Yahoo News Every WWE wrestler release of the 2020s – and where they are now
Wrestlers come and wrestlers go, and that's been true in the WWE as it is everywhere.
Some leave on good terms and some on bad. Some agitate for a departure and some are happy to work out their contract. Some retire, while some go on to bigger and better things.
The shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic has meant many more top-level stars have been "future endeavoured" since the turn of the decade than in previous years.
Related: Is wrestling real or fake? All your WWE questions answered
Meanwhile, the emergence and rise (and rise) of AEW, along with the improved profile of IMPACT Wrestling has meant that many wrestlers are in a better place now than they ever were with the WWE.
And with the shock departure of Vince McMahon at the head of the company, Triple H taking over creative decisions and stormy times over at AEW, many more wrestlers who have left the WWE are now returning to the company, too – with Cody Rhodes and CM Punk the most striking returns.
Related: WWE Champions: A complete list of every title holder on Raw, SmackDown and NXT
Below – and in reverse chronological order – we round up every (major) WWE release of the 2020s, and we also let you know where they ended up immediately after their departure.
We've stuck to main on-screen talent, so just wrestlers, announcers, referees and on-screen interviewers.
Things move fast, and sometimes it's hard to track down the exact date of a release, or wrestlers who are working in Parts Unknown, but we'll be keeping this as up-to-date as we can as the decade continues.
September 21-25, 2023
Dolph Ziggler – free agent
Elias – free agent
Aliyah – free agent
Rick Boogs – free agent
Riddick Moss – free agent
Emma – free agent
Top Dolla – free agent
Shelton Benjamin – free agent
Dana Brooke – free agent
Mustafa Ali – free agent
Mansoor – free agent
Mace – free agent
Shanky – free agent
Dabba Kato / Commander Azeez / Babatunde – free agent
Quincy Elliot – free agent
Bryson Montana – free agent
Yulisa Leon – free agent
Daniel McArthur – free agent
Kevin Ventura-Cortez – free agent
Alexis Gray – free agent
Brooklyn Barlow – free agent
Matt Riddle – free agent
Ikeman Jiro – free agent
Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald – free agent
Melanie Brzezinski – free agent
December 14, 2022
Mandy Rose – free agent
November 1, 2022
Bodhi Hayward – free agent
Damaris Griffin – free agent
Sloan Jacobs – free agent
Erica Yang – free agent
Ru Feng – free agent
October 6, 2022
Jimmy Smith – free agent
Nigel McGuinness – free agent
August 23, 2022
Jeff Jarrett – free agent
August 18, 2022
Flash Morgan Webster – free agent
Wild Boar – free agent
Jack Starz – free agent
Amale Dib – free agent
Dave Mastiff – free agent
Ashton Smith – free agent
Millie McKenzie – free agent
Sha Samuels – free agent
Nina Samuels – free agent
Primate – free agent
Rohan Raja – free agent
Dani Luna – free agent
Trent Seven – free agent
Sid Scala – free agent
Eddie Dennis – free agent
T-Bone – free agent
Teoman – free agent
Xia Brookside – free agent
Saxon Huxley – free agent
Amir Jordan – free agent
Sam Gradwell – free agent
August 8, 2022
John Laurinaitis - replaced as Head of Talent relations by Bruce Pritchard
July 22, 2022
Vince McMahon – retired
July 7, 2022
Paige – in AEW as Saraya
June 12, 2022
Troy 'Two Dimes' Donovan – free agent
April 29, 2022
Dakota Kai – back in the WWE
Malcolm Bivens – in AEW as Stokely Hathaway
Paige Prinzivalli aka Blair Baldwin– free agent
Harland – in AEW as Parker Boudreaux
Persia Pirotta – free agent
Sanjana George – free agent
Draco Anthony – free agent
Mila Malani – free agent
Raelyn Divine – free agent
Dexter Lumis – back in WWE
January 6, 2022
Samoa Joe – at AEW
January 5, 2022
William Regal – at AEW
Road Dogg – back at WWE as Senior Vice President of Live Events
Scott Armstrong – at Impact Wrestling
Ace Steel – at AEW
Dave Kapoor (Ranjin Singh) – free agent
Cathy Corino (Allison Danger) – free agent
Ryan Katz – back at WWE
Timothy Thatcher – at Pro Wrestling NOAH
Danny Burch – free agent as Martin Stone
Hideki Suzuki – at Pro Wrestling NOAH
November 18, 2021
Ashante Adonis – back at WWE
Top Dolla – back at WWE
Drake Maverick – at WWE as a writer
John Morrison – free agent/independent, wrestling at AAA and GCW
Tegan Nox – free agent as Nixon Newell
Jaxson Ryker – free agent
Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott – at AEW as Swerve Strickland
Shane Thorne – in NJPW as Shane Haste
November 4, 2021
Keith Lee – AEW
Karrion Kross – back at WWE
Nia Jax – free agent
Ember Moon – in AEW as Athena
Eva Marie – free agent
Mia Yim – free agent/independent
Harry Smith – free agent at NWA as Davey Boy Smith Jr
Lince Dorado – at Major League Wrestling
Gran Metalik – at CMLL and AEW as Mascara Dorada
Jeet Rama – free agent
Katrina Cortez – free agent
Trey Baxter – independent as Blake Christian, wrestling at GCW, Beyond Wrestling and DEFY Wrestling
Zayda Ramier – at AEW as AQA
Jessi Kamea – free agent
B-Fab – free agent
Oney Lorcan – free agent
Franky Monet – at IMPACT Wrestling as Tara Valkyrie
Scarlett Bordeaux – free agent
August 27, 2021
Adam Cole – at AEW
August 6, 2021
Bobby Fish – at AEW
Bronson Reed – at NJPW
Mercedes Martinez – at IMPACT Wrestling
Tyler Rust – at Ring of Honor
Kona Reeves – free agent
Leon Ruff – at GCW
Stephon Smith – independent
Jake Atlas – independent, then at ROH, then retired
Ari Sterling –independent
Desmond Troy – independent as Denzel Dejournette
Zechariah Smith – independent
Asher Hale – at AEW as Anthony Henry
Giant Zanjeer – independent
August 3, 2021
Ric Flair – appeared at Triplemania XXIX for AAA and NWA 73
July 31, 2021
Bray Wyatt – independent - now working in movies
June 25, 2021
Killian Dane – independent as Big Damo
Curt Stallion – at AEW as Stallion Rogers
August Grey – at AEW as Anthony Greene
Marina Shafir – independent
Sunil Singh (The Bollywood Boyz/ The Singh Brothers) – independent
Samir Singh (The Bollywood Boyz/ The Singh Brothers)
Tyler Breeze – independent as The Prince of Pretty
Fandango – independent as Dirty Dango
Arturo Ruas – at AEW as Adrian Jaoude
Tony Nese – independent, at NYWC
Ariya Daivari – independent, at NJPW
Tino Sabbatelli – independent
June 2, 2021
Ever-Rise (Chase Parker and Matt Martel) - at AEW as 3.0 (Jeff Parker and Matthew Lee)
Braun Strowman – independent, wrestling at Free The Narrative
Aleister Black – at AEW as Malakai Black
Buddy Murphy – out of contract/independent
Lana – out of contract/independent
Ruby Riott – at AEW as Ruby Soho
Santana Garrett – independent, with appearances at AEW and SHINE
May 19, 2021
Jessamyn Duke – independent, gaming on YouTube
May 4, 2021
Daniel Bryan – at AEW as Bryan Danielson
March 21, 2021
Andrade – at AEW as Andrade El Idolo
February 2021
Lars Sullivan – retired from wrestling
Big Show – at AEW as Paul Wight
February 4, 2021
Steve Cutler – at IMPACT Wrestling as Steve Maclin
April 15, 2021
Samoa Joe – re-signed and back at WWE
Peyton Royce (The IIconics) – independent, as Cassie Lee (The IInspiration) – later retired
Billie Kay (The IIconics) – independent, as Jessica McKay (The IInspiration) – later retired
Mickie James – at IMPACT Wrestling
Chelsea Green – at IMPACT Wrestling
Tucker Knight – out of contract
Kalisto – independent, wrestling teacher as Samuray Del Sol
Bo Dallas – independent, a YouTube chef as Taylor Rotunda
Wesley Blake – planning return to wrestling as Westin Blake
November 13, 2020
Zelina Vega – re-signed and back at WWE
July 29, 2020
Kairi Sane – working as a WWE ambassador in Japan
June 26, 2020
Ligero – released following allegations of misconduct during the Speaking Out movement
Travis Banks – released following allegations of misconduct during the Speaking Out movement
June 19, 2020
Jack Gallagher – released following allegations of misconduct during the Speaking Out movement
May 2020
Sting – at AEW
April 28, 2020
Cain Velasquez – independent
April 20, 2020
Taynara Conti – at AEW as Tay Conti
April 17, 2020
Mohamed Fahim – independent/unknown
Mars Wang – independent/unknown
Tino Sabbatelli – briefly at AEW as Sabby, reportedly re-signed to WWE but released again
Cezar Bononi – at AEW
Marco Gomesg – independent, now a Muay Thai coach
April 15, 2020
Akam (AOP) – independent as Sunny Dhinsa
Rezar (AOP) – independent as Gzim Selmani
Rusev – at AEW as Miro
Zack Ryder – independent, with work at AEW and IMPACT Wrestling as Matt Cardona
Mike Kanellis – at Ring of Honor as Mike Bennett
Maria Kanellis – at Ring of Honor asMaria Kanellis-Bennett
Primo Colón – at World Wrestling Council as Eddie Colón
Epico Colón – at World Wrestling Council as Orlando Colón
Erick Rowan – independent, as Erick Redbeard
Sarah Logan – on indefinite hiatus
Karl Anderson (The OC) – at IMPACT, with appearances at AEW and NJPW
Luke Gallows (The OC) – at IMPACT as Doc Gallows, with appearances at AEW and NJPW
EC3/Ethan Carter III – independent, with appearances at IMPACT and Ring of Honor
Lio Rush – at AEW
Curt Hawkins – at IMPACT as Brian Myers
Drake Maverick – returned to WWE, then released again in November 2021
Renee Young – in AEW as Renee Paquette
Heath Slater – independent, with appearances at IMPACT Wrestling and Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling
Eric Young – at IMPACT Wrestling
Curtis Axel – independent as Joe Hennig
No Way Jose – at IMPACT Wrestling as No Way
Hurricane Helms – returned to WWE
MJ Jenkins – independent as Marvelous MJ Jenkins
Deonna Purrazzo – at IMPACT Wrestling and AAA
Kassius Ohno – independent as Chris Hero
Aleksandar Jaksic – independent as Zora Vesta
Kurt Angle – returned to WWE, but later retired
Aiden English – at impact and NJPW as Matt Morris
Mike Chioda – at AEW
Nick Ogarelli – at AEW as Nick Comoroto
Hussain Aldegal – independent/unknown
Faisal Kurdi – MMA Fighter & Trainer
Serena Deeb – at AEW
Edgar Lopez – independent/unknown
Dorian Mak – independent as Dan Matha, also acting and podcasting
April 10, 2020
Scott Dawson (The Revival) – at AEW as Dax Harwood (FTR)
Dash Wilder (The Revival) – at AEW as Cash Wheeler (FTR)
February 16, 2020
Cathy Kelley – moved into acting
Yifeng/Rocky – independent
January 2020
Killer Kelly – independent
Jazzy Gabert – independent, started own promotion SIRIUS Sports Entertainment
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