WWE: Reactions to another round of Black Wednesday cuts
No, this is not a repost of an old article. WWE has once against made talent cuts. For the third time since WrestleMania 37, another round of wrestlers have been released. This round includes many big names; most of them were surprises.
On Tuesday, WWE added three new members to its board: current president and chief revenue officer, Nick Khan, Steve Koonin (who used to be a top executive with Turner Entertainment), and Connor Schell (former content chief at ESPN). It’s not a huge surprise that more cuts were coming with Nick Khan’s newest position. It was who got cut that was the surprise. Khan (along with Vince McMahon) has been behind all three of the cuts this year.
WWE releases big names
Aleister Black (FKA Tommy End) is the first of the released talent to make a comment. He had been doing vignettes of a new character and just two weeks ago, made his return to SmackDown when he cost Big E the Intercontinental Championship. He was not on air the following week.
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.
— Malakai Black (@malakaiblxck) June 2, 2021
Santana Garrett made a very short statement:
Thank you, @wwe 🙏❤️✨
— SANTANA GARRETT (@SantanaGarrett_) June 2, 2021
Peace.. Love & #HeadbandPower ✨#timetoSHINE #womenswrestling #santanagarrett #wwe #nxt pic.twitter.com/9eLf1hOZ2C
Lana last appeared in a tag match with Naomi on the most recent episode of RAW.
I will never forget the fans, and the love they showed me. Whether it was a tank, power-suits, flags, CRUSH, Rusev, 900 partners, weddings or tables: I tried to always entertain you, and you definitely elevated me. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/n7W5i5KAMI
— CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) June 2, 2021
Naomi on her tag team partner:
I am always your friend/bestie/sis no matter what @LanaWWE #ravishingglow pic.twitter.com/ug9mqyQDnC
— Trinity (@TheTrinity_Fatu) June 2, 2021
Miro, former WWE Superstar and husband of Lana, also had a poignant comment:
You can’t soar with the eagles if you’re hanging with the turkeys.
— Miro (@ToBeMiro) June 2, 2021
Braun Strowman kept it short and sweet:
What a chapter in life. Thank you!!!!!
— The Monster of all Monsters (@Adamscherr99) June 2, 2021
He also shared this throwback on Instagram. Every person in this picture, other than Bray Wyatt, is no longer with WWE.
Buddy Murphy kept it positive:
So Today ends my 8 years with WWE! What a crazy ride! Highest of Highs, Lowest of Lows, but weather I had 3 minutes or 20 minutes I put all my effort into my performances! Nothing is harder when all you want to do is wrestle but you can’t! In my opinion I haven’t even hit my peak
— Buddy Matthews (@SNM_Buddy) June 2, 2021
Sharing the Love(lace)
As of this writing, Ruby Riott (FKA Heidi Lovelace) is the only wrestler to not publicly comment. Many wrestlers have tweeted really kind words about her. Here’s just a sample:
Whoever is lucky enough to get Heidi Lovelace on their roster, you win.
— LIV Morgan (@YaOnlyLivvOnce) June 2, 2021
Dori got all the dog Moms roses on Mother’s Day, sent me flowers when my grandma passed away, organized locker room birthday parties, sent a gift to Chelsea from all of us when she got hurt, made Jess a video to tell her we miss her AND is one of the greatest wrestlers out there.
— Bayley (@itsBayleyWWE) June 2, 2021
💙🌟🌟🌟 #HeidiLovelace
— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) June 2, 2021
She is one that inspired me over six years ago and continued to. As wrestling goes back to normal I can’t wait to see what she does.
— ALLIE KATCH アリー・キャッチ (@AllieKATCH) June 2, 2021
You’re going to see a lot of tweets from people saying they’d happily wrestle Heidi Lovelace 400 days a week for the rest of their careers and yep here’s another one 💕
— Veda Scott (@itsvedatime) June 2, 2021
I will say this loud and I will say this often: Heidi Lovelace is one of my favourite opponents I’ve ever stepped in the ring with, and an all time great babyface. I highly recommend any wrestler to study her, specifically for her fire and selling.
— Nicole Matthews (@nmatthewsninja) June 2, 2021
The world now belongs to Heidi Lovelace/@RubyRiottWWE.
— Bryce Remsburg (@dabryceisright) June 2, 2021
We’re simply living in it. 🖤
Other wrestlers speak out
NJPW wrestler Tama Tonga remembers that we are still in a pandemic and spoke out about the harshness of WWE continually making cuts.
Damn...thanks @njpw1972 for not dumping us during the pandemic...or even after. #GaijinGrateful
— Tama Tonga (@Tama_Tonga) June 2, 2021
Mike Bennett speaking from experience:
https://twitter.com/RealMikeBennett/status/1400131320538411011?s=20
Jessica McKay (FKA Billie Kay), who was just released a few weeks ago:
Speechless 💔
— Jessica McKay (@JessicaMcKay) June 2, 2021
Matt Cardona had some words of wisdom to share:
Every one of those people will be fine.
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) June 2, 2021
Work hard. Be you. Be successful. Be your own boss. HAVE FUN!
Next. WWE releases Strowman, Black, Riott, and others. dark
The latest round of releases seem to be done for now. As we’ve seen already, however, WWE is actively trying to cut the budget down. It’s entirely possible that another Black Wednesday will be upon us. They’ve also released employees on the web and social media side of things. Nick Khan really seems to be actively shrinking the budget.
Stay tuned to Daily DDT for the latest on WWE.