Here's an in-depth breakdown of every wrestler released by WWE during their November 2021 round of budget cuts. The sports entertainment empire let go another 18 Superstars to kick off the month, adding to an already dismal year that has seen more than 70 wrestlers in total released from the company, including major cuts like "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman.
WWE has come under fire multiple times for releases waves of talent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, despite several of their competitors—many with infinitely smaller budgets—doing exactly the opposite. In total more than 120 wrestlers have been let go by the billion dollar organization since the start of 2020, drawing criticism as WWE continues to generate more money than ever before due to lucrative TV contracts and an even more controversial deal still in place with the Saudi Arabian government.
This latest collection of "budget cuts" isn't quite as shocking as some of the prior rounds, but WWE is still pulling the plug on quite a few established acts, including several key members of their women's division that could prove immensely useful to competitor companies like AEW and IMPACT Wrestling. In addition, WWE has axed many home-grown talents who primarily trained at their own WWE Performance Center in Florida. Here's all 18 WWE releases, why they were cut, and what's next for each wrestler.
Nia Jax
Nia Jax has been an imposing—if not controversial—presence in the WWE women's division since arriving in 2014. A homegrown talent, Nia got her start training at the WWE Performance Center and competed in NXT before being moved to Monday Night Raw in mid-2016. As one of the company's most consistently active women in recent years, she has wrestled virtually every name to come through WWE's doors, including Ronda Rousey. Nia is a former Raw Women's Champion and a 2-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champion, she competed in the first ever Women's Royal Rumble match, and while not always successful, she has competed in 4 different title matches on the grand stage of WrestleMania, including a successful tag title defense alongside women's MMA pioneer Shayna Baszler.
WWE recently made the decision to break up the long-running Nia-Shayna tag team, so while her release still came as a surprise to many, it also wasn't totally out of left field. What's next for her is an interesting question. Nia has been the subject of more backlash and resistance from wrestling fans than perhaps any other woman in the company since her debut—although admirably, she has continued to push forward in the face of considerable social media criticism. The wrestler noted on social media that she had been taking a "mental health break" from WWE prior to receiving her unexpected release, so it remains to be seen when she plans to return to the ring, assuming that wrestling continues to be her focus going forward.
Karrion Kross & Scarlett Bordeaux
Rarely has a wrestler been so seemingly perfect for WWE's brand of sports entertainment, only to be failed so spectacularly by the very same system. Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux's WWE releases are the final insult in a string of failures by the company to effectively utilize either wrestler. Kross was doing well enough while in NXT with Scarlett at his side, although a shoulder injury set him back a few months and ended his first title reign. In June 2021, WWE made the mind-boggling decision to bring the formerly undefeated titan to Monday Night Raw, just to lose to Jeff Hardy in less than 2 minutes—while Kross was still the reigning NXT Champion. With Scarlett inexplicably absent, WWE followed up on one bad decision with another, dressing up Kross in a hideous leather gladiator costume, complete with a metal-studded helmet that became the subject of quite a bit of social media backlash.
Kross and Scarlett had a unique, over-the-top presentation while in NXT with a flashy, chaotic entrance that created an effect not totally dissimilar to Finn Balor's demon entrance. While certainly intimidating, their characters were not always clearly defined beyond the extravagance for extravagance's sake, however. Perhaps a return to the type of character that Kross portrayed early on in Mexico and expanded upon in IMPACT Wrestling—a more straightforward career killer type—could be the way to go following his WWE release. Neither Kross nor Scarlett's departure from IMPACT was a clean break, it's not impossible they could return if there's money to be made. Another interesting potential destination is Major League Wrestling, who is in the process of rebooting certain elements of Lucha Underground, where Kross was first exposed to the U.S. wrestling audience. MLW could utilize the couple's obvious flair for showmanship, and the traditionally shorter matches featured on their weekly TV series lend themselves perfectly to Kross' particular brand of explosive brutality.
Keith Lee
Another example of a wrestler who thrived just about everywhere he went, until WWE unnecessarily tried to complicate a very simple process. Keith Lee is an exceedingly likable and naturally charismatic guy who also happens to be large enough to impress Brock Lesnar (see: above). An early injury set his initial launch back, but Lee was immediately successful in NXT once the ball got rolling. A year after returning to action, Lee won the NXT North American Championship and was successful enough during his reign to position himself in a winner-take-all match against then-NXT Champion Adam Cole, which he also won. Shortly after, WWE called him up to Raw and made the immediate mistake of changing his entrance music and ring gear, which fans responded to negatively. Too many key losses, over-booked fake wins and start-and-stop pushes made it hard for him to gain any consistent ground. Even so, Lee was still a relatively new project for the company, so it's a bit surprising they are choosing to give up so quickly.
But what's next for Keith Lee following his WWE release? Prior to signing, his career on the independent scene exploded circa 2017, a year in which he worked for more than 40 different promotions all around the world. He'll likely have his pick of opportunities going forward, as there are key players in virtually every major wrestling company who are willing to go to bat for him. AEW is the obvious destination for anyone looking to make the most amount of money and remain in the U.S., but there are other options. Lee may benefit more than anyone from the so-called "forbidden door" being open between competing organizations, potentially allowing him to work for a multitude of promotions at once. Despite his success, Lee has never stepped foot in a ring for AEW, IMPACT Wrestling, Major League Wrestling or New Japan Pro-Wrestling, with Ring of Honor restructuring for a 2022 relaunch, so there are plenty of fresh opponents on the table, many of them no doubt eager to work with him again.
Eva Marie
Eva Marie had zero in-ring experience when WWE signed her in 2013, and was rarely given a chance to wrestle for more than a few minutes at a time, but was nevertheless included as a main cast member of the E! reality series Total Divas. She remained an important part of the show for 6 seasons, resulting in an odd situation where she had far more reality TV fans than wrestling fans. Returning to the ring in 2021 was always going to be an uphill battle for Eva Marie, especially given how far expectations have risen for women's wrestling in WWE since her departure in 2016. Whether or not she returns to wrestling will likely depend on if she can find a company who can afford her, that's also willing to take the time to get her properly trained up to today's standards. Outside of the WWE world, the real-life Natalie Coyle has numerous business ventures including acting opportunities, being an ambassador for various fitness products, modeling, as well as her own fitness and clothing brands.
Mia Yim
Mia Yim has been very good for a very long time. She was built up as a challenger for then-NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler throughout 2019, and had some great matches with names like Io Shirai, Bianca Belair and Candice LeRae. While she was never quite pushed as the show's top star, Yim had an upward trajectory in NXT that was brought to a screeching halt by the creation of Retribution—arguably one of the most ill-conceived factions in WWE history. The silver lining to Mia Yim's WWE release is that her future is now wide open. If nothing else, she became a more confident showman and a better all-around performer during her time in NXT. She reenters the free agency at a time where any number of promotions, both big and small, would greatly benefit from having her experience. AEW could use another veteran presence in their women's roster, and IMPACT Wrestling would more than likely be thrilled to have her back; she wrestled there using the name Jade and is a former TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion.
Ember Moon
Ember Moon is another recent WWE release who found success prior to signing with the company, won championships in both her runs with the NXT brand, but struggled to find a place for herself as an actual member of the WWE roster. Unfortunately, multiple injuries sustained in 2019 kept her out of action for significant periods of time, and the company struggled to utilize her consistently or effectively when she was healthy. In the 6 years she was in WWE, Ember wrestled less than 2 dozen singles matches on either Monday Night Raw or Smackdown, and most of them were only a few minutes long. Similarly to fellow released wrestler Mia Yim, Ember Moon has a lot of supporters outside the company and with her experience she'd be a tremendous asset to any roster.
Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado)
Both Gran Metalik (formerly Mascara Dorada) and Lince Dorado were signed for the 2016 WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament, in order to help kickstart the return of the company's Cruiserweight division and the launch of WWE 205 Live. After the initial shine of a new brand wore off, they were repackaged as a group called the Lucha House Party, alongside fellow high-flyer Kalisto, who was released from the company earlier in 2021. Over the years the trio (and later duo) jumped between different shows, wrestling semi-consistently but almost never in important roles despite being among the most talented luchadores in the world. Disappointingly, they never won any of the company's multiple tag team championships, and their lone WrestleMania appearance came during a pre-show battle royale.
Metalik and Dorado will more than likely land on their feet as soon as their non-compete clause expires. Metalik worked extensively for CMLL in Mexico prior to signing and was familiar with New Japan Pro-Wrestling fans, while his WWE tag team partner had almost a decade's worth of experience working all around the U.S. indie scene. With Kalisto (aka Samuray del Sol) back on the free agency it's possible the band could bank on their time in WWE and continue to take bookings together, but each wrestler can just as likely success on their own as well. While the persisting COVID-19 pandemic still makes consistent travel outside the country a major obstacle, doors will more than likely be open to the former Lucha House Party members in the U.S., Mexico, Japan and beyond.
Oney Lorcan
Oney Lorcan (fka Biff Busick) is a professional wrestler, plain and simple. He may not be as pretty as a Roman Reigns or a Kenny Omega, but Lorcan is a lean, mean, hairy wrestling machine who put up more good matches during his 6-year run in WWE than he'll likely ever get credit for. Best known for his work alongside Danny Burch, the duo were on quite a run in the later half of 2020, winning the NXT Tag Team Championships, and teaming up with Pete Dunne and the loud-mouthed Pat McAfee for a WarGames match against the Undisputed Era. Unfortunately, a shoulder injury sustained by Burch brought their title reign to an end, and Lorcan was never positioned the same way again. As someone who always gets a solid match—at the very least—out of everyone he steps into the ring with, Lorcan would be a great pickup for any company looking to add another stellar wrestler to their roster. He'll likely have his pick of indie dates as well.
Franky Monet
The Franky Monet experiment didn't last long in WWE, but there was going to be problems as soon as the company tried to change her name. For an industry completely based on the promotion of larger than life characters, trying to repackage one of the most recognizable women's wrestlers to come along in the past decade is a mind-boggling choice. Taya Valkyrie has had an extensive career in both the U.S. and Mexico. She holds the distinction of being the longest reigning AAA Reina de Reinas Champion (a title she won 3 times) and IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Champion in history. She is best known to American wrestling fans for her time in IMPACT, but there's very little to do there that she hasn't already accomplished. If AEW is on the table she could be an interesting addition to their expanding women's roster, as someone who innately understands her (mostly villainous) over-the-top character on a show that could frankly use more distinctive characters.
Harry Smith
The son of the "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, Harry has had a lengthy and decorated career that goes all the way back to his childhood. Primarily a tag team specialist, he won the WWE World Tag Team Championships with Tyson Kidd, the GHC, IWGP and NWA World Tag Team Championships with Lance Archer, and the MLW World Tag Team Championships as a part of the New Era Hart Foundation alongside Teddy Hart and Brian Pillman Jr. After inducting his father in the WWE Hall of Fame in April 2021, the company brought Harry back for another go-around, but after just one non-televised dark match, he was released again. At just 36-years-old, the Canadian wrestler still has plenty of options despite already being so deep into his career. In 2021 alone he's already competed on 3 different GCW Bloodsport events, picking up 2 wins and suffering a loss to former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.
Who Else Did WWE Release In November 2021?
24-year-old Trey Baxter, better known as Blake Christian, has only been wrestling for 4 years and came out of virtually nowhere to land on everyone's radars in 2019, thanks in no small part to his work with highly visible indie promotion Game Changer Wrestling. WWE quickly scooped him up after a hot run across the indies in 2020, but after losing in the semi-final round of the NXT Breakout Tournament, he was relegated to 205 Live before being released. He will likely be welcomed back to the indies with open arms, and it may even lead to a major contract being offered down the line.
B-Fab (aka Briana Brandy) is best known for being a member of Isaiah "Swerve" Scott's Hit Row stable, first in WWE NXT and then on Friday Night Smackdown. Many fans of the group were upset over WWE's decision to let her go, especially considering she did most of her in-ring training at the WWE Performance Center and is still very new to actual in-ring competition.
Jeet Rama is a wrestler from the Sonipat District of Haryana, India who has been training at the WWE Performance Center since 2015. After working the WWE Superstar Spectacle in early 2021, Rama had finally begun wrestling matches on TV for 205 Live and NXT prior to his release. At 40-years-old and still in the early phases of his career, it's going to be admittedly difficult for him to find a spot in the current wrestling landscape.
Yet another product of the WWE P.C., Jessi Kamea of Austin, Texas got her start in 2017 and quickly became a staple of the old NXT Live touring circuit throughout Florida, while occasionally touring with the brand outside of the state. Jessi began making more appearances on NXT television in 2021, teaming up with Aliyah and joining the Robert Stone Brand.
Zayda Ramier (aka AQA) was trained at the ROW Wrestling School by the legendary Booker T. She made appearances for all-women's wrestling promotions SHIMMER and RISE as well as IMPACT Wrestling prior to signing with WWE, working with some notable names like Kylie Rae, Allysin Kay, Shotzi Blackheart, Indi Hartwell and Thunder Rosa very early on despite her relative inexperience. She only made a small handful of appearances in NXT in mid-2021 before being released.
Rounding out the list of November 2021 WWE releases is Catalina García, a 25-year-old from Santiago de Chile who got her start in Revolucion Lucha Libre Academy before coming to the WWE Performance Center. She had a few different stints in WWE and NXT using the names Carolina, then Catalina, then Jessy Diva Del Ring before finally re-debuting as Katrina Cortez.