MANILA, Philippines - World Wrestling Entertainment parted ways with a number of familiar names, with former Intercontinental champions Wade Barrett and Santino Marella, plus one-time Mr Money in the Bank Damien Sandow being the biggest names involved.
Barrett, Sandow and Marella (real names Stu Bennett, Aaron Haddad and Anthony Carelli respectively) were joined by Alex Riley (Kevin Kiley), Hornswoggle (Dylan Postl), Cameron (Ariane Andrew), Zeb Colter (Wayne Keown) and El Torito (real name unverified), WWE stated on its website Friday, May 6.
Among the wrestlers released, only Barrett had been featured prominently recently, having won the 2015 King of the Ring tournament in its first edition since 2010 and being a part of the League of Nations heel stable. Barrett thanked fans after news broke, stating that he would take time off from the ring to "expand my horizons" after 9 years with WWE.
"I made a decision back in August last year not to re-sign once my current contract expired in June 2016, and I've now reached an agreement with management to dissolve the contract a few weeks early," Barrett wrote.
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Goodbye <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE">@WWE</a>.. <a href="https://t.co/bYkPYW628Q">pic.twitter.com/bYkPYW628Q</a></p>— Stu Bennett (@WadeBarrett) <a href="https://twitter.com/WadeBarrett/status/728624762453434372">May 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Sandow was a fan favorite as an underutilized performer most notable as the first Money in the Bank winner to be unsuccessful in his cash-in attempt in 2013. He was later re-christened as Damien Mizdow, working as The Miz's "stuntman." The gimmick resulted in a reign as tag team champion with Mix but never evolved into something meaningful.
Marella won the IC title in his debut match in 2007, and was used primarily as a comedy act during his run. Marella appeared thankful for his run with WWE, tweeting out "Worry not my friends for the next chapter shall be even greater! It was a dream come true, thank you #WWE."
He had retired from the ring in 2014 after suffering a third neck injury and told the Fight Network earlier this year he would never be back in a physical capacity "unless something miraculous happens.
"It was wear and tear of 10 years of pro wrestling. Before that, 20 years of judo, I wrestled in university and then becoming a pro wrestler. Getting in a car accident on a daily basis," Marella said.
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Worry not my friends for the next chapter shall be even greater! It was a dream come true, thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash">#WWE</a></p>— Santino Marella (@milanmiracle) <a href="https://twitter.com/milanmiracle/status/728619508164763648">May 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Riley, like Sandow, was used as a sidekick for The Miz during his run on the main roster and had been seen more frequently as an enhancement talent in the developmental territory NXT recently.
Hornswoggle and Colter (better known as Dutch Mantell) have already been picked up by independent company Global Force Wrestling, appearing in promotional material for a June 11 show in New Jersey.
While not among those released, wrestler Ryback (Ryan Reeves) announced he would not be seen on television for an undetermined amount of time in a Tumblr post this week in which he voiced his frustration about the pay scale for performers lower on the card.
"I will start by saying I did request to be taken off of WWE television until myself and [WWE chairman Vince McMahon] could get a yes or no on a new deal," Ryback wrote. – Rappler.com