Several Stars from WWE Raw/Smackdown/NXT were released, a day ago amid another round of budget cuts across the company. The following 18 talents were released on Thursday night and cited budget cuts for the departures.
Following names were released – Nia Jax, Karrion Kross, Scarlett Bordeaux, “B-Fab” Briana Brandy, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Eva Marie, Keith Lee, Mia Yim, Harry Smith, Oney Lorcan, Franky Monet, Ember Moon, Trey Baxter, Jessi Kamea, Jeet Rama, Zayda Ramier, and Katrina Cortez.
It was reported 4 or 5 talents were let go due to not being vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus, with The New York Post affirming that former WWE Raw Women’s Champion Nia Jax was one of them who was let go due to her COVID-19 vaccine status. Wrestling Observer Newsletter also reported that some of the wrestlers were released due to them refusing to get vaccinated.
#BringBackNia pic.twitter.com/bQg1Yunt1v
— SARAYA (@RealPaigeWWE) November 6, 2021
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WWE Raw releases shocked the pro-wrestling world
Being one of the mainstay names on WWE Raw, Nia Jax’s release shocked the WWE Universe, to say the least. She was a loved female talent amongst her current and previous colleagues. Former WWE Divas Champion Paige has urged WWE to bring her back Nia as she was among the 18 Superstars released on Thursday.
Paige tweeted a picture of her and Jax sharing a laugh backstage, along with the “#BringBackNia” hashtag. These two had been on WWE Raw/Smackdown roster in the past as well as on the Total Divas reality TV series. These two were also touted to be best of friends on that E Network show. So it seems right that Paige stood up for her former bestie.
Nia Jax had also been best of friends with multi-time WWE Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss who dropped a broken heart emoji to express her concerns about WWE releasing Jax. The Samoan Superstar took to Twitter to address reports that her vaccination status may have played a part in the release.
Jax was originally granted a leave of absence to deal with personal issues but he was taken aback by the abrupt release by WWE. From a kayfabe perspective, Shayna Baszler injured her former tag team partner on WWE Raw, a few weeks ago to write her off TV.
