Picture the scene. Post Wrestlemania 36 2020, a worldwide pandemic is just beginning and WWE make a decision that many labelled ridiculous by releasing several lower level (but no less well loved) superstars from their contacts and left a bad taste in many peoples mouths. Skip forward to April 2021 a week after Wrestlemania 37 and WWE have done it again.
The issue is that history isn't just repeating itself with the releases but its the exact same ball they dropped with guys like Luke Harper (rip) and now is the same ball they're dropping with people like Samoa Joe, Bo Dallas, Chelsea Green, Wesley Blake, Kalisto, The Iiconics and Tucker.. and they dont learn. With companies like AEW, NJPW, Impact etc.. around, talent may begin actively begin to avoid WWE if they feel they'll be mismanaged or wasted like so many before them. The WWE used to be the biggest dream for many workers but in recent years the mismanagement of people like CM Punk or Cody Rhodes have been big losses. WWE have been guilty of misusing talent for many years, Luke Harper (Brodie Lee) was sat at home for over a year unused despite much fanfare and went on to lead The Dark Order in AEW and hold the TNT title until his untimely passing, Soloman Crowe (Sami Callihan) felt watered down in NXT and asked to leave before tearing it up in places like LuchaUnderground and Impact, CJ Parker (Juice Robinson) hated his character in NXT and reinvented himself in Japan winning various belts, Hideo Itami (KENTA) never really got out of the gates in WWE, but since returning home has become perhaps the biggest heel in NJPW. Neville (Pac) sat at home rather than be used in the moronic ways WWE had planned for him until his contract expired, Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley) walked out on a huge contract as he hated the stupid storylines he was put in constantly, and just recently Andrade was granted his release after sitting out for 6 months.. so what does this all mean?
The cause of the problems stems from creative, the WWE writing teams probably make more money than most of the talent on the roster and yet cannot find uses for people. Its utter lunacy.
Any real wrestling fan can book those just released into situations in which they would be classed as valuable workers or at very least to be used correctly. The examples i'm listing now are simply how I personally would have done it:
Samoa Joe should have been a star, a great worker and excellent promo with years of experience before he even entered WWE. Unfortunately aside from an all too brief US title run, momentum was always taken from Joe by little injuries. Firstly he should have been taken from commentary and moved to Smackdown, then had a programme with Roman Reigns. The story is simple, Reigns looks down on him as he isn't part of the legendary Samoan Anoai Family, so Joe is trying to become a new head of the table and shut Roman up for his own family pride. Easy writing, hard hitting matches would follow with guys that can go and have chemistry. Do a full feud ending up in a gimmick match like a Samoan Street Fight that favours both mens hard hitting styles. Joe could have enjoyed a credible run as Universal Champion, before dropping the belt back to Reigns. The biggest and most baffling release i've seen in years from WWE, and a waste of a main event level guy.
Kalisto is super talented and for my money should have worked with either Rey Mysterio or Santos Escobar. Firstly a team with Rey would be ideal, 2 smaller guys who are perfect underdogs, Kalisto has stated Rey was his inspiration to begin wrestling. So you either have them team for a while with a Student/Master relationship until an inevitable break up occurs, in which i'd have Kalisto turn on Rey after becoming jealous of him or Rey's son Dominik. The plus points on this are giving Kalisto more credibility both teaming and fighting with a luchadore legend like Rey. If however we go down the Escobar route, simply send Kalisto down to NXT do battle for the Cruiserweight title. This programme could extend too with Escobar and his Legado Del Fantasma group having some wild 6-man tag team matches against Kalisto and the (reunited) Lucha House Party. Kalisto could add great matches and work to the somewhat ailing Cruiserweight division all whilst attempting to get his second title reign underway.
The Iiconics, firstly I must say its complete insanity to have a WWE Womens Tag Division when all the teams are 2 random women suddenly put together. The only actual womens tag teams in WWE were Team FlyKicks (Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai) and The Iiconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) who should have thrived in the lacklustre Womens Tag Division, both however got split up with seemingly no plan for anyone after the break ups (at least when the Rockers or DIY broke up it had a longterm storytelling implications). So The Iiconics were wasted when they really should have been the linchpin of the division. A single run with the tag titles wasn't enough really. Yes they could be shrill and annoying but that was pretty much the point, both had great charisma, Peyton Royce was the better worker in ring but Billie Kay had great comedy timing and character work. Both should have stayed together and possibly transitioned into faces and taken the titles on further runs.
Wesley Blake was a workhorse who didn't get enough credit. He was great paired with both Buddy Murphy in NXT and with Steve Cutler and Jaxon Ryker as The Forgotten Sons. His release annoyed me because firstly The Forgotten Sons make it to Smackdown, then look likely to win tag gold from The New Day but due to some controversy caused by Ryker on twitter, the team got buried!? Cutler was released about a month ago, Blake has now followed and only Ryker has survived and is starring on Raw alongside Elias weekly, surely i'm missing something right? In reality both Blake and Cutler could have carried on as The Forgotten Sons and done well. If however we book Blake after Cutlers release why not just put Blake back with Murphy and use both wasted guys in the Smackdown tag scene where they would add fresh matches and double team chemistry.
Chelsea Green was simply wasted, a great talent outside WWE especially her tenure in Impact as Laurel Van Ness. She was needlessly rushed to the main roster from NXT and immediately got injured, before we could even welcome her back she's now gone. The smartest booking says she should have stayed on the Robert Stone Brand with Aaliyah and Jesse Kamea in NXT plied her trade there and formed a mean girls style tag team/faction which would have been beneficial to Stone, the wrestlers and the Womens Tag Division in general. Another missed opportunity.
Tucker Knight, yes thats right Knight.. I used his surname that was removed from him (as with countless others). Bless him Tucker got screwed by stupid shortsighted booking. When someone decided to do the Beauty and the Beef storyline aka The Mandy and Otis romance angle, Tucker was relegated to psuedo-cheerleader before being turned heel on Otis. Tucker was a solid worker, could talk, and whilst I agree mostly unremarkable was imminently likable. The easiest booking for Tucker was to reform Heavy Machinery with Otis, but drop the silliness and comedy from the team and become hard hitters. I would have kept them on a dominant roll in the division then perhaps sparked a feud with another powerful team like the Viking Raiders. Think of the carnage we could have had.
Now poor old Bo Dallas. An intensely talented wrestler, a great heel champ in NXT, the Bolieve gimmick was at least different and sometimes hilarious and did well with both Social Outcasts and The Miztorage/B-Team but has been left at home unused for over a year, why?? Easily he could have worked midcard going after the IC or US title, or placed him in a solid tag team with someone like Chad Gable. Furthermore they could have used his real life brother Bray Wyatt for an angle. He and Bray could have done something worthwhile either where Bo breaks kayfabe and is worried his brother is too immersed in the Firefly Funhouse.. blurred some lines but had the two feud or even teamed the two up and darkered Bo's character but again, No. Its shocking.
So please stop releasing talent WWE and even more so stop wasting what you have, look at your own failings and fix them. These talents will inevitably find their feet elsewhere but fall out will potentially be felt in the years to come. When a former employee is hot, reinvented and seen as a draw by you but won't sign because an awful taste has been left in their mouth with their previous time in WWE. This current system is going to help smaller companies no end, WWE on the other hand may end up regretting not fixing these problems here and now.. only time will tell.
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