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EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - AUGUST 03: Chaos ensues as the start of the six team WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs Tag Team Championship match begins during the WWE 2025 SummerSlam at MetLife Stadium on August 03, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

WWE surprised the wrestling world by firing a large group of names from the roster. The annual firings often come shortly after WrestleMania season, and WWE waited five days after WrestleMania 42 to do it this year. Major names like Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, Kairi Sane, and Bo Dallas were all released.

Fightful reported most of the firing announcements and compiled a full list of the names gone from WWE:

• – Kairi Sane
  – Aleister Black
  – Zelina
  – Uncle Howdy/Bo Dallas
  – Nikki Cross
  – Santos Escobar
  – Motor City Machine Guns
  – Dexter Lumis
  – Apollo Crews
  – Rowan
  – Joe Gacy
  – Andre Chase
  – Zoey Stark
  – Alba Fyre
  – Tyra Mae Steele
  – Sirena Linton
  – Tyson
  – Tyriek
  – Chris Island
  – Malik Blade
  – Trill London
  – Luca Crusifino

More names could be announced in the next day or two since history has seen releases coming throughout an entire weekend. However, WWE usually releases the biggest names early to get ahead of the news and rip the band-aid off quickly with negative coverage coming from it.

A combination of both established main roster talents who held gold in the past and prospects from the Performance Center saw their WWE dreams ending. Most will attempt to continue their wrestling careers in other promotions, like AEW, but the road is harder without the biggest company pushing you.

Which Names Will Join AEW Next?

The track record of Tony Khan shows that he will sign former WWE talents, but the list of names coming in has slowed down in recent years. AEW typically now signs former WWE stars who Khan believes in and if they have a goal in mind.

Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley make the most sense since the Motor City Machine Guns are a legendary team for their TNA work. MCMG facing the Young Bucks, FTR, or Adam Copeland and Christian Cage would be great dream matches for AEW. Aleister Black is the biggest name, but time will tell if Khan gives him another chance.

AEW’s women’s division has stalled since Toni Storm left television, but they can easily reboot it here. Kairi Sane and Alba Fyre both fit the AEW style of work horses in the ring with strong track records of delivering great matches. Khan will have the chance to continue improving his roster with these recent releases.

Why Fans Take Issue With WWE’s Cuts

WWE often brags about the profitability ahead of big events like WrestleMania. Financial figures were recently revealed to show WWE President Nick Khan made $24 million in 2025, and other executives making record profits as well.

Every accomplishment and accolade sees WWE boasting about their financial success and how much money they are making. It comes off quite cold when the same company fires a group of performers just days after making some of their biggest profits at WrestleMania that they celebrated loudly.

WWE has shown a cold approach to business that doesn’t necessarily hurt them with their total audience numbers. However, it does cause some of the more diehard fans to question the business ethics. Many beloved performers will now hit the free agent market and attempt to rebuild their careers.