WWE released 13 Superstars on Friday – Killian Dain, The Bollywood Boyz (Sunil Singh, Samir Singh), Marina Shafir, Arturo Ruas, Curt Stallion, Fandango, Tyler Breeze, Ever-Rise (Chase Parker, Matt Martel), Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari, and August Grey.

WWE President & Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan led a meeting at WWE Headquarters about the decision to do another round of talent releases. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reports there were apparently more names set to be released that had not been confirmed.

There were some wrestlers who were “saved” from the chopping block at the last minute.

The 205 Live wrestlers that got cut were on higher contracts than WWE had been giving out for work on that brand as of late. Just like the other talent releases, these cuts were a part of ongoing budget cuts ahead of the company going back on the road next month.

Dain and Nese are under a 90-day non-compete clause while Grey has a 30-day non-compete clause.

Wrestlers who are under the 30-day non-competes will become free agents after Friday, July 25 while those under the 90-day non-compete clauses will be free agents after Thursday, September 23.

Several of the released performers addressed their situations on social media.
Fandango

Thank you @VinceMcMahon @TripleH @StephMcMahon Thank you for the last 14 years . I truly appreciate it!

— Fandango (@WWEFandango) June 25, 2021

Fandango’s last match came on an episode of NXT taped on June 15th. Along with Tyler Breeze, Fandango defeated Imperium.

Breeze had been with WWE since 2010, when he made his debut for Florida Championship Wrestling. He’s a former NXT Tag Team Champion with Fandango.

Tony Nese last wrestled on an episode of 205 Live taped on June 15th. He lost to Ikemen Jiro on the show. Daivari’s last match was the week prior where he teamed with Nese and defeated the team of Ari Sterling & Asher Hale.

Nese is a former 1x WWE Cruiserweight Champion. He defeated Buddy Murphy on the WrestleMania 35 Kickoff show to win the belt. Nese had originally been hired by the company in 2016 for the Cruiserweight Classic and subsequent launch of 205 Live.

Thank you everyone! I don't care about how unwatched and underappreciated 205 was. I busted my ass every single time I stepped foot in the ring doing whatever was asked of me with no questions asked. I can't wait to be that type of employee for someone else.

— Tony Nese (@TonyNese) June 25, 2021

Ariva Daivari was also signed to WWE in 2016 for the Cruiserweight Classic that year and subsequent launch of 205 Live. His older brother, Shawn Daivari, currently works as a producer for WWE.

Thank you all for the kind words and support. It's time to put sports entertainment behind me and get back professional wrestling.

— Ariya Daivari (@AriyaDaivariWWE) June 25, 2021

News of WWE cutting several cruiserweight wrestlers comes at the same time there are reports that NXT plans to put greater emphasis on the division. The Diamond Mine and KUSHIDA are both expected to play a major role in the division moving forward.

Ever Rise, Chase Parker & Matt Martel, lost to Hit Row on this week’s episode of NXT. They recently signed new contracts with WWE.