WWE Releases 2022- Superstars, Wrestlers & Employees
2022 continued the trend of WWE releases that started in 2020 under Vince McMahon’s management. The wave of releases slowed down after Triple H took charge of WWE. However, underperforming NXT wrestlers and some from the main roster were still released.
The promotion released more than 20 wrestlers and employees combined during the year as they restructured NXT and made changes to RAW and SmackDown Rosters. Another set of releases took place when WWE shut down NXT UK and released most of the wrestlers from that roster. Here is the complete list.
Contract Expired
- Kushida(April 2022)
- Cesaro(February 2022)
- Paige/Saraya(July 2022)
Sasha Banks(Mercedes Mone)
Sasha Banks initially got her release from WWE during the summer of 2022, but she was not allowed to appear in other promotions until January 2023. The details were confirmed in December 2022. Sasha walked out of RAW tapings with her tag team partner Naomi in May 2022 and did not appear in the promotion after that.
Mandy Rose
Mandy Rose was released from the promotion due to Rose posting some content on her FanTime page. Some sponsors were not happy with Rose posting risque content and Rose reportedly decided to continue with her site rather than stay in WWE.
October 31, 2022 – NXT Cuts
- Damaris Griffin
- Gabe Wai
- Sloane Jacobs
- Ru Feng
- Bodhi Hayward
- Erica Yan
Antony Smith
WWE RAW commentator Anthony Smith was let go from WWE when the promotion made changes to its commentary team ahead of 2022-23 season.
August 18, 2022 – Wrestlers
WWE shut down NXT UK and most of the roster was released after it.
- Flash Morgan Webster
- Mark Andrews
- Sha Samuels
- Jack Starz
- Wild Boar
- Emilia McKenzie
- Dave Mastif
- Ashton Smith
- Amale
- Nina Samuel
- Sam Gradwell
- Dani Luna
- Rohan Raja
- Primate
- Kenny Williams
- Kirsty Bosley(ring announcer)
- Amir Jordan
- Xia Brookside
- Trent Seven
- Eddie Denis
- Saxton Hutley
- Nina Samuels
- Sid Scala(Manager)
Troy Donovan
Troy Donovan was released from his developmental contract due to some compliance issues. Later, it was reported that Donovan failed a drug test.
April 29, 2022 – Wrestlers
Another budget exercise saw some of the names from NXT getting released.
- Dexter Lumis
- Malcolm Bivens
- Dakota Kai
- Harland
- Persia Pirotta
- Raelyn Divine
- Draco Anthony
- Vish Kanya
- Mila Malani
- Blair Baldwin
Nash Carter
Nash Carter was fired from WWE on April 6, 2022, after his wife accused him of domestic abuse.
Carlos Cabrera
WWE’s longtime Spanish Commentator Carlos Cabrera was let go from the promotion on February 17, 2022. He had worked for the company since 1994.
January 6, 2022 – Wrestlers & Staff
- Samoa Joe
- Gabe Sapolsky
January 5, 2022 – Wrestlers, Coaches & Staff
The first mass WWE release of 2022 came on January 5, 2022. The company sent out a statement that these releases are the result of the evolution of NXT 2.0.
- “Road Dogg” Brian James
- Timothy Thatcher(Wrestler/Coach)
- Danny Burch(Wrestler/Coach)
- Hideki Suzuki/Hachiman(Wrestler/Coach)
- Cathy Corino(coach)
- Sarah Cummins(Senior Vice President of Consumer Products)
- William Regal(Director of Talent Development and Head of Global Recruiting)
- Dave Kapoor(Senior Vice President of Creative)
- Ryan Katz(NXT Creative Producer)
- Scott Armstrong(Backstage Producer)
- George Carroll(Creative Writer)
- Christopher Guy/Ace Steel(Performance Center Coach)
See Also:
WWE Releases Year Wise: