It’s release day (again) in WWE. Is it a hint at a potential WWE sale?
From WWE:
WWE has come to terms on the releases of Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, Lana, Murphy, Ruby Riott and Santana Garrett.
WWE wishes them the best in all of their future endeavors.
Where to begin? Probably with the big two.
Strowman has been a staple in the main event picture for several years. Hell, he even competed for the WWE title at the last pay-per-view. There’s no doubt Strowman’s height of his WWE stardom was in 207, but he’s still been a key player since that point.
Black had finally returned to WWE television with a revamped character on SmackDown. He recently cost Big E the Intercontinental Championship, seemingly setting up a feud. Ultimately, he was out of action for months only to be released as soon as he got back in the mix.
Of course, Lana, Murphy, and Ruby Riott have also been regulars on WWE programming.
Lana’s release is far from surprising since it was likely inevitable she’d reunite with Miro. I thought Riott and Liv Morgan were underutilized. The same argument could be made for Murphy.
The big question is why? Reports suggest Strowman’s big contract as the reasoning behind his release. As for the others, they aren’t shocking releases, but they’re curious decisions.
That leads us to the speculation of a possible WWE sale. In that scenario, unloading contracts would make sense. It would also make sense that NBC Universal could be a top option.
Ever since WWE hired Nick Khan, it’s done a lot of restructuring. That’s either Khan doing things “his way” or a company looking to increase its value to potential buyers.
Obviously, a WWE sale would be a game-changer for pro wrestling. No matter the buyer, one would have to figure it would significantly alter the landscape of the business.
Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Or maybe, just maybe, there’s more to the story of yet another round of WWE releases.
It’s an interesting period in wrestling.
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