearly six months before losing the titles to Tony D’Angelo & Stacks Lorenzo. They had largely been inactive on NXT and reserved for EVOLVE and live events over the past six months.
Cora Jade (Brianna Coda) signed with WWE just after her 20th birthday and started appearing on 205 Live. In NXT, she went from a popular babyface to a heel when she began a feud with Roxanne Perez. In January 2024, she suffered a torn ACL and missed nine months of action, and returned to align with Perez and begin their alliance. After splitting the two up, they briefly reunited for the Stand & Deliver pre-show, where they were part of the Fatal Four Way Elimination match for a shot at the tag titles, which was won by Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley. Jade’s last match was one week ago at a live event in Dade City against Sol Ruca.
Riley Osborne (Josh Terry) joined NXT as part of the Men’s Breakout Tournament in 2023 and was part of the Chase U group. There was a lingering storyline where Thea Hail had a crush on Osborne and ended with Hail aligning herself with Jacy Jayne and drifting from Chase U. After Ridge Holland defeated Andre Chase to disband Chase U, Osborne left NXT programming and popped up in Evolve in March. Chase U had just been relaunched on this past week’s episode, but Osborne was not present for the segment. He only had four matches this year before his release and had not wrestled since February.
We will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.
