Zack Ryder, Karl Anderson, EC3, Lio Rush Among WWE Superstars Cut Amid COVID-19

WWE announced the release of multiple Superstars Wednesday after issuing a statement earlier in the day regarding measures the company would be taking to dial back spending during the coronavirus pandemic.

The following Superstars' exits were confirmed by the company:

• Karl Anderson
• Luke Gallows
• EC3
• Rusev
• Lio Rush
• Drake Maverick
• Heath Slater
• Eric Young
• Curt Hawkins
• Aiden English
• Sarah Logan
• Erick Rowan
• Mike Kanellis
• Maria Kanellis
• Primo
• Epico
• Zack Ryder
• No Way Jose

Also, WWE released Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, who had been serving as a backstage producer since losing his retirement match to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35 last year.

Longtime WWE referee Mike Chioda, who had been with the company since 1989, was released as well.

In its initial statement, WWE noted that it would cut talent expenses in addition to reducing compensation for executives and board members, decreasing operating expenses and delaying construction of a new company headquarters for six months.

WWE also stated that it would furlough some employees for an indefinite amount of time.

WWE said the cutbacks would create "an estimated monthly savings of $4 million along with cash flow improvement of $140 million primarily from the deferral in spending on the company's new headquarters."

According to WrestlingInc.com's Raj Giri, on a conference call with employees Wednesday, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon said some employees would be furloughed and some would be released outright. He also told them they would be informed of their fate via text message.

Several of the released performers tweeted about their departure:

Of the Superstars released Wednesday, Ryder had the longest continuous run with the company, as he debuted alongside Hawkins on the main roster in 2007.

Ryder, 34, went on to become a two-time Tag Team champion with Hawkins, as well as a one-time United States champion and one-time Intercontinental champion. He memorably won a ladder match for the IC title at WrestleMania 32, but dropped it to The Miz the next night on Raw.

Slater debuted on the first season of NXT in 2010 and was part of the Nexus stable. The 36-year-old was a four-time Tag Team champion in WWE and also held the 24/7 Championship once.

Gallows and Anderson arrived together in WWE in 2016 after a successful run as a team in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. They won the Raw Tag Team Championships twice, as well as the WWE Tag Team World Cup last year.

Gallows was also previously on WWE's main roster from 2006 to 2010 before getting released and going on to work for several other companies.

It was reported last year that Gallows and Anderson signed five-year contracts to remain with WWE. They had been in a prominent spot on WWE programming as two-thirds of The O.C. with AJ Styles, and they helped him during the Boneyard Match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 36 two weeks ago.

Maverick and Rush were both key parts of WWE's cruiserweight division, as Maverick was the general manager of 205 Live and Rush held the Cruiserweight title for two months before dropping it to Angel Garza in December.

Maverick had an entertaining feud with R-Truth over the 24/7 Championship last summer that saw him win the title six times, while Rush served as Bobby Lashley's manager on Raw before making the move to the cruiserweight ranks.

EC3 and Young enjoyed their greatest success in Impact Wrestling before signing with WWE in recent years.

While EC3 had a brief run in WWE as Derrick Bateman, he became a two-time TNA World Heavyweight champion before rejoining WWE in 2018. EC3 spent some time in NXT and then won the 24/7 title four times on the main roster, but he has been out since November with a reported concussion.

Young is also a former TNA World Heavyweight champion who signed with WWE in 2016 and led the NXT's Sanity stable, with whom he won the NXT Tag Team Championships. Sanity folded without much success on the main roster, and Young then primarily competed in enhancement matches thereafter.

Hawkins was half of a tag team with Ryder, and they won the Raw Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 35 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which is near their hometown in the New York City area.

In 2007, Hawkins debuted on the main roster with Ryder as the Major Brothers. They later became The Edgeheads, which saw them dress like Edge and support him during his world title reign.

Hawkins was released in 2014 but returned to WWE in 2016 and suffered a record-setting losing streak before reforming his team with Ryder. Hawkins was a two-time Tag Team champion in WWE.

English first gained success in NXT with a singing gimmick and later formed The Vaudevillains tag team with Simon Gotch. They were called up to the main roster in 2016, and English later went solo when Gotch was released in 2017.

Since last year, English had gotten away from in-ring competition and was primarily utilized as an announcer on 205 Live and NXT UK.

While almost all major professional sports leagues in the United States and across the world are shut down because of COVID-19, WWE continues to run shows. It announced last week that Raw, SmackDown and NXT will continue to air live from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, with no fans in attendance.

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