Last night, the news broke that WWE has released several WWE and NXT Superstars, mere days after last weekend’s WrestleMania PLE in Las Vegas.
There were some big surprises, including Kairi Sane—who has been a big part of Asuka’s feud with Iyo Sky—and the entire Wyatt Sicks. That faction has suffered from stop-and-start booking, not helped by an injury to Bo Dallas that halted their momentum.
Some names, like Apollo Crews, Zoey Stark, and Santos Escobar, weren’t quite as shocking, but Aleister Black and Zelina Vega’s releases seemingly came out of nowhere. While Black hasn’t done much since being brought back to WWE by Triple H, the company had considered inserting him into Randy Orton’s feud with Cody Rhodes heading into WrestleMania.
His place in that storyline was ultimately taken by Pat McAfee, and Zelina has now broken her silence on how she was released. Interestingly, the former Women’s United States Champion says the call came from WWE owners TKO this time, and not WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
“When people call me, it would usually say Stanford calling you, and that’s when your heart’s like, ‘Oh f*ck,'” she revealed in a Twitch stream. “But this time it said TKO, so I was like, ‘Ah, very telling.’ 5:09 PM is when I found out. So, yeah, that is the thing.”
Zelina was also highly critical of the journalist who broke the news of her WWE release. “I was so shocked. But yeah, I also would have appreciated if Sean Ross Sapp or whoever the f*ck announced it could have at least given me the decency to like let me do it myself first. But f*ck you, dude.”
Here’s a full list of Friday’s WWE releases, along with more reactions:
– Kairi Sane
– Aleister Black
– Zelina
– Uncle Howdy/Bo Dallas
– Nikki Cross
– Santos Escobar
– Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin)
– Dexter Lumis
– Apollo Crews
– Rowan
– Joe Gacy
– Andre Chase
– Zoey Stark
– Alba Fyre
– Tyra Mae Steele
– Sirena Linton
– Tyson
– Tyriek
– Chris Island
– Malik Blade
– Trill London
– Luca Crusifino
My fans mean the absolute world to me. I’ve lost a lot this year and in my life in general.. but I gained all of you. Thank you.
Your support means more than you’ll ever know.
— ZV (@ZelinaVegaWWE) April 25, 2026
Goodbye and Thank you WWE
I’m really excited for whatever my next chapter will hold.
Thank you all for the continued love and support.
Special thank you to Robbie Brookside and William Regal for helping this dream come true.
Thank you to the wrestlers, coaches, producers…
— Nikki Cross (@WWENikkiCross) April 24, 2026
— Dexter Lumis (@DexterWWE) April 24, 2026
✌🏻lol
— Joe Gacy (@JoeGacy) April 24, 2026
One last TEACHABLE MOMENT‼️
I couldn’t have done it without U 🙌🏼
*Available for bookings, signings, and seminars starting in June. Let’s get to work. #WWENXT#Smackdown#WWERAW pic.twitter.com/cLxXaJiYkv
— Andre Chase | twitch.tv/ChaseUniversity (@AndreChaseWWE) April 24, 2026
Thank you WWE, you made a young girls dream come true. You could not have been better and more supportive during my healing and I will be forever grateful. Thank you to all the girls in the back, the producers, camera men you were all incredibly kind and gracious. And a special…
— Zoey Stark (@ZoeyStarkWWE) April 25, 2026