As has become somewhat of their version of the NFL’s Black Monday, WWE announced prior to SmackDown on Friday a slew of releases and roster cuts, including some names that have spent the better part of the last few years eating up TV time.
This article has been updated with May departures. 5/2/26
WWE Releases: New Round of Cuts Follows WrestleMania 42
Full List of Main Roster Releases
- Aleister Black
- Zelina Vega
- Kairi Sane
- Joe Gacy
- Erick Rowan
- Dexter Lumis
- Nikki Cross
- Bo Dallas
- Alex Shelley
- Chris Sabin
- Santos Escobar
- Apollo Crews
As of May 2, additional names said to have departed WWE include the New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods), who have reportedly parted ways mutually, Tonga Loa, and JC Mateo. At this time, Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga still seem to be with the company.
Goodbye to the Wyatt Sicks
When Windham Rotunda, better known as Bray Wyatt, unfortunately passed away in 2023, WWE opted to bring back his brother, the former Bo Dallas, to help finish Wyatt’s story. Dallas returned under the persona of Uncle Howdy, the leader of the Wyatt Sicks, a group inspired by the characters Wyatt popularized in his firefly funhouse. Only these were not the same cuddly puppets but rather wrestlers taking on the personas of Mercy the Buzzard, Abby the Witch, Ramblin’ Rabbit, and Huskus the Pigboy. Joe Gacy, Nikki Cross, Dexter Lumis, Erick Rowan, and Dallas were the five members of the Wyatt Sicks, debuting in June 2024. The group enjoyed some success early on as the tributes to the late Bray Wyatt certainly helped propel the emotional feel-good story behind the unit. Lumis and Gacy even won the tag team titles.
Sadly, WWE seemed to run out of ideas as it related to the Wyatts, relegating the spooky group to a never-ending feud with the MFTs over the very lantern that Wyatt used to accompany him to the ring. In the end, the MFTs emerged victorious in the battle, seemingly putting an end to the Wyatt Sicks, or at the very least raising the question of where the group could go from here. Turns out where they’ll be going is their separate ways. On Friday, it was announced that the entirety of the group was being released from the company.
The Wyatt Sicks leave WWE with a ton of accolades under their belts during their own individual careers as well as their time together.
Bo Dallas was in his second run with WWE, with the first seeing him join the company’s developmental circuit in 2008. From 2008 – 19, Dallas wrestled across NXT and the main roster. He was the third-ever NXT Champion, holding the belt for 280 days. He is also a former 24/7 Champion and tag team champion alongside Curtis Axel.
An indie wrestler since 2008, Nikki Cross was the longest-tenured member of the family, having been with WWE for a decade. During that time, Cross was a 10x 24/7 Champion, a 3x women’s tag team champion, and a former Raw Women’s Champion.
Erick Rowan, also in his second tour of duty with WWE, first joined the company after working the indies in 2011 with Florida Championship Wrestling, the precursor to NXT. As FCW transitioned to NXT, that is where the original incarnation of the Wyatt Family was born. Rowan began teaming with Bray Wyatt and the late Luke Harper in 2012, with the trio bringing their act to the main roster a year later. Rowan’s first run, which ended in 2020, saw him win the tag titles 3x. After working the indies, he returned to WWE in 2024 to join the Wyatt Sicks as a tribute to his fallen friend.
Dexter Lumis came to WWE after a 12-year career across the indies, primarily with TNA. He joined NXT in 2019 and, a year later, did some of his best work alongside Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell, and Austin Theory in The Way. Lumis was chosen to join the new Wyatt group in 2024, where he won his first gold in the company, the WWE Tag Team Championship, alongside Joe Gacy, whose own journey to WWE was not unlike Lumis. Gacy debuted on the indies in 2006, quickly becoming a mainstay in the hardcore scene with Combat Zone Wrestling, where he remained through 2018. In 2021, Gacy finally made it to WWE when he joined the NXT roster. From 2022-23, Gacy led the Schism alongside Ava before transitioning to the main roster as a member of the Wyatt Sicks.
Other Departures
Zoey Stark
Alba Fyre
Motor City Machine Guns
Kairi Sane
Santos Escobar
Apollo Crews
Aleister Black
Zelina Vega
See page two for the full list of NXT/Evolve/LFG releases.
