What’s everyones opinions on the releases today? It sucks for everyone involved!
They gotta be gearing up to sell the company at this point right? Get those expenses as low as possible and post “record profits” every quarter to make it as attractive as possible to a potential buyer.
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Never thought about that. That is interesting!
Super odd list of names. Makes me think maybe some people asked to be released.
Not in the case of Black:
He just posted this on Twitter:
Im 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.
Braun surprises me! The rest, sadly, do not
I do think Aleister Black, Lana, and Ruby Riott will get picked up pretty quick after their 90 day expires
From a booking perspective, these releases just show how last minute everything is. Why have Braun go over Shane, why in the fall have Murphy go over Rollins (to never be seen again), why build up Black as one of the most interesting characters on the show?
I understood all the other releases, these ones are baffling.
Well, with Black they just handed AEW over a star and potentially a guy that could be the top guy on their roster. Such a dumb business move move cutting him.
Other than Black…I’m not really sure any of these bother me too much. It does feel like Braun needed to leave to take that next step in his career…he was never going to refreshen there - go to Japan…learn new shapes to being a big man. Murphy feels like he peaked, but was always going to do better elsewhere…though it seems like every company has a bunch of guys like him. Can’t say I feel anything for Riott, Garrett, or Lana.
If Black had been released in the first clearing out, I would have understood. But today, after they’ve done the vignettes and debut? That’s one where there needs to be some sort of explanation. That’s not just losing a valuable, high-profile talent - that’s just bad evaluation of what you want to do. I’m fine with them feeling like they have nothing for someone or don’t like them…but sinking that kind of investment into him again…why do that if you’re going to give up so easily?
Lana will be picked up by AEW to pair with Miro
Black and Thea Trinidad are clearly AEW bound. He will be a world title star there. probably Andrade as well.
Braun probably regrets calling AEW bush league now. He was never that good or exciting but given he was just in the world title picture it’s surprising.
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How are these guys are getting released and Jaxson Ryker is still with the company? I wonder if there have to be more coming.
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Hasnt she resigned with the company though? That is what I read a couple weeks ago.
I think AEW should definitely pick up Black & Riott. Both would be solid additions. I dont think they need Lana and I’m hoping she wants to just step away from wrestling, but because of Miro, I think it is inevitable. Just keep her out of the ring.
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She was seen at PC but I don’t think she resigned.
There’s no long term planning and these releases are more proof of that.
Strowman and Black should be main eventers for years by now. Both were mismanaged horribly.
It was obvious Riot was never going to amount to anything because she doesn’t have the look Vince/Dunn like. Lana never should have been a in-ring character.
Sad but these talents were wasted
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Maybe that has something to do with release? Pure speculation, but maybe they intended on signing her, things fell through and Black is getting the backlash? So weird after all the great buildup he has had over the past few months.
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I pretty much agree with all of this. Braun surprises me, but it doesn’t disappoint me. Despite getting a massive push for years, he’s never really been that entertaining of a character. Though the Fiend feud didnt help matters.
I always feel bad for people if they loose their jobs, but the rest are for the most part replaceable. The Black release though is completely shocking. I truly believe that he had WM main event level potential, I think they really missed the boat with that one. Either way, he’ll be fine, they’re loss.
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Braun is totally their fault. He was totally their creation, and was over as hell a few years ago (flipping the ambulance era)…and then they dropped the ball horribly. If there’s a bigger indicator of the incompetence of the creative process in WWE, I don’t know what it would be…
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Well…I can’t feel like it’s complete incompetence because they did get him to that spot. They took a generic big man who no one really wanted to care about and made him entertaining through squash matches that had been completely phased out of their weekly TV. They made big set pieces that showed off his strengths and hid his weaknesses. Picked good opponents for him, etc.
The problem really came down to one decision they made - not putting the belt on him at the right time - when Roman was gone and they switched to Brock winning in Saudi Arabia. He never really peaked as high after that. I’d blame creative after that for not enhancing him any further - though he certainly had his moments outside the main event and was still believably up there when he was the second choice the second time Roman left. The title run didn’t work at all. I don’t know if that’s them being incredibly inconsistent with figuring out what worked in empty arenas with a guy that depended on crowd reactions or him not having a new gear, but yeah…no matter what, it’s a failure when you’ve got a guy at the level a Braun is and you wake up one day and decide to throw it all away. Whether or not I’m over him, you have to be able to milk the kind of investment they put into him for a decade or so. That’s gone now.
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