WWE releases Samoa Joe, Billie Kay and several more superstars (Updated)

WWE has issued the following statement about several superstars being released:

“WWE has come to terms on a release of Billie Kay, Mickie James, Chelsea Green, Tucker, Kalisto and Wesley Blake as of today April 15, 2021.

We wish them the best in all of their future endeavors.”

UPDATE: WWE’s list appears to be a work in progress. Here is the current list of superstars who have been released, which includes several more names in addition to those from the original announcement:

• Billie Kay
• Mickie James
• Chelsea Green
• Tucker
• Kalisto
• Wesley Blake
• Samoa Joe
• Bo Dallas
• Peyton Royce
• Mojo Rawley

There are a few surprising names on this list of roster cuts. Billie Kay stands out as a superstar who received the most television time from this group, and she also is the only one who just competed on the main card of WrestleMania 37. Her primary gimmick has involved giving out her resume looking for work.

Samoa Joe is arguably the biggest name of them all. He was recently removed from the Raw commentary team.

Chelsea Green barely had any time to get going in WWE due to injuries.

Mickie James appeared on WWE programming during WrestleMania week for an NXT commentary gig.

Tucker has been a complete afterthought ever since WWE broke up his tag team (Heavy Machinery) with Otis last year.

Kalisto has also gone nowhere in a singles role, though he wasn’t getting pushed as part of Lucha House Party before that either. Kalisto and Tucker both competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal that was taped a couple weeks ago and aired on the Apr. 9 edition of SmackDown.

Wesley Blake was last seen on WWE television more than three months ago as a henchman for King Corbin.

This is the biggest roster cut that WWE has gone through with since last April’s budget cuts that included stars like Kurt Angle and Rusev.

We’ll keep you updated on any further cuts that are announced today.