Predicting Where WWE Releases End Up…Again
There are 18 more free agents now.
As has almost become a quarterly task, there were 18 WWE releases last week.
While it’s fun to predict where these athletes will go next, let’s not forget that there are mothers, fathers, couples and families who just lost their main source of income. What makes things more devastating is the recent announcement of the hiatus of Ring of Honor, meaning there is one less place of employment for these free agents.
Sure, AEW, Impact, MLW and other companies will scoop a lot of these wrestlers up or at least make bids for their services, but you have to believe some of these competitors will hang up the tights and pursue a new career path. If one thing has been proven over WWE’s inexcusable actions it’s that the once “childhood dream” company that everyone wanted to be a part of is now considered a hellish nightmare.
What made you special enough to get signed will be stripped away, and even if you adapt, you never know if you’ll be part of the spontaneous “budget cuts.”
Where could these WWE releases go? I guessed months ago that Cassie Lee and Jessica McKay would end up in AEW because of associations with certain individuals. Now, they’re the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions!
It’s easy to point out that Tony Khan has endless money and can sign anyone he wants. If the money is right, maybe even Shane McMahon will show up one day on Dynamite. (I know, I’m joking.) AEW can’t sign many more wrestlers without expanding TV time to accommodate everyone, but the company has five hours of programming already and sometimes we don’t see everyone. Credit to Khan, though, for making sure we don’t forget people.
The obvious choices to go to AEW are Keith Lee, Mia Yim, KILLER Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux. Both couples are package deals. Lee and Yim will add depth to both men’s and women’s rosters and will be major champions sooner than later in AEW. For Kross and Scarlett, keep the same character Kross was in NXT, but have Scarlett return as the Smokeshow, being the only one who can control this trained killer.
Since Deonna Purrazzo ran through the Knockouts division, Impact could use some fresh faces. She’s not my favorite, but Nia Jax would thrive there and can be the next Awesome Kong, if used correctly. Athena (Ember Moon) can be an asset to that women’s roster much like Mickie James is. We all can agree that Taya Valkyrie is now eligible for early release from prison. B-Fab heading to Impact would be good, too. Team her up with Tasha Steelz and keep her main character like she was in 2.0. It creates another tag team, but also another name to build for the future.
Plus, Biff Busick (Oney Lorcan) can come in to be a future world champion. He, Josh Alexander and Trey Miguel gunning for the title held by Moose would be great booking as Moose has proven that he can work different styles with different sizes.
I’ll admit that I’m not as up to speed on MLW as other members of The Wrestling Estate, but I can still throw my two cents in. It would be easy to see Harry Smith go back and enter the main event picture to challenge Hammerstone for the World Heavyweight Championship. Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado would fit in and if they can land Aerostar and Samuray del Sol as well after their recent Dynamite showing, the storyline writes itself of either friends back together or all fighting for lucha supremacy. It’s no different than what ROH did with MexiSquad when Flamita turned heel on Bandido and Rey Horus.
I hope everyone finds happiness elsewhere and that they all got what they wanted from their stints in WWE. Of course, it’s bullshit that a company who hours before this news breaks posts net income of $43.5 million, yet claims the WWE releases are simply due to budget cuts. I don’t think fans would be as upset if the company came forward and said “We got nothing. We don’t have plans for this person and we don’t want their talents wasted sitting on the couch at home.”
It’s safe to say that the company many fans once viewed as the be all, end all is nothing more than a money grab now and its overall corporate structure and philosophy has gotten in the way of its product and fan appeasement.
About Author
The release of Karrion Kross was a bone-headed atrocity. If anyone “has the stuff” to be a WWE standard-bearer, it is Kross. His looks, in-ring ability and stick skills cannot be denied.
I worked in the ring with Kross (then “Killer Kross”) at Ring Warriors during their series of tapings in Las Vegas as the Ref. I don’t often go here, but for this comment I shall:
I have been around this business since 1964 as a writer (Ring Magazine and Wrestling Revue), promoter, co-owner of the NWA and Referee on American and foreign shores. I think I have a bit of an eye for talent. Karrion Kross, given a smidgen of time, had the potential to be main event at Wrestlemania and more.
It’s a damn shame that the current “suits” in Stamford don’t seem to know superb talent any longer.