WWE.com
WWE announced the release of several Superstars on Thursday, including Samoa Joe, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce and Mickie James.
Other wrestlers who received their release include Kalisto, Chelsea Green, Bo Dallas, Wesley Blake and Tucker.
The releases come just days after WrestleMania 37 was held Saturday and Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
James and Tucker were among those who took to Twitter after leaving the company:
Samoa Joe, 42, is known for holding the world title in both TNA and ROH before signing with WWE in 2015. Joe won the NXT Championship twice and was subsequently called up to the main list in 2017.
Joe was a United States Champion and had multiple world title games during his WWE run, including a memorable clash with Brock Lesnar. After suffering an injury, Joe switched to an announcing role in 2020 and was part of the Raw announcement team until last Monday, when Adnan Virk, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton were announced as the new team.
Kay, 31, is from Australia and signed a development agreement with WWE in 2015 and has been on the main list since 2018. She mostly worked with old friend Royce as The IIconics.
The IIconics won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 35 and achieved great success, but they were split up last year.
Kay took part in an entertaining storyline where she saw her resume to everyone backstage. At WrestleMania 37 last week, Kay competed in a Tag Team Turmoil match with Carmella as her partner.
Royce, 28, broke up in WWE with Kay, but she wasn’t used as often or as effectively as hoped on Raw after The IIconics dissolved.
James is one of the most talented performers of those released on Thursday as she is a five-time WWE Women’s Champion, one-time Divas Champion, and infallible future Hall of Famer.
41-year-old James was under contract with WWE from 2003 to 2010, then returned to the company in 2016. She had seemingly switched to a new role, although she did compete in the 2021 Women’s Royal Rumble contest.
Prior to NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver last week, James was part of the pre-show coverage.
Kalisto, Green, Dallas, Tucker and Blake also all played important roles at various points in their WWE careers.
Kalisto is a former cruiserweight and NXT Tag Team champion in the United States, although used sparingly for the past year, with his most recent appearance in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at last week’s WrestleMania SmackDown.
Best known for working with Otis as Heavy Machinery in NXT and on the main list, Tucker was also part of the Battle Royal.
Dallas and Blake are both former title holders in NXT, as Dallas was the NXT champion and Blake was half the NXT Tag Team champions with Murphy.
Dallas also held the Raw Tag Team Championships with Curtis Axel and is known as the brother of WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt and the son of former WWE Superstar Mike “IRS” Rotunda.
Green is a former Tough Enough contestant who signed with WWE in 2018 after previously holding the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship.
While she has immense potential, she was plagued with injuries during her WWE time and suffered a broken wrist during her SmackDown debut in November.
Thursday’s releases came a year after WWE released several wrestlers and workers, including Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, EC3, Heath Slater and Rowan.