KEY POINTS

  • WWE releases John Morrison, Teagan Nox and the remaining members of Hit Row as per Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp
  • Hit Row was called up to the main roster via the WWE draft but was not given enough time in the spotlight
  • The likelihood of WWE being sold to another party grows even more after this round of releases

WWE continues to expunge its wealth of talent after announcing its latest round of releases, featuring some of its most recognizable names.

According to Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, the list of WWE superstars that have been cut from the company is as follows: John Morrison, Top Dolla, Ashante Adonis, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, Tegan Nox, Drake Maverick, Shane Thorne and Jaxson Ryker.

As per past releases, WWE head of talent relations John Laurinaitis cited via email that the move was motivated by budget cuts as relayed by Sapp.

This is a massive blow to the WWE fanbase since the majority of the names mentioned have become massive fan favorites.

Morrison’s work since returning to the company has been lukewarm at best since he was not involved in meaningful storylines, other than a show-stealing Triple Threat Match for the SmackDown Tag Team titles on Night 1 of Wrestlemania 36.

The bigger news here is the release of the remaining members of Hit Row.

A few weeks ago, B-Fab was amongst the cavalcade of superstars who were let go, and it now seems that the top-tier pro wrestling company is cutting all ties with them.

Hit Row’s star was on the rise as they had been impressing the WWE Universe with their in-ring performances and mic work, seemingly being viewed as the next big thing by backstage officials leading to the call-up.

However, the spotlight had been swiftly taken away from them and was given little time to shine.

Now that the faction is entirely gone, fans have been wondering whether the call-up was all for naught.

The Athletic’s Jason Jones was among the most vocal of Hit Row's release since WWE had just called up Hit Row from NXT to the SmackDown brand during the draft.

Cutting Nox is another confusing move as the women’s roster has been severely depleted of talent that could have been building blocks for the future.

Nox was tagging with Shotzi Blackheart prior to the WWE Draft splitting the duo up, and now she finds herself on the free-agent market.

All signs are pointing towards WWE sticking with growing its talent from the ground up via NXT 2.0 before debuting them on the main roster or potentially selling the company outright to someone else.

This round of releases will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of WWE fans everywhere, but they can only wait and see whether the next batch of superstars to be jettisoned will include their favorite.

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