A major wave of layoffs at the wrestling market leader has claimed several prominent victims, including two stars brought back by “Triple H” Paul Levesque.
Major personnel cuts at the world market leader in wrestling: On Friday night, a major wave of layoffs at WWE became public.
It has hit a number of prominent names, including some who were previously fired by former boss Vince McMahon and then brought back by the new talent and creative management team led by “Triple H” Paul Levesque.
Former Universal Champion Braun Strowman is once again surprisingly on the chopping block. Also affected is Dakota Kai, founding member of Damage CTRL with Bayley and Iyo Sky and the first player brought back by Triple H in the summer of 2022, who is now showing no sentimentality when it comes to cuts.
Various other members of all squads have also been affected, as have some powerful figures behind the scenes.
WWE fires Braun Strowman and many others
As Fightful and the Wrestling Observer unanimously report, in addition to Strowman and Kai, Ronda Rousey’s longtime companion Shayna Baszler, as well as Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, the former tag team champions of the women’s division, have also been released from their contracts. Katana Chance became known under her real name, Kacy Catanzaro, as a contestant on the US version of Ninja Warrior. Despite her great athletic ability, she never quite made the breakthrough she had hoped for in WWE.
According to Observer reporter Bryan Alvarez, there are also “at least” ten dismissals from the NXT development squad. So far, the dismissals of Cora Jade, Gigi Dolin, Jakara Jackson, Eddy Thorpe (Karl Fredericks at NJPW), Riley Osborne, Javier Bernal, Oro Mensah (Oliver Carter from Switzerland) and the British trio Gallus (Mark and Joe Coffey and Wolfgang) have been announced.
The most notable departure is that of 24-year-old Jade, former NXT tag team champion alongside Roxanne Perez, who is aiming for the main roster, and who was touted as a great hope for the future for a while.
“She learns so fast, does so many cool things and keeps getting better and better. I think she has a great future ahead of her,”
Now Jade seems to have been relegated by WWE to the category of those who are no longer needed in the roster amid a steady influx of new signings and talent.
Triple H still praised Strowman enormously in 2022
From the perspective of most fans, Strowman’s departure is likely to come as a surprise, especially since Levesque brought him back in 2022 to great acclaim.
Strowman, who is 2.03 meters tall and reportedly weighs over 150 kilograms, is said to be an “outstanding athlete” with a “great personality,” a combination that is not often found in his weight and size class.
After his comeback, Strowman temporarily formed a tag team with Ricochet, who has since moved to rival AEW, and helped establish other up-and-coming heavyweights such as Gunther, Bronson Reed and, most recently, the new US Champion Jacob Fatu, against whom Strowman fought and lost his last singles match shortly before WrestleMania.
It looks as if the now 41-year-old Strowman has served his purpose from Levesque’s point of view.
Powerful creative president also fired
According to consistent media reports, there have also been double-digit layoffs in WWE’s office jobs. Of particular interest is the departure of senior creative executive Christine Lubrano.
Lubrano reported directly to Levesque as senior vice president of creative writing operations and was a key figure in the creative process over the past four years, serving as the link between him and the writing teams.
