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WrestleMania 37 was seen as a huge success despite the fact that only a fraction of the WWE Universe was able to return to watch the show. The first night was also hit by a weather delay, but it was still considered to be a step in the right direction for the company that was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Back on April 15th, 2020, there were huge budget cuts both on and off-screen for WWE as the company tried to cover their losses after being forced to lockdown at the Performance Center.
This year seems to be no different since WWE has once again released several high-profile names from their main roster.
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#10 Former NXT Champion Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe was destined for great things in WWE following his impressive stint in NXT. The Samoan Submission Machine was promoted to the main roster where he was taken under the wing of Triple H, but an injury at the beginning of 2020 sidelined the star for more than a year and forced him behind the commentary desk.
WWE recently added Adnan Virk and Corey Graves to the commentary team on RAW, which left Joe without a permanent role on commentary. The former IMPACT Wrestling legend could still have a future outside of WWE and was one of the biggest shocks of the 2021 releases.
#9 Former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Peyton Royce
As a member of The IIconics, Peyton Royce appeared to be in her element on both NXT and the main roster. The Australian star was able to win the Women's Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania alongside Billie Kay before the duo were unceremoniously split on an episode of RAW.
In recent months, Royce has been directionless on RAW after the company looked to align her with Lacey Evans. But The Sassy Southern Belle announced her pregnancy earlier in the year and Royce was left with no storyline moving into WrestleMania season.
Royce was able to earn herself a match against Asuka back in March, but came up short, and hasn't been seen on WWE TV since. Despite this, Royce was still seen as a shock release from the company.
#8 Former NXT Tag Team Champion Wesley Blake
Wesley Blake was once part of a tag team on NXT alongside Alexa Bliss and Buddy Murphy, where he was able to win the NXT Tag Team Championships, his only titles in WWE.
Blake later became part of The Forgotten Sons before Jaxson Ryker's controversial comments on Twitter led to the trio being taken off WWE TV for several months.
Blake later returned as one of King Corbin's Knights of The Lone Wolf, but Steve Cutler's WWE release forced WWE to cancel the storyline and that was the last time Blake was seen on SmackDown. The star recently announced that he and Sara Lee are expecting their third child.
#7 Former WWE RAW Superstar Tucker
Tucker is perhaps best remembered as one half of Heavy Machinery since the former tag team wrestler hasn't been able to make much of an impact as a solo wrestler.
Tucker has made one appearance on RAW since his split with Otis and was attacked by RETRIBUTION. The star later resurfaced as part of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal last week on SmackDown, but was unable to secure a victory.
Tucker was one of the stars who was stuck with no creative direction on RAW in recent months and wasn't a shock release given the circumstances.
#6 Former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Billie Kay
Billie Kay was one of the first names announced by WWE as a release on April 15th, after performing back at WrestleMania. Kay teamed with Carmella in the Tag Team Turmoil match on night one, but came up short.
Billie Kay and Peyton Royce have now both been released from WWE after the company decided to split The IIconics last year and send them to different brands.
Kay has been one of the most entertaining parts of SmackDown in recent months as WWE attempted to find a place for the former Champion. But the release announcement shows the company obviously had no long-term plans for the Australian star.
#5 Former Tag Team Champion Bo Dallas
Bo Dallas hasn't wrestled on WWE TV since 2019 after taking a hiatus from WWE and making his return at the beginning of 2020. His B-Team partner Curtis Axel was released from the company on this day last year, but Dallas remained an employee of WWE even though the company seemingly had no plans for him.
Recent rumors suggested that he could become part of The Firefly Fun House with his brother Bray Wyatt, but the company hasn't made any effort to show that Dallas and Wyatt are brothers on-screen. It appears that Dallas wasn't a star that the company had any creative ideas for.
#4 Former WWE United States Champion Kalisto
Kalisto has been part of WWE for more than eight years and was most recently drafted over to SmackDown back in 2020, whilst his Lucha House Party teammates headed to RAW.
Despite many WWE fans expecting the split to lead to big things for Kalisto, the star only wrestled once on SmackDown, which was as part of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal last week. The high-flying star came up short and was announced as one of the stars who was cut in the recent string of releases.
#3 Former NXT Superstar Chelsea Green
Chelsea Green was promoted from NXT back in November when she was added to a women's qualifying match for Survivor Series. Reports suggested that Green was scheduled to win the match, but an injury meant that an audible had to be called and Liv Morgan was victorious in her place.
Green was recently cleared to make her return and it was thought she could have returned on SmackDown following WrestleMania, before the news was leaked that Green was one of several stars who had been released by WWE.
#2 Former six-time WWE Women's Champion Mickie James
Mickie James has been released by WWE before, since the former Women's Champion was part of budget cuts back in April 2010 as well. James went on to wrestle for IMPACT Wrestling for several years before making her return to WWE at NXT TakeOver: Toronto back in 2016.
Mickie was later signed to a WWE contract and in 2017 she made her re-debut on SmackDown and stepped into a storyline with Alexa Bliss. Over the past few years, James has been part of some interesting WWE storylines and has been an integral part of the Women's Revolution.
James hasn't wrestled in WWE since the Royal Rumble and it was believed that the former six-time Women's Champion would be made part of a storyline with Chelsea Green when she made her return to WWE TV.
James was last seen as part of NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver last week when the star joined the broadcast team. It's clear that the former Champion is a sure-fire Hall of Famer one day and her release came as a huge shock.
#1 Former Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner Mojo Rawley
Mojo Rawley is another WWE star whose highlight perhaps came whilst he was part of NXT. The Hype Bros were one of the brand's most popular teams and Rawley was able to use this popularity to push on to a main roster call-up.
After Rawley and Zack Ryder went their separate ways, the star won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania with the help of his friend Rob Gronkowski. But sadly, this is Rawley's biggest highlight.
After Gronk's recent short run with WWE came to an end, it appears that Rawley was another superstar the company had no future plans for.
