WWE stunned the wrestling world Wednesday by releasing several prominent superstars. Braun Stroman, Aleister Black and Lana are among the top names that were let go.

Black’s release confused many WWE viewers, considering the company seemed to be pushing his character with new vignettes after WrestleMania 37. Following his release, Black admitted on Twitter that he didn’t see it coming, either.

“I’m gathering my thoughts as this was a complete left field for me as obviously we just started the dark father character but this was it, thank you so much WWE universe for allowing me to create and give you small bits of myself,” Black tweeted.

Black appeared to be headed for a feud with Big E. The two superstars had a confrontation in the final segment of “SmackDown” less than two weeks ago.

While he was never featured at the top of the card on the main roster, Black is a former NXT champion. Strowman has been a main-event superstar for much of his time on “SmackDown” and “Monday Night Raw,” making his release equally as confusing.

Stroman defeated Goldberg at WrestleMania 36 to win the Universal Championship. The 37-year-old was fighting for the WWE Championship as recently as the last pay-per-view. Bobby Lashley retained the WWE Title in a triple-threat match with Drew McIntyre and Stroman at WrestleMania Backlash on May 16.

Murphy, Ruby Riott and Santana Garrett were also released by WWE.

WWE wrestler Braun Strowman
WWE wrestler Braun Strowman Getty Images | Ethan Miller
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