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An insanely crazy week for the WWE and their fans just got crazier.
One day after a massive backlash from fans and talent after the WWE stated they would go back to doing live shows in front of an audience, Vince McMahon held a phone conference announcing the company would be furloughing employees and making roster cuts.
The WWE announced the cuts today on its official website.
The list of performers cut by the WWE includes:
- Kurt Angle
- Rusev (Miroslav Barnyashev)
- Drake Maverick (James Curtin)
- Zack Ryder (Matthew Cardona)
- Curt Hawkins (Brian Myers)
- Karl Anderson (Chad Allegra)
- Luke Gallows (Drew Hankinson)
- Heath Slater (Heath Miller)
- Eric Young (Jeremy Fritz)
- Rowan (Joseph Ruud)
- Sarah Logan (Sarah Rowe)
- No Way Jose (Levis Valenzuela)
- Mike Chioda
- Mike Kanellis (Mike Bennett) & Maria Kanellis
- EC3 (Michael Hutter)
- Aiden English (Matthew Rehwoldt)
- Lio Rush (Lionel Green)
- Primo (Edwin Colon) and Epico (Orlando Colon Nieves)
The WWE hasn’t officially given word on Rusev yet but he made the announcement himself on Twitter.
Thank you All, Rusev out!
— Miro (@ToBeMiro) April 15, 2020
(UPDATED 4:36pm): WWE.com article was updated to confirm the release of Rusev.
A few of the more surprising names on the list are Kurt Angle, Zack Ryder, Aiden English, Lio Rush, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows.
Anderson and Gallows were part of the Boneyard Match at WrestleMania and members of one of the most popular factions in the federation.
Per Pro Wrestling Sheet, several WWE producers have been furloughed and could be brought back at a later date.
Those producers include:
- Billy Kidman
- Mike Rotunda
- Shane ‘Hurricane’ Helms
- Lance Storm
- Shawn Daivari
- Pat Buck
- Dave ‘Fit’ Finlay
- Scott Armstrong
- Sarah Stock
Kurt Angle was one of the first to address the news on social media.
I wanted 2 say thank you to the WWE for the time I spent there.I made many new friends and had the opportunity to work with so many talented people. To the Superstars, continue to entertain the WWE Universe as well as you possibly can. They’re the best fans in the world. #itstrue
— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) April 15, 2020
In other budgetary moves, construction of the new WWE headquarters in Stamford, CT has been delayed six months.
The move was expected to happen in early 2021.
[via WWE.com]