Full List of WWE Talent Releases Following UFC Merger (Updated)

WWE has released Emma, Riddick Moss, Rick Boogs, Aliyah and more.

By Liam Crowley

Following the company's sale to Endeavor and merger with UFC under TKO Group Holdings, WWE has begun cutting talent. Going into the merger, belief around the industry was that the majority of these talent cuts would be from the corporate offices, as the merger with UFC would lead to a number of duplicate roles. A variety of employees exited WWE following the merger being made official earlier this month. Beginning on Thursday, September 21st, WWE is now cutting talent from its on-screen roster. This is the first time that WWE is releasing talent in a mass capacity since in and around the pandemic era.

WWE Releases Multiple Superstars Following UFC Merger

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(Photo: WWE)

WWE has begun talent cuts.

WWE NXT star Mustafa Ali is "no longer" with WWE. Ali shared the news on his Twitter. Ali spent seven years in WWE and was scheduled to wrestle Dominik Mysterio for the NXT North American Championship next Saturday, September 30th at NXT No Mercy.

WWE SmackDown star Emma took to social media to confirm her release. Emma had just returned to WWE in Summer 2022 and had previously competed for the company from 2011 until 2017.

WWE SmackDown star Riddick Moss has also been released from WWE. Moss had been signed to WWE since 2014 and spent the majority of his time in NXT. He had one big main roster storyline alongside Baron Corbin from 2021 until 2022.

WWE SmackDown star Rick Boogs has been released from WWE. Like Moss, Boogs spent most of his time in NXT before getting called up to the main roster to tag with Shinsuke Nakamura. Boogs had a brief tag team storyline with LA Knight earlier this year.

WWE SmackDown star Aliyah has been released by WWE. Aliyah had been with WWE since 2015 and recently found success in the women's tag division, winning the WWE Women's Tag Titles with Raquel Rodriguez in Fall 2022.

Free agent Elias has been released by WWE. Elias spent nine years in WWE and recently ran a storyline where he portrayed his character's canonical brother, Ezekiel.

WWE SmackDown star Top Dolla has been released by WWE. Top Dolla was one third of Hit Row and largely worked as an enhancement talent since he returned to the company last summer.

Shelton Benjamin has been released by WWE. Benjamin was part of the historic OVW rookie class that included Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton and Batista. Benjamin wrestled for WWE from 2000 until 2010 and began his second stint in the company in 2017. He found success in fan-favorite faction The Hurt Business in 2020.

Veteran star Dolph Ziggler has been released by WWE. This ends a near two-decade run for Ziggler in WWE, as he has spent his entire professional wrestling career with the company. Ziggler's brother, AEW star Ryan Nemeth, fueled speculation that he could be All Elite earlier this week.

NXT star Quincy Elliott has been released by WWE. Elliot shared the news on Instagram, writing "let the celebration begin."

WWE Performance Center recruit Bryson Montana has been released by WWE. Montana was signed to WWE following the WWE SummerSlam 2021 round of tryouts but did not appear on television regularly.

Monday Night Raw star Dana Brooke has been released by WWE. Brooke spent a decade in WWE, her early years on NXT before getting called up to the main roster. She was often championed by members of the WWE locker room for her hard work and extra effort at shows.

Monday Night Raw stars Mace and Mansoor of Maximum Male Models have been released. Mace started in WWE in 2016, working under the name Dio Maddin and serving as a main roster commentator. He was repackaged as Mace as part of the infamous RETRIBUTION stable before finding new life as part of Maximum Male Models. Mansoor joined WWE in 2018 and wrestled on most of WWE's shows in Saudi Arabia. His first real gimmick came in Maximum Male Models where he wrestled alongside Mace for a little over one year. 

WWE Raw, SmackDown, and NXT star Dabba Kato has been released by WWE. Kato started in NXT in 2016 and would go on to aid Apollo Crews during his run as Champion, and he would take the name Commander Azeez. He would later put together an impressive streak on Raw Underground and then move to NXT under the name Dabba Kato, appearing on NXT over the past few weeks.

NXT star Yulisa Leon has been released by WWE. Leon signed with NXT in February of 2021, and she would join up with Valentina Feroz and become a popular tag team. Unfortunately, an injury took her out of action for a while, but she would eventually reunite with Feroz earlier this year.

Monday Night Raw star Shanky has been released by WWE. Shanky joined WWE in 2020 and teamed up with Veer and Hinder Mahal quite a bit. Shanky's dancing became a popular element of his appearances on Raw, but his last televised match was in July of 2022. He would take on Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship at the recent Superstar Spectacle though.

WWE recruit Daniel McArthur has been released by WWE. McArthur was part of the August 2022 Performance Center recruitment class, which took place during SummerSlam weekend. He is a four-time NCAA All-American and ACC Track and Field Champion and holds two records at the University of North Carolina, but he never made his in-ring debut in WWE.

WWE recruit Kevin Ventura-Cortez has been released by WWE. Ventura-Cortez was signed as part of the 2022 Performance Center recruitment class at SummerSlam and was featured in a match against Indus Sher alongside Javier Bernal on the May 29th episode of Monday Night Raw. In his announcement post, he revealed that he is stepping away, but also said "I've only just begun."

WWE recruit Alexis Gray has been released by WWE. The former Bahamas National Team sprinter was part of the 2023 Performance Center recruitment class but hadn't had the chance to make her in-ring debut for WWE during her time there.

This story is developing...

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