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Trimming the fat: WWE roster cuts that probably should have already happened

With WrestleMania season here, WWE will have all hands on deck. But once it's all over, there are a select few members of the roster who should be receiving a pink slip. They are ...

Photo by Simon on Flickr

It's officially WrestleMania season, the time of year when business is booming for WWE. That means the promotion will need all hands on deck to make sure its next few months are as profitable as possible. Once the season is out, though, there's plenty of fat to trim from the roster.

Let's take a look at who should be getting future endeavored, most of which should probably already be gone:

  1. Rey Mysterio: It's over. It's been over for a while now, it's just that no one has been willing to accept it. He's gone through more surgeries than Ric Flair has wives and, like Flair, he's shown no signs of slowing down ... his rate of injury, I mean. His appeal is based on a style he can no longer work because his body simply can't hold up to it anymore. WWE was hoping it could find someone to replace him for that segment of the fan base and if Sin Cara could bother to stay healthy, Mysterio could put him over big at WrestleMania 29 and ride off into the sunset. If not Sin Cara, maybe Alberto Del Rio.
  2. Tensai: I can understand the reason for bringing him back. He's a better worker, far more experienced than he was before, and had almost a decade to get rid of his baggage. But it turns out he's not that much better, experience only goes so far, and fans still recognize him as "Prince Albert," the hairy guy named after a dick piercing. A gimmick change would be a long shot to save face but it's better to cut costs and let him go back to Japan to resurrect Giant Bernard.
  3. Ted DiBiase: Looking back at Legacy, the team of Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and DiBiase, all three looked like they had the potential to run the show over the next 10 years. Orton is still a top star despite an uninspired run of late and Rhodes has been steadily improving to the point that it's not crazy to think of him in the world title picture sooner or later. But DiBiase fell off hard, barely making an impact on Superstars. He's party gimmick with his "DiBiase Posse" was reportedly a hit at live shows but beyond that he's never shown he could ever live up to the high bar set by his far more talented father. Time to cut bait.
  4. Curt Hawkins: A victim of consequence and bad timing. Hawkins was doing some good things in his tag team with Tyler Reks and the two would likely be involved in that divisions sudden resurgence had Reks not bailed to spend time with his family. Shortly after, Hawkins underwent surgery and he's still on the shelf. Unless creative wants to keep him around to be "guy who Brodus Clay beats when he needs a squash win," he's out.
  5. Evan Bourne: Frankly, it's a shock this hasn't happened already. Bourne's been suspended twice for drugs and can't seem to stay healthy. His former tag partner, Kofi Kingston, has long since left him behind and the entire complexion of WWE has changed since he's been out. Combine that with rumors of backstage animosity with some of the big wigs and it makes sense that he would be gone.
  6. Mason Ryan: Can't work, has no gimmick, can't stay healthy, looks really goofy. Just dump him already.
  7. JTG: Can you remember the last time JTG wasn't just a jobber? He's also been known to spout off at the mouth about his unhappiness with how he's being used and is reportedly one of the wrestlers who has threatened to bail if his situation doesn't improve. It's not going to, so WWE should hand him his pink slip and let him go job somewhere else.

That's my list, Cagesiders. Did I leave anyone off that should be on? Is anyone on that should be off?

You know where to let us know.

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