A pair of released WWE stars have hit back at claims regarding the reasons for why they were let go from the company.
Just weeks after the highest-grossing WrestleMania of all-time in Las Vegas, WWE released a total of 18 wrestlers from the main roster, NXT and developmental.
Braun Strowman, Dakota Kai, Shayna Baszler, Kayden Carter, Katana Chance, Cora Jade, Gigi Dolin, Eddy Thorpe, Riley Osborne, Jakara Jackson, Wolfgang, Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey (Gallus), Ora Mensah, Javier Bernal, Dani Palmer, Shotzi and Luca Crusifino were all deemed surplus to requirements over the weekend.
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The brutal cuts have become a common practice for WWE in recent times and the talents will have to serve 90 or 30 day no-compete clauses depending on whether they are on the main roster or NXT.
Many of the talents have issued statements on their departures but two female performers were forced to set the record straight after Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer explained why NXT superstars were given the boot.
Meltzer claimed those who were cut were "perceived as not working hard in training" and effectively viewed as "lazy".
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However, Gigi Dolin, who is now going by her independent name Priscilla Kelly, took issue with that explanation and promptly responded on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"When I wasn’t traveling to work for either of the two companies I was working for, I trained very hard 3-4 days a week, bumping my ass off and doing cardio drills with one of the best/toughest coaches I’ve worked with," the former NXT women's tag team champion wrote.
"And worked out every single day. With live events every other weekend. So yeah I don’t wanna hear this lol. The way my body feels says otherwise."
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Cora Jade's tenure in WWE ended after four years and she added to Dolin's statement with her take, while also claiming she was body shamed by people she worked with.
Jade, now having reverted to the name Elayna Black, said: "This, plus can’t forget having to go to my own gym outside of work after 'strength and conditioning' that wasn’t doing anything for me other than get me body shamed by my bosses, coworkers, and fans :) crazy!"
WWE insider explained why 18 superstars were released
According to Ibou, an insider and podcaster for WrestlingPurists, every release was signed off by Chief content officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, contrary to what others have claimed.
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"The priority is that their books, and profit margins look good to shareholders after every quarter, which is why to juice up numbers, they shed contracts. Figuring out the WHEN on these matters is Ari and Nick [Khan]. Figuring out WHO goes is Paul Levesque. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you’d have to be impressively naive to believe otherwise."
He stressed that the mass releases were always going to be on the cards after recent hires for WWE's ID program, coupled with the fact that the base salary on the main roster has increased to $350,000 per year.
In addition to talent, WWE have also got rid of employees in a number of departments, including creative and digital.
Josh Lawless