Just a few weeks ago, WWE released a total 18 wrestlers from their roster, and fans hoped this would be the last big wave of releases
of the year.
That isn’t the case, as Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reports that eight more names have been cut, this week. They are:
John Morrison
Top Dolla
Ashante Adonis
Isaiah Swerve Scott
Tegan Nox
Drake Maverick
Shane Thorne (Slapjack)
Jaxson Ryker
In his report, Sapp said that WWE’s Head of Talent Relations John Lauriniatis was the one who oversaw the releases, and explained
the releases as due to budget cuts.
In a company-wide email obtained by WrestlingInc, the former wrestler writes:
“Due to budgetary cuts the following WWE talent were released today, November 18, 2021. John Morrison, Top Dolla, Ashante Adonis,
Isaiah Swerve Scott, Tegan Nox, Drake Maverick, Shane Thorne, and Jaxson Ryker.
Thank you, John Laurinaitis”
These wrestlers will work for other companies, but for now, they’re WWE dreams have come to an end, so let’s take a look at these now former
Superstars.
Drake Maverick
Drake Maverick’s release this week sadly isn’t his first, as he’s now been cut by the company for the second year in a row.
After being fired in 2020, Maverick’s emotional post-release promo video won over fans, and eventually convinced WWE to rehire the British
Superstar. After a run in NXT, Maverick was called up to RAW, where he’s most recently been in the
24/7 title picture, winning his 7th title on the November 8th 2021 RAW.
Prior to WWE, Maverick was Rockstar Spud, and was a fixture of the company for five years, in addition to being a former X-Division Champion.
In WWE, the British wrestler was part of several angles, including being the General Manager of 205 Live, managing AOP, being 24/7 Champion
and teaming with Killian Dain. Within moments of his release becoming public, Maverick posted yet another video, which
started similar to last year’s where he looks incredibly hurt by the news. The clip cuts off and Maverick takes a much
different tone, as the ex-Superstar says he can’t be fired from wrestling, and his dream was always to be a pro-wrestler.
We doubt this video will resonate with WWE officials in the same way the last one did, but that won’t stop Maverick from continuing to live
his dream, just outside Vince McMahon’s company.
Hit Row
After firing B-Fab two weeks ago, fans wondered how Hit Row would function without it’s sole female member, and the
surprising answer was that they wouldn’t. Instead of finding a new role for the now smaller stable, WWE decided to release all
remaining members of the group, as Top Dolla, Ashante Adonis and Isaiah Swerve Scott are all gone.
The group had just started a rivalry with Jinder Mahal and Shanky on the most recent episode of SmackDown, after a backstage promo
where the former WWE Champion and his partner were making fun of the group.
Top Dolla responded on social media with a diss track, which was deleted shortly after, which upon looking back, may have been a sign
that Hit Row wasn’t long for this world. This is one the most confusing main roster call ups in WWE history given that they were
just drafted to SmackDown last month with a impressive video packages hyping up their arrival
On Twitter, the group reacted to the news in different ways, with Ashonte Adonis thanking fans, Isaiah Scott tweeting a devil horns emoji,
while Top Dolla said he’ll see everyone in 90 days and promoting his album’s December 3rd release date, whilst also promoting his
upcoming canned food drive. If nothing else, at least Hit Row will now have the chance to reunite with B-Fab and be a
complete group once more, but that reunion, if it happens, won’t be in a WWE ring.
John Morrison
When John Morrison returned to WWE nearly two years ago, fans were ecstatic to see what he’d do.
Released from WWE in 2011, Morrison was considered by fans to be one of the biggest names at the time to not be WWE Champion,
and fans hoped that his talent, mixed with WWE’s reliance on older established names instead of younger stars would finally give
Morrison his big break. Instead, Morrison reunited with The Miz, which proved to be a fun duo until the A-Lister
turned on him earlier this year.
Since then, the former Intercontinental Champion has none nothing except meditate backstage on RAW, a complete waste of talent.
It’s hard to say if WWE even had plans for his meditation character, but if they did, they’re of no use now.
On social media, Morrison’s wife Taya Valkyrie, who was released earlier this month, hit out at WWE with some profanity aimed at the company.
She followed up saying fans should stop supporting a company that has zero respect for talent, especially when there are plenty
of alternative promotions. In his time away from WWE, Morrison made himself a success in companies such as Lucha
Underground and Impact Wrestling, and we’re sure promotions will be eager to snatch him up when his non-compete clause expires
Tegan Nox
In the 2021 draft, Tegan Nox was chosen by RAW, but never actually appeared on the red brand.
Prior to this, she was on SmackDown teaming with Shotzi Blackheart, and defeated the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions on three different
occasions, but never got their title shot.
This string of bad luck was present throughout Nox’s WWE career, as she signed with the company in April 2017, and tore her ACL right
before the Mae Young Classic. The Welsh wrestler returned from the sidelines in 2018, but suffered another tear to her
ACL, MCL, LCL and meniscus during the 2018 Mae Young Classic.
That wasn’t all she suffered, as she also dislocated her patella, forcing Nox to take even more time out.
When she returned, it seemed to be just a matter of time before another ACL tear, which did happen in September 2020, and kept her out until July this year.
Called up to the main-roster mere weeks later and partnered with Shotzi Blackheart, the duo were split in the 2021 draft.
While Shotzi has enjoyed a push since splitting, being involved in an angle with Sasha Banks of all people, Nox is now gone, bringing an end
to a difficult career in WWE.
Jaxson Ryker
Signing with WWE in May 2017 after a run with Impact, Jaxson Ryker spent the rest of that year performing on Non-televised NXT events,
where he made some interesting friends. The following February, Ryker would begin teaming with Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake
as the Forgotten Sons, who’d debut on NXT TV at the end of August, and remained there until their main-roster debut in April 2020.
After a series of controversial posts from Ryker came to light, the group was taken off TV, despite being seemingly destined for a run as
SmackDown Tag Team Champions. It wasn’t long until Ryker was moved to RAW and paired with Elias, while Blake and Cutler
were paired with King Corbin, though both men were released in April 2021. For Ryker, his partnership with Elias would end
one month later, and culminate in a Symphony of Destruction match on the July 19th RAW. Since then, Ryker has been seldom featured,
with his last match being on the November 1st edition of WWE Main Event, where he lost to Cedric Alexander.
Ryker’s comments on line may be a factor in whether another company wants to hire him once his non-compete clause expires,
but we won’t know for definitely until at least 90 days have passed.
Shane Thorne
Signing with WWE in March 2016 alongside Nick Miller, the team of TM-61, Shane Thorne was immediately impressive, making it to the
finals of the Dusty Tag-Team Classic, before losing to AOP. TM-61 remained as a tag team until Mille was
released in December 2018, and Thorne would operate as a singles competitor before joining RAW alongside Brendan Vink in March 2020.
Rechristened Slapjack, Thorne would become part of Retribution in September 2020, before the group were disbanded earlier this year
and removed from TV. Ditching his Retribution persona, Thorne was quietly moved to SmackDown to wrestle dark
matches, donning a gimmick that played up him being Australian with a character inspired by the likes of Steve Irwin and Crocodile Dundee
Reacting to his release, Thorne at least saw the funny side of things, posting a gif of Homer Simpsons celebrating losing his job, which he
called a Four-Day-Weekend. Thorne’s last match came on September 24th, where he defeated Austin Theory in a
SmackDown dark match, and although he’ll now have to find work outside of WWE now, at least he’ll never have to worry about being forced
into the Slapjack mask ever agai
It had been reported that these mass releases were going to become a common occurrence, but nobody expected 8 wrestlers to go mere
weeks after another massive release, and we’re sure things are tense for the remaining roster, who now see their jobs could be gone at any time.