9 WWE Stars on the Chopping Block Ahead of WrestleMania 42
Several Superstars are bound to get lost in the shuffle with the roster being as stacked as it is, especially en route to WrestleMania 42.
WrestleMania expanding to two nights starting in 2020 allowed more matches to be featured and more stars to be showcased. As WWE has deepened its roster in recent years, it's become increasingly more difficult for wrestlers to make the 'Mania cut.
Many are left directionless as a result and are automatically in danger of being axed, specifically during the inevitable post-WrestleMania round of releases.
The absence as well as the booking of certain competitors in the months preceding WrestleMania indicate whose spot is safe and who could be on their way out. These nine Superstars in particular find themselves on the chopping block during this turbulent time.
Honorable Mentions
1 of 8
Legado del Fantasma
Santos Escobar has been persona non grata on WWE TV for many months, despite him re-signing with the company in October. He has since resurfaced in AAA, but all of Legado del Fantasma being away from the main roster for this long can't be an encouraging sign for their future.
Apollo Crews
It's almost unbelievable that Crews has lasted over a decade on WWE's main roster. Even as a former intercontinental and United States champ, he's been a non-factor for years and could be cut at any time.
The Creed Brothers
The Creeds got a fairly aggressive push out of the gate on the main roster when they debuted in late 2023, but they haven't been involved in anything of note since. Their alliance with Chad Gable was put on hold when the Olympian got hurt last year, largely relegating them to backstage segments and not much else.
Tyler Bate
Everyone's aware that it's Bate and Pete Dunne portraying Los Americanos alongside Ludwig Kaiser's El Grande Americano. The goofy gimmicks most likely saved them from already being released, but with it being reported that Dunne has taken up more of a backstage role in the last year, Bate's spot may not be as secure.
Michin
Michin is the type of talented wrestler WWE needs to further flesh out the women's midcard scenes on SmackDown and Raw. She's unsuccessfully challenged for the Women's United States Championship so many times that WWE could feel as if she has hit her ceiling creatively and opts to let her go.
Rusev
2 of 8
Rusev returned to WWE less than a year ago and already feels like an afterthought.
Based on how he's been booked for the last few months, it's painfully apparent that WWE doesn't see him as a priority in the slightest. He got off to a fairly strong start by racking up some wins, going over in his feud with Sheamus and subsequently chasing the Intercontinental Championship, but he hasn't been a regular on Raw since at least November.
Worse yet, he was eliminated from the men's Royal Rumble almost immediately by Oba Femi. During a recent Raw backstage segment, seeds were planted for a potential match between them.
The only way that ends is with Femi winning quickly and decisively. Rusev could revert to his Rusev Day shtick as a babyface, but there's no guarantee that will work long-term, either.
WWE may have buyer's remorse from re-signing Rusev so soon after his AEW departure.
Omos
3 of 8
Raise your hand if you forgot Omos was still employed by WWE. Odds are you're not alone.
The only portion of fans aware that he remains under contract to the company are those who have followed his recent work in AAA. Being paired up with the now-heel El Hijo del Vikingo is the perfect fit for him, much like when he was paired with AJ Styles five years ago.
Although he excels as a heater for smaller Superstars, Omos also comes across as incredibly likable on social media, yet WWE has never tried him out as a babyface. Instead, it has benched him from TV for the better part of the past three years.
Omos will never be mistaken for being the best in the ring or on the mic, but he's a spectacle for how massive he is, and he's improved leaps and bounds in the ring.
It's unknown why WWE has kept him around for so long, but hopefully it can find something significant for him to do on TV before he has to seek work elsewhere.
The War Raiders
4 of 8
The writing was on the wall for The War Raiders when they were demolished by Oba Femi in short order as if they were jobber fodder earlier this month on Raw. It's not like they were featured prominently on the show prior to that point, anyway.
Being repackaged from Viking Raiders to War Raiders before winning the World Tag Team Championship at the end of 2024 was a step in the right direction, but they've been on the back-burner since dropping the titles to The New Day at WrestleMania 41.
They'll make the occasional appearance on Raw, but only ever to elevate others. They've faced every major team WWE has to offer, so it might be time for them to make the jump to a different promotion.
Whether it be AEW or TNA, they'd feel fresh again if they were released from WWE following WrestleMania. They're a skilled tandem with years of experience, but if there were plans to push them as a top threat again, they wouldn't have been relegated to enhancement status when they were.
Grayson Waller
5 of 8
Being a permanent addition to The New Day's act has been Grayson Waller's claim to fame since last spring. Otherwise, he's been a part of very little and has accomplished even less.
Anyone who followed Waller's run in NXT knows what he's capable of and how he can be a valuable asset in the midcard when utilized properly. As the third wheel in New Day, he's wasting away and isn't being afforded the opportunity to put his skills to the test.
Waller's early enough into his main roster run that WWE should see that he's barely scratched the surface so far, but releases can be random and Waller isn't immune to being wished well in his future endeavors if they felt he has no upside.
Give him a mic and let him shine. It shouldn't be so difficult to incorporate him into the weekly show instead of positioning him as the background player.
B-Fab
6 of 8
Amazingly, B-Fab is the last remaining member of Hit Row, but it's not as if she's found much success on her own since the stable split.
She is a prime example of someone who was called up from NXT way too soon and she's worse off for it. Her in-ring work is at least adequate these days, but she still pales in comparison to almost every other woman on the roster, including her tag team partner Michin.
She was feuding with Giulia and Jade Cargill in the latter half of 2025 before being sidelined with an injury. She recently returned to SmackDown, but all roads lead to her eating another loss to Cargill and then fading into obscurity again.
She occupies the enhancement role for the women of the blue brand, but that doesn't mean she's irreplaceable. In fact, all of the additions to SmackDown this year put her at greater risk of being released.
The Street Profits
7 of 8
A case can be made for The Street Profits being the best booked tag team to ever come out of NXT.
They're multi-time Raw and SmackDown tag team champions, yet they haven't been able to buy a single second of television time since October. Tension was being teased between the two before they abruptly disappeared from programming, and there's been zero follow-up.
The blue brand's tag team division is back to being ice cold and bringing back the Profits could help with that. Then again, they've done all they can do as a tandem, so unless the idea is for WWE to try them out as singles stars (which is long overdue), nothing is stopping them from being released right after WrestleMania 42.
Fans may assume Montez Ford will be fine because he's married to Bianca Belair, but WWE hasn't always been kind to couples in the past and they may be no exception.
Shinsuke Nakamura
8 of 8
More than anyone else listed, Shinsuke Nakamura being let go by WWE would be genuinely shocking given how much of a mainstay he's been in the last decade.
However, he's never going to get beyond a certain level at this point, and after attempting to elevate almost everyone on the roster, there's little left for him to do and he's clearly nearing the end of his run.
The King of Strong Style had his one and only singles match at 'Mania in 2018, where he infamously failed to win the WWE Championship from AJ Styles. He was never slotted at the same level after that and hasn't been booked with any real reverence in ages.
He's still a popular fixture on SmackDown, but the same could be said for Braun Strowman and he was unceremoniously released weeks removed from WrestleMania a year ago. Retirement isn't far off for Nakamura, and in today's TKO era, it wouldn't be entirely unrealistic for him to get the boot before he can decide to leave on his own terms.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.
.jpg?w=600 "WWE Raw Results & Grades 🔠")
