Braun Strowman, Aleister Black and Lana among six WWE releases

WWE is continuing to pare down their talent roster, announcing on Wednesday that Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, Lana, Murphy, Ruby Riott and Santana Garrett have all been released.

The 37-year-old Strowman was last seen at May’s WrestleMania Backlash, competing against WWE Champion Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre in a triple threat and had been involved in the Raw main event mix for several months. 

A member of the WWE system since 2013, Strowman is a former Universal Champion, Intercontinental Champion and a two-time Raw Tag Team Champion.

After a long absence following his wife Zelina Vega’s release last fall, Aleister Black had finally made his return to SmackDown at the end of May following several weeks of vignettes and appeared to be set to start an angle with Big E. On Twitter, he said the decision came out of left field as they had just started his new “Dark Father” character. 

It was reported last month that Vega appeared to be on the verge of a return to WWE, but this decision puts that into question. Black had been with WWE since the summer of 2016 and is a former NXT Champion. He was called up to the main roster in February 2019. 

Originally the mouthpiece for Rusev (AEW’s Miro), Lana eventually transitioned into an in-ring character and had been involved in the women’s tag team scene, most recently teaming with Naomi on Raw. The 36-year-old originally signed with WWE in June 2013.

Used sparingly after the Seth Rollins/Rey Mysterio family angle came to an end, Murphy only wrestled three times this calendar year. The 32-year-old last appeared in the Andre The Giant Memorial battle royal on the pre-WrestleMania SmackDown. He is a former NXT Tag Team Champion, a former Raw Tag Team Champion and a former Cruiserweight Champion.

Riott was most recently seen on the May 28th SmackDown as she and Liv Morgan lost to Natalya and Tamina. The 30-year-old had signed with WWE in December 2016 and was called up to the main roster in 2017 after starting out in NXT.

Garrett was signed to a deal in August 2019 and worked sparingly in NXT with only three main roster appearances during that time. She was last seen in this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble.