Yesterday, Mustafa Ali, Emma, Rick Boogs, Aliyah, Elias, Riddick Moss, Top Dolla, Shelton Benjamin, and Dolph Ziggler were released by WWE.
The company started releasing on-screen talents just a few hours after they announced a five-year deal with NBCUniversal to air SmackDown. The deal is reportedly worth around $1.4 billion, a 40% increase when compared to FOX’s deal.
According to Fightful Select, mass layoffs “were not discussed under Triple H, and this is in direct correlation to the merger.” Most of the stars released from the company have non-compete attached to them.
In another round, the company released several talents on NXT and Performance Center. PWInsider reported that Dana Brooke, Mansoor, Mace, Shanky, and Ikemen Jiro have been let go by WWE.
Sean Ross of Fightful Select reported that Quincy Elliott, Bryson Montana, Dabba-Kato, Yulisa Leon, and Brooklyn Barlow were released from the company.
WWE Performance Center talents Daniel McArthur, Kevin Ventura-Cortes, and Alexis Gray were also released by the company.
Stay tuned with The Spotlight for more news.