There were a myriad of releases across the pro wrestling landscape recently, with many appearing to be cannon fodder in the grand scheme of things, but there were also a few key exits that could have an interesting domino effect in the business in the future. The WWE cuts that were made include Sonya Deville, Paul Ellering, Authors of Pain, Blair Davenport, The Good Brothers, Cedric Alexander, Isla Dawn, Giovanni Vinci, and Elektra Lopez.
Nothing against Blair Davenport or Isla Dawn but neither of them did anything of substance on the main roster so outside of their names specifically being mentioned, their releases from the company probably would’ve gone unnoticed. The same could be said for Elektra Lopez on the NXT brand. It’s not a knock against their skills or potential, but rather how they were presented, or in some cases, not presented as important performers among the WWE landscape.
I was somewhat surprised that The Authors of Pain got their pink slips again, mostly because outside of being showcased upon their return, and being used as opponents for the Wyatt Sicks, they didn’t really get a chance to do much on Raw. The faction with Karrion Kross could’ve theoretically given them something to do, but it ultimately slotted them as secondary goons, and when the group stalled, so did any chance of momentum for them. At 71, it was legitimately good that Paul Ellering had the chance to make some more cash from the pro wrestling business, given his memorable runs as a wrestler and a manager, but obviously, he wasn’t going to continue traveling at his age for another decade so by nature, he had a limited role with the stable. Along with that, I’m not necessarily shocked that The Good Brothers were cut from the WWE again, particularly because their main role there was as sidekicks to AJ Styles, which is fine, but given that they were off television because of a Karl Anderson injury, there probably wasn’t another reunion of the OC in the cards for them. Don’t get me wrong, they are a very solid tag team, but despite their two stints in WWE, I’m honestly not sure if Luke Gallows and Anderson truly fit into the mold of a WWE tag team. It’s important to note that the pair made a name for themselves during the peak of the Bullet Club run in New Japan and rode that momentum to a WWE deal in 2016, but the American heavyweight tag style that provides variety in Japan is more or less run-of-the-mill tag stuff on main stream television in the United States. Considering that New Japan is struggling to add depth to its roster, I think it’s a safe bet that Anderson and Gallows can return to Japan for a needed boost to the Japanese league. More than anything, these specific cuts to the tag division almost underscore that tag teams still aren’t a major priority for the WWE.
It’s disappointing that Cedric Alexander was released from his WWE contract. In many ways, he was a victim of circumstances, as his talent isn’t in question. Quite simply, even in the modern era under the direction of Triple H, it seems like there’s still a ceiling for a pure cruiser weight wrestler. After The Hurt Business was disbanded, Cedric was more or less labeled as a “good hand” on the roster, which is a valuable asset to the company as far as working with younger talent, but at the same time, it’s not a role that the office associates with star power. The vast majority of the time, I wouldn’t advise AEW to add anyone to its already bloated roster, but considering Cedric’s previous association with The Hurt Syndicate, it would make sense to sign him to join the group. He would be a quality addition to the roster as a performer that can work the high spot style with a level of psychology to maximize its effectiveness. In some respects, Giovanni Vinci was in the same category, he’s a solid hand in the ring and seemed to do well with what he was given, but after he was booted from the Gunther group last year, there wasn’t really a direction for him. Furthermore, despite the start of a new gimmick recently, he wasn’t given enough time to establish himself in the role so this might be a case where he goes elsewhere to reinvent himself before he returns with a fresh start to WWE.
In terms of star power, Sonya Deville, who won’t have her contract renewed later this month rather than be released, was probably the biggest name on the list. Deville spent almost ten years under the WWE banner, and at 31, it’s very possible that this departure from the company is just a way for her to freshen up her presentation. Despite the reports of her exit online, it wasn’t made clear if the decision was made by the office or if Sonya decides not to ink a new contract to be able to take a break from the WWE schedule.
From the All Elite Wrestling side of the equation, Ricky Starks, Malakai Black, and Miro were finally released from the organization.
First and probably most importantly, Ricky Starks already made his expected jump to WWE, debuting on the NXT television show this week. Starks was on ice for almost a year in All Elite Wrestling, with his GCW matches canceled last November after some comments made on a podcast from GCW champion, Effy. It’s tough to say how far Starks will move up the ladder in WWE, especially because of the amount of talent already under contract, but at the very least, the potential is there for him to have a major upside for the organization. Despite being on television, I still put very little stock in what a talent does in NXT, mostly because it’s very clear that Raw and Smackdown are where the stars are truly made or maintained among the WWE scene. If I had to guess, I’d say Starks was a very valuable signing for the TKO corporation and it will be interesting to see how he makes progress in the company.
Malakai Black and Miro were cut from AEW after extensive speculation about their status. Miro hasn’t wrestled for the organization in almost a year and a half and was off the radar before that as well. Reportedly, Miro didn’t agree to booking suggestions and was basically kept home while he collected a paycheck from Tony Khan. Along the same lines, it was often reported that Black’s lack of regular appearances in recent years on television were because he refused to lose matches.
It’s a very interesting scenario to consider because, would either Miro or Black refuse to do their job if Triple H was the boss?
As talented as Miro is, he’s been away from television for such an extended period of time, I’m not sure he’d make a major splash in the current WWE beyond just the artificial debut pop. Ironically, both left WWE with the thought that they’d have a better career path in All Elite, but both also learned that sometimes that cliche that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side can be true. The problem is, I’m not sure that Miro proved that he should have a better spot the four and a half years he spent away from WWE. Sure, the early portion of his All Elite tenure was minimized by silly booking, but did he really prove he could be a better star by refusing any booking suggestions for almost two years? If Miro returns to the WWE, especially at 39, it wouldn’t be too surprising if he was regulated to the same lower card role that he had previously.
On the flip side, Malakai Black opts to make a comeback to WWE, I think he could fit in well with the current direction of the product, particularly with the Judgment Day stable. While Miro simply refused to agree to any booking suggestions, which is somewhat misguided because as I said, it doesn’t give him the opportunity to showcase himself, I got the impression that Black basically wasn’t going to agree to do anything silly, at least from his point of view. Granted, it’s still the wrong tactic to use in booking disagreements because if you’ve signed the contract and you’re taking the money then you should be willing to work with the promoter. The point being, it’s much easier to see Malakai Black return to the WWE, especially under the direction of Triple H, who ran the NXT brand when Black was featured on the shows.
The biggest takeaway from this situation shouldn’t necessarily be the releases themselves, it’s more or less an annual tradition for the WWE as the office makes room for more talent to be added to different divisions of the company. It certainly doesn’t mean that conclusion of a career, and in some cases, can be a key part of a brighter future in the grand scheme of things. However, and this might be repetitive, but it remains true, particularly with the NXT debut of Ricky Starks, this could be yet another example where a talent leaves All Elite to be spotlighted exponentially better in the WWE, which almost reinforces some of the narratives of the industry.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
