WWE has released eight more wrestlers following the initial talent release announcement, bringing the total up to sixteen wrestlers released on Wednesday.
The release of talent came on the heels of a conference call led by WWE President and CEO Vince McMahon, in which McMahon informed employees that due to the COVID-19 pandemic there will be cutbacks across every area of the business, a portion of WWE staff will be furloughed, and certain staff and talent will be released.
Shortly after the call WWE announced the release of eight wrestlers: Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, EC3, Drake Maverick, Curt Hawkins, Heath Slater, Eric Young, and Lio Rush, as well as announcer Aiden English, and WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle from his Legends contract.
The latest wrestlers release are: Zack Ryder, No Way Jose, Mike Kanellis, Maria Kanellis, Primo, Epico, Rowan, and Sarah Logan.
Referee Mike Chioda was also released.
Pro Wrestling Sheet is reporting that multiple reliable sources have informed them that nine backstage producers have been furloughed: Billy Kidman, Mike Rotunda, Dave Finlay, Pat Buck, Shawn Daivari, Scott Armstrong, Sarah Stock, Shane Helms, and Lance Storm.
“To everyone on Gods green earth. Thank you for the kind words,” Finlay tweeted. “I’ve been doing this for 46 years(Wrestling)I pray you all get through this and we can share a hug and drink again. Stay healthy.”
Thanks everyone for all the great messages. I truly believe that this is just temporary. There are many people in this world in far worse situations than I am, so please don’t worry about me too much. I’ll always be The Hurricane and I’m always just a tweet away. Love you all!
— Hurricane Helms (@ShaneHelmsCom) April 15, 2020
AIPT wishes everyone impacted by these layoffs the best of luck. Our thoughts are with you.
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