7 WWE Stars in Danger of Being Cut This Spring
The weeks following WrestleMania have long been a time of "spring cleaning" for WWE in terms of releasing talent that it has nothing for creatively.
Aside from a few exceptions, there haven't been too many on-screen departures from WWE in the time Triple H has been chief content officer. In fact, he has been more keen on bringing back familiar faces to help fill out the SmackDown and Raw rosters.
However, fans fear a round of releases could be coming soon in light of Vince McMahon's return as executive chairman. It remains to be seen how much influence he'll have on the product from a creative standpoint, but the recent news of WWE and UFC merging under Endeavor could lead the company doing some consolidation.
Realistically, WWE has no reason to release anyone at the moment and could benefit from bolstering Raw and SmackDown a bit more than it already has. The unofficial "hiring freeze," as reported by Fightful Select (h/t Kellie Haulotte of Wrestling Inc), could be the reason why that hasn't happened.
If cuts are coming at WWE, then the following Superstars might be in the most jeopardy of losing their place.
Hit Row
1 of 5
Of the many Superstars Triple H has brought back to WWE since last summer, the trio of Top Dolla, Ashante "Thee" Adonis and B-Fab have been the biggest bust.
The return of Hit Row on SmackDown left fans optimistic that they would fare better than they did during their initial main roster run, which saw them axed in less than a month. Unfortunately, they have yet to amount to anything this time around, either.
The group spent their first few months toiling in the tag team division on the blue brand as babyfaces and not receiving much of a reaction from live crowds. They failed to impress in the ring and lost a majority of their matches.
Their biggest test came when they unsuccessfully challenged The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship on the December 23 edition of SmackDown and didn't have the most stellar showing.
Despite turning heel at the onset of this year, they've remained an enhancement team on Friday nights with nothing promising on the horizon.
Hit Row were originally released by McMahon in late 2021, and if the WWE chairman is calling the shots again, they could suffer a similar fate if he sees they haven't been worth the investment.
Elias
2 of 5
It's been almost six years since Elias arrived on the Raw after WrestleMania, and he has largely occupied the same spot on the roster ever since.
To his credit, the 35-year-old has exceeded expectations following his uneventful run in NXT. Granted, he hasn't held any gold beyond four forgettable reigns as 24/7 champion, but he remains a regular on Raw and SmackDown and has mixed it up with just about everyone at one point or another.
His best chance at winning a midcard championship would have been in 2017 or 2018 when his popularity was at its peak. He has done well in the enhancement role, but his shtick has long been stagnant and his appearances have been much less frequent.
Elias was last seen being squashed by Omos on the post-WrestleMania Raw. It wasn't an encouraging sign for his future, especially if management has no other use for him on the roster.
His ongoing apprenticeship with Rick Boogs could keep him around, though being in the middle of a storyline hasn't stopped Superstars from being released in the past.
Lacey Evans
3 of 5
WWE has tried to push Lacey Evans on multiple occasions over the last four years, but nothing has seemed to stick and thus it might be time to call it quits.
Her latest reboot saw the former Sassy Southern Belle receive a slight character change, but her presentation has been mostly the same as it was previously. After defeating two local athletes, she was barely used on SmackDown and had no role at WrestleMania 39.
Evans has contended for championship gold several times throughout her main roster career but has yet to win anything substantial. Attempts at turning babyface were met with little success, either.
There are a number of women Triple H has done little with in the time he's been running WWE Creative, but almost all of them are relatively fresh faces. Evans has been around long enough that any opportunity to cement her as a star has already passed.
Unless the 33-year-old is injured, her disappearance from SmackDown all but confirms the company has pulled the plug on her push and she isn't factored into anything creatively.
Shanky
4 of 5
Shanky is a name a majority of WWE fans are guaranteed to have forgotten about, but he remains on the company's roster page as of this writing.
In the summer of 2021, he was quietly moved to the main roster from the Performance Center without ever appearing on NXT TV to join Jinder Mahal and Veer Mahaan. The trio was short-lived due to Veer breaking off on his own, though Shanky continued to team with Mahal in the year that followed.
He debuted a dancing gimmick at the onset of the summer in 2022 only to disappear from SmackDown entirely once Triple H took charge of creative. His inexperience should have prevented him from getting called up so quickly to begin with.
There has been no sign of Shanky on WWE TV since then, and with Mahal now reunited with Indus Sher in NXT, the writing has been on the wall for him for months. There is zero chance he'll be used on his own, and it could be too late for him to get a real run on the gold brand.
Once Triple H becomes aware of his inactive status on SmackDown, a release seems like a foregone conclusion.
Baron Corbin
5 of 5
Baron Corbin is much more multifaceted than he's often given credit for by fans.
Having been in the WWE system for just about a decade, he has put together an impressive list of accolades: United States champion, Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner, Mr. Money in the Bank, King of the Ring and "constable" of Raw.
The 38-year-old also beat Kurt Angle in the Olympic gold medalist's retirement match at WrestleMania 35.
Despite his many accomplishments, WWE has never been able to book Corbin properly for an extended period of time. He has generated tremendous heat from crowds at various points and made the most of every character he's been saddled with, but he has failed to get over at a main event level through no fault of his own.
The Lone Wolf now finds himself at the lowest point of his WWE career, and not solely from a storyline standpoint a la "Broke" Corbin in the summer of 2021.
JBL severed ties with Corbin several weeks ago and Corbin has served as the ultimate stepping stone to the rest of the Raw roster since then. There has been no indication WWE plans on building him back up any time soon.
Corbin will likely always have a place in the company given he still has so much to offer, but it could soon reach a point where WWE views him as damaged goods and decides to cut ties.
.jpg?w=600 "WWE Raw Results & Grades 🔠")
