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WWE releases are never an enjoyable event in professional wrestling, even if they do feel almost inevitable each year, and this recent set of releases including Braun Strowman, Buddy Murphy and Ruby Riott is certainly no different.
However, whilst people should absolutely feel bad for the Superstars who have lost their jobs, it's important to remember that WWE isn't the be-all and end-all of a wrestlers career and that there are many former WWE Superstars who have gone on to have arguably better careers than they were having prior to their release.
This isn't a knock on WWE at all, sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery and a fresh start to become a star. You just need to look at guys like Kenny Omega in AEW, Juice Robinson and KENTA in NJPW and The Good Brothers in IMPACT Wrestling. That's why I truly believe a lot of the recently released talents will land on their feet.
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Here's a list of five recently released Superstars who will be better off following their WWE release.
#5 Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy
I don't think I'll ever understand how WWE had a special talent like Buddy Murphy who consistently over-performed and excelled in everything he was given and managed to get himself over every time, and have let him go.
He was dragged into the disastrous 'who tried to kill Roman Reigns' storyline and managed to make gold from, well, not-gold, with his entertaining matches. He truly shone next to Seth Rollins during his Monday Night Messiah run and earned his face-turn, even if it led to the now-dropped and slightly weird Aalyah romance angle.
He had one of the best ongoing feuds anyone is likely to see on television in terms of pure in-ring ability against Mustafa Ali and I would strongly urge anyone who is a fan of wrestling to watch the series of matches these two had.
Murphy has all of the skills to make it, and with AEW's Kenny Omega a big fan, it seems that he will almost certainly find a home, if not in AEW, then surely Ring Of Honor, IMPACT or even New Japan Pro Wrestling.
#4 Former WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman
Giants have always been one of WWE's star attractions, with Andre The Giant, The Big Show and The Great Khali all adding to the legacy of huge wrestlers. But they don't come much better or more entertaining than Braun Strowman, who is able to do the whole shebang, from monster squashes to deadpan comedy.
AEW certainly has their fair share of big men with the likes of Lance Archer and Brian Cage, but they don't have giants like Braun Strowman. The same applies to IMPACT, ROH and NJPW as well.
It's for that reason that I think that Strowman will be absolutely fine finding somewhere to ply his trade following his shock WWE release, purely because he opens up so many exciting storytelling possibilities.
This is the guy who tipped over an entire production truck with his bare hands, ripped off car doors with his bare hands, survived getting trash compacted, wrestled an alligator in a swamp and managed to make train noises fairly menacing after all.
If Braun Strowman doesn't find success wherever he ends up, I will be as surprised as one person could possibly be. The guy should've been the next legitimate giant star in WWE and he almost got there, but for one reason or another it's going to have to happen somewhere else now.
#3 Longtime WWE Superstar Ruby Riott
You just need to look at the reaction to Ruby Riott's release from her fellow WWE Superstars on Twitter to know that she'll be absolutely fine doing whatever it is she decides to do next as she has people from companies all over the world queing up to wrestle her now that she's a free agent.
Riott has consistently been one of WWE's best female wrestlers and certainly one of their most unique and that combination of things should have absolutely led her to success in WWE both as a singles and a tag-team competitor, but alas it never happened.
In fact, people in WWE were so shocked by Riott's release because she was extremely well liked backstage and her talent was obvious for everyone to see. This was especially surprising to many people because it just looked like Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott, aka The Riot Squad, were beginning to cement themselves as mainstays in the WWE Women's Tag Team Division.
But honestly, it's good that Riott is leaving WWE because even though she would've been a great tag-team wrestler and tag-team champion, Riott has all the skills, personality and charisma to be a singles champion and dominate a women's division somewhere. I expect that's what she'll go on to do!
#2 Former WWE NXT Champion Aleister Black
It's hard to remember, but Aleister Black was one of the hottest WWE Superstars in NXT with one of the most over and protected finishing moves with the Black Mass. In fact, he went on a lengthy undefeated streak that suggested that WWE had huge, huge plans for him.
But whilst the amazing entrance music, the iconic candle-lit entrance, the overall goth aesthetic and Black himself told us, the WWE Universe, he was a certified star in the making, WWE's booking showed us otherwise.
Eventually his undefeated streak was a thing of the past and suddenly we were lucky if Aleister Black would wrestle once a month, let alone every week. Then he was off-screen for over six months where he'd be repackaged, get a series of cool return vignettes, return to attack one of the top stars on SmackDown and then.... get released.
Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either, but it's certainly nice of WWE to bring Aleister Black back for long enough for people to get excited about him again so that wherever he goes now will have a foundation for which to propel him into the star he is.
#1 Longtime WWE Superstar Lana
Lana has a ton of upside for any potential wrestling promotion that might scoop her up following her WWE release. She has mainstream appeal and extensive experience as a valet or manager. She can be an extremely convincing heel or a decent babyface. She genuinely has a passion for wrestling that not a lot of people have and she is willing to put in the work to improve herself.
Sure, she's still a little behind a lot of other female performers in the industry but she truly works hard and we see that every day, both behind the scenes and reflected in her work as she noticeably improves.
She found herself in a weird place in WWE where she couldn't seem to do anything right with the fickle fans and was consequently garnering herself the 'wrong' kind of heat.
However, with a fresh start, perhaps in AEW so that she can reunite with her real-life husband Miro, I truly believe that Lana can prove everybody wrong. She may not go on to be one of the most decorated female champions in history, but I think even she'd settle with proving people wrong.
