Friday Night Smackdown was yet another solid episode of the show. However, it felt a little off for not only myself but other fans. Especially because, yet there has been another round of WWE releases and cuts. It’s extremely difficult hearing this news, but WWE is a business, and they have to make the tough decision sometimes. This is the first time WWE has had a batch of cuts since November of 2024 when Tegan Nox, Baron Corbin, and Indi Hartwell were released. As of now there have been 6 members of the roster who were informed of their release yesterday February 7th, 2024.
I will be brief here, as I wrote a article that will be published soon regarding Alexander’s release. Alexander was pretty much done the moment he was broken apart from The Hurt Buisness. I am surprised he lasted as long as he did with WWE, as he was a name many fans mentioned as a possible release. My one question for WWE is simple: Why did they sign him to a new deal five months ago?
What a great move having the Final Testament beat the Wyatt 6 and having a lengthy feud with them. Why couldn’t they have had that feud with the Judgement Day Again?
Look I hate to beat down on Akam and Rezar, but it never made any sense bringing them back to begin with. Especially with the heat they had with that Independent Promotion Wrestling Entertainment Series. That was a whole gigantic scandal that did not paint Akam and Rezar in a good light. WWE took a chance and brought them back and it’s clear they regressed in the ring and honestly were the worst part of that Final Testament faction. Thank goodness that faction is done as Karrion Kross and Scarlett deserved better and hopefully he can get a title reign soon.
As for AOP, I am not so sure where they go from here. As I said, they did not come off well from that Wrestling Entertainment Series fiasco. I hope they get a chance in any company to wrestle, which is hard for me to predict. I am going to guess the NWA makes sense, as they could use a tag team and I think pairing them with Paul Ellering would be a good play.
I like Paul Ellering and he was a great manager with the Road Warriors and AOP when they were in NXT. However, they just did not work or fit well in the Final Testament. I am surprised WWE didn’t give Ellering a Legends deal, but they just straight-up released him. Ellering is 71 years old and if he wants to keep managing full-time, he could link up with the Authors of Pain wherever he goes. With AOP getting released, Ellering was pretty much done with WWE.
Technically this will be a contract being expired and not renewed. However, I am counting it on the batch of releases. To be honest, this one does not shock me at all. She had a ton of potential in this company, but Deville never got better. The peak of her career was in that feud she had with Mandy Rose and once that ended, Sonya just never did anything else besides that. She once was the assistant GM of Smackdown, but that was a waste of time. Thank goodness that Pure Fusion Collective or whatever the heck they called is ending as that was just a horrendous faction that was doomed from Day 1. I don’t know what’s worse, Pure Fusion Collective or that Absolution faction she was in with Saraya aka Paige and Mandy Rose.
I will say, I think Deville is someone that could do really well in the independent circuit. She is great in TNA or AEW as well. Deville still has potential, and I think she and Rose having a few matches would be a great play by both sides.
This one does not surprise me one bit. In fact, in one episode of the Ring Side Rant podcast, I called Davenport being released in 2025. No Joke, before the US Championship Tournament brackets got revealed, I completely forgot that she was with WWE and called up on the main roster. She never got a true chance to prove herself on the main roster and it was clear that WWE never had a plan for her once. This makes her getting drafted to the main roster make less and less sense by the day. Davenport is still a very great wrestler and she was solid in NXT. It’s just a shame how they rushed her to the main roster and WWE parted ways. She is going to get work elsewhere. I can’t wait to see Bea Priestley return to the pro wrestling world and as for a location for her to go to, I think her in AEW would be interesting, but her back in New Japan Pro Wrestling should be the play.
No matter who the wrestler is, it just sucks that they lost their jobs with the WWE. The worst part is, that this may not be the last of the departures, as Sean Ross Sapp has not confirmed yet if these are the only names. If there is more WWE releases, I will create an updated piece with additional names added. What’s more disgusting is that there are people happy for these wrestlers losing their jobs. Like come on you have to do better than that and those who cheer for these departures need to look themselves in the mirror. I wish Cedric Alexander, AOP, Paul Ellering, Sonya Deville, and Blair Davenport the best in what they do next, whether in professional wrestling or not.
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UPDATE: While this article was being uploaded, Isla Dawn has also been released. I will make a separate piece for her release and more that get revealed.
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