WWE Releases 16 Superstars In Surprising Roster Purge–Who's Out?

Forbes

03-05-2025

CINCINNATI, OHIO - FEBRUARY 24: Dakota Kai enters the ring during Monday Night RAW at Heritage Bank ... More Center on February 24, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Marques/WWE via Getty Images)
Check WWE's roster page for your favorite mid-carder and randomly featured NXT Superstar—they may have received some tough news on Friday. According to multiple reports, at least 16 WWE Superstars learned they were being separated from the promotion.
Here is a breakdown of the Superstars WWE released in their post-WrestleMania purge.
WWE Main Roster Releases
NXT Releases
The most notable inclusions on this list are Braun Strowman, Shayna Baszler, and Dakota Kai. Strowman is a former Universal Champion and a once key cog in the Wyatt Family faction. Most recently, he feuded with Jacob Fatu, featuring a series of brutal matches. Fatu went over in the feud when he defeated Strowman in a Last Man Standing match in March that elevated him into the U.S. Championship picture.
Strowman, 41, had become the still-fierce giant whose primary job was to put over strong up-and-comers like Fatu and Bronson Reed before him. As it stands, Reed (who is currently injured) and Fatu remain while Strowman is out.
Baszler, 44, a former NXT Women's Champion and WWE Women's Tag Team Champion, had a strong run in the former as a singles star. Unfortunately, she never found it on the main roster. She was cast in the shadows of real-life friend Ronda Rousey and then relegated to more of a sidekick with Pure Fusion Collective.
Her release is noteworthy but not surprising considering she hadn't been featured in anything of note for several months.
As the oldest of the Superstars WWE released, Baszler may have the most urgent decision to make about her future in the industry.
Dakota Kai, 36, has battled injuries for the past few years, which have robbed her of the opportunity to capitalize on the momentum she had when she came up from NXT in 2022. At her peak, Kai was a member of the Bayley-led Damage Control faction, but she never established much as a singles performer.
Kayden Carter, 36, and Katana Chance, 35, are former WWE Tag Team Champions. Their high-energy style produced some memorable in-ring performances, but overall they failed to resonate with the WWE Universe. Like others on this list, Carter and Chance had become scarce on WWE programming.
On the NXT roster, the release of Cora Jade and Gigi Dolin were the most notable. At one point, it appeared both had an opportunity to make a splash on the main roster. Several of the released Superstars took to social media to comment on their release, including Cora Jade and Shayna Baszler.
The NXT Superstars are believed to have a 30-day non-compete clause, while the performers who were on the main roster have a 90-day non-compete clause.
There is a chance WWE may still have more names to add to this list ahead of Monday's episode of Raw as we build toward WWE Backlash in St. Louis on May 10.
https://x.com/CoraJadeWWE/status/1918441210210881842?s=19
https://x.com/QoSBaszler/status/1918436589488779411?s=19