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There was a mass release of WWE Superstars in April 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. WWE received a lot of flak for it, and while some were re-hired, most have found new places of work elsewhere.
With the rise of competition, WWE is no longer the go-to option for many wrestlers. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of WWE Superstars were open about negotiations with competitors, and it resulted in them getting better contracts.
The same wasn't the case in 2020, but that doesn't mean that other Superstars wouldn't have explored their options outside WWE. In a lot of cases, unsatisfied WWE Superstars remained with the company for the guaranteed money they were receiving in a difficult time like the COVID-19 pandemic.
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If it weren't for that, these WWE Superstars would have likely left once their contract expired:
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#5. Zack Ryder/Matt Cardona - WWE contract was expiring in August 2020
Matt Cardona fka Zack Ryder was a long-tenured employee of WWE and lived his dream for many years. However, he didn't find the success in WWE that he would have hoped for, and the company never seemed intent on pushing him to become anything more than a low-card star.
Either way, he made his money and got a lot out of WWE. When he was released in April 2020, it sent shockwaves since Ryder had been associated with WWE for over a decade. And it was hard to see him working anywhere else.
His contract was reportedly set to expire in August of 2020, and Fightful reported that he was slated to leave the company when his contract expired. It made a lot of sense since there was clearly not much that he could have done in WWE apart from collecting a paycheck.
He worked limited-appearance deals with AEW and Impact Wrestling after his WWE release.
#4. Eric Young - Felt that the WWE system was "broken"
Eric Young is enjoying a new lease on life back in IMPACT Wrestling, where he made his name in the first place. He even won the IMPACT Wrestling World Title for the second time before losing it to Rich Swann.
Speaking about his WWE release, Eric Young said that Vince McMahon failed as a leader and said that the WWE system itself was "broken":
“It’s impossible to be creative, it’s impossible to get ahead, it’s impossible to feel like you have a foothold in your career at all. The whole time you’re there you are just trying to fix other people’s mistakes, that’s what it feels like.” (H/T: Sescoops)
It doesn't seem unfair to assume that Eric Young would have left WWE had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic. He didn't seem happy with the way things worked out, and it's hard to blame him.
#3. EC3
The case of EC3 is unfortunate since many expected his second WWE tenure to work out differently. EC3 realized himself that financial security wasn't the only thing that mattered.
He even revealed that he was going to ask for his release from WWE before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Either way, he felt relieved at having been released, and it's not hard to see why he wouldn't have stuck around in WWE.
#2. Deonna Purrazzo - An unenjoyable WWE run
Deonna Purrazzo is another name that was released from WWE and instantly benefited from her run in IMPACT Wrestling. The promotion was quick to snatch her up, and she revealed on the Busted Open podcast that she felt 'defeated' being in WWE and NXT:
"I think the Deonna that you saw, and the world saw, in Ring of Honor and IMPACT is truly who I am. The person I've been able to put on the screen is the person I believe in. It's the truest form of me, you know, elevated. At NXT, it was very much a runaround. 'You need a character. Okay, well that's too much character. You have to be the real you, but the real you isn't believable'. I just gotten to a point where there's nothing I can do right, and now I feel defeated in me."
Deonna Purrazzo had reportedly already asked for her release and was relieved when WWE let her go. She has won the IMPACT Knockouts Championship twice since her return and has been the division's centerpiece. It worked out well for her post-WWE.
#1. FTR/Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler
FTR, fka The Revival in WWE, was released on a mutual agreement in April 2020. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler had both expressed their unhappiness in WWE and their general treatment of the Tag Team division.
There had been numerous occasions where they asked for their release, and in April 2020, WWE started to release Superstars who had previously asked for it. This was more mutual, but both men were always AEW-bound.
