5 WWE stars released in 2020 - Where are they now?

The COVID-19 pandemic has made sure that 2020 will always be a year that is remembered for its negative effect on the world, but even though most of the world has been in lockdown, WWE has continued to entertain their fanbase regularly.

Of course, the company has suffered losses like every other business because of the pandemic, which is why WWE was forced to furlough and release several superstars back in April. The likes of Zack Ryder, Rusev, Curt Hawkins, Maria, and Mike Kanellis were just a few of the on-screen talents who lost their jobs whilst Drake Maverick was able to claw back into the company's good graces and earn his contract back.

These aren't the only stars who were released from the company this year, ahead of the lockdown, several WWE talents were looking for their release and have since moved on to new chapters in their life, so what does life after WWE look like?

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#5. Sarah Logan

Sarah Logan had quite a notable independent wrestling career before she was signed by WWE since many fans believed that her time as Crazy Mary Dobson could have made her the perfect candidate for Sister Abigail.

Logan was instead drafted in to be part of The Riott Squad on the main roster and became the least used member of the group. Overshadowed by Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan, Logan was hardly even part of the split between the three women when The Riott Squad officially dissolved earlier this year.

It came as a shock when WWE decided to release Logan since her husband still works for WWE as Erik- one half of The Viking Raiders.

Logan was released back in April, but the former Riott Squad member has already decided to take a hiatus from wrestling for the time being, despite rumors that WWE was set to re-sign her to the company.

#4. The Revival

The Revival are former NXT and RAW Tag Team Champions and when they were moved up to the main roster, it appeared that the Creative didn't know what to do with a tag team of their magnitude.

Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder were an old school tag team that relied on the original rules of tag team wrestling, which made them one of WWE's best teams. Sadly, though, they were never given the opportunities that they deserved.

After requesting their release several times in the past year, the company finally decided to grant the two stars their release from WWE in April, just five days before the company went on to make wholesale changes to their roster.

WWE released the two stars without adding the usual 90-day non-compete clause which has since allowed them to move over to AEW (All Elite Wrestling), where they are now known as FTR.

Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler handed over many of their trademarks to WWE upon their exit and have since changed their names and appearances to become stars in AEW. At present, the duo looks as though they could easily climb the ranks in AEW's tag team division.

#3. Drake Maverick

My immediate thoughts.@WWE @WWENXT #WWE #NXT @TripleH @ShawnMichaels #Cruiserweight pic.twitter.com/Afw58V7eo1

— DRAKE MAVERICK (@WWEMaverick) April 15, 2020

Interestingly, WWE originally released Drake Maverick on April 15th along with around 30 other employees across the board in the company.

At the time, Maverick was still part of the tournament to crown an Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion and released an emotional video online where he talked about how much his WWE career meant to him.

Maverick was then allowed to continue to wrestle in the tournament on NXT and throughout that time, he gained a following and was able to create his own storyline. It was a story of redemption that wasn't enough to see Maverick lift the Championship in the final, but it was enough to see Triple H offer him a new contract with WWE.

After handing Maverick his new contract, Triple H said that the reason for it was Maverick being able to take the ball and run with it when he created his own relatable storyline.

As of writing, Drake Maverick is the only WWE star who was released from the company that has already been re-signed.

#2. Deonna Purrazzo

Deonna Purrazzo was one of the many WWE stars released back on April 15th. Her release came as a complete shock to fans since The Virtuosa was featured on Monday Night RAW merely weeks before.

Deonna was destroyed by former WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax but was still able to put on a good show for fans who hadn't been watching the star perform in WWE NXT.

Purrazzo spoke to WrestlingInc following her shock WWE release where she was able to reveal that she was only given 30 days pay and was then free to work elsewhere.

"I think there was definitely a relief to it. When the company said earlier in that day that they would be making cuts with furloughs and releases, I kinda felt this was it. I was really nervous all day because I was waiting to find out if it was gonna be me or not."

"Although it is a weird time, it didn't really hit me that I didn't have a job until my dad was like, 'Ok, you get 30 days pay. What happens after the 30 days?' I was like well I can't just go get a job [laughs]. That made it real when my parents asked what I'm doing moving forward. There isn't a lot of real options. So, that was the scary part when it hit and I got emotional about it. But, getting the phone call, the people I talked to, it was very much, 'I think this is what's gonna make you happy and I wish you happiness moving forward...'

Purrazzo has since made the moved from WWE to Impact Wrestling where she has already established herself as a heel by attacking Knockout's Champion Jordynne Grace, but only recently made her in-ring debut against Alisha.

#1. Matt Hardy

Even though Matt Hardy wasn't technically released by WWE, he was another Superstar to depart the company this year. Hardy waited for his contract to expire on March 1st before announcing his departure from WWE. Similar to the way Dean Ambrose left WWE back in 2019, Hardy opted not to re-sign with the company and decided to make the move over to All Elite Wrestling.

There had been hints for a number of weeks that Hardy would be revealed as the Exalted One, but it was shocking to see that it was Luke Harper who debuted in that role, whilst Hardy then joined The Elite.

Hardy was able to re-ignite his career in Impact Wrestling when he unveiled The Broken Matt Hardy and the Broken Universe and it's thought that he will be able to do the same again in AEW.

Since Hardy was dunked into a swimming pool by Santana and Ortiz back at Double or Nothing, the former WWE star has been able to become any of his former gimmicks and now refers to himself as the "Multifarious" Matt Hardy.