The Great Cleaning Of 2017 Hath Begun!

[Wildcat66]

The annual WWE cleaning of 2017 has officially begun as Emma, Darren Young and Summer Rae have been released from the company.

Emma: I'm not surprised at all. In fact, if there was anyone I thought needed to leave, it was her. This was a career doomed to fail in WWE after exposing herself to be injury prone; as talented and charismatic as she is, if you cannot keep yourself off the injury list; you're done. Maybe in another world, she could have been a women's champion; but the deed is done.

Darren Young: He seemed like a cool guy and from what I remember he was solid in the ring, but as an entertainer; he was pretty generic. Nonetheless, he had a pretty decent run in WWE and having a tag team title run is nothing to sneeze at. I'm sure he'll do ok in whatever promotion he ends up in.

Summer Rae: When the only things you remember of her come from the early days of NXT and being Fandango's girlfriend, you know you didn't do much. It's a shame as she was good on the mic, and was about as natural a heel as you can get. I'd say she winds up in TNA or Lucha Underground (y'know, if they come back) at some point next year or maybe heads to Hollywood.

 

[LODemolition]

I am kind of surprised by Emma being let go. They just gave her new theme music. That's not something you usually do for a talent if you're just going to turn around and release them. I liked Emma and thought she could have been used better. Paige is set to come back anytime now so maybe that was a factor in this decision.

 

[Dagger Dias]

This news saddens me. Well, two of the three anyway.

WWE just lost one of the best females they had. Emma had everything needed to be a good heel champion. It is awful that she never quite got the opportunity she deserved. I had been hoping she could get moved to Smackdown. She would have been better off there. The new entrance music sucked, there was no need to change her awesome old theme. That aside, I am not just sad to hear about this but I found it to be really unexpected too. She seemed to be in the middle of a big push with the whole "I started the Women's Revolution" thing. Maybe she got fed up with the lack of true opportunities and asked for the release herself. She was great. Her match with Paige at NXT Arrival and her run as a heel with Dana as her enforcer will not be forgotten. Emma will be missed!

As sad as I am to see Emma go, I might be even sadder to see Summer get released. She might not have been as good as the Four Horsewomen, Mickie, Emma, or Alexa.... but she's certainly better than others who had been pushed recently. Why Summer never got a chance is beyond me. She was good on the mic and in the ring on top of being very attractive. Much like Emma, she had everything you could need from someone to push to the top. Perhaps it was due to The Horsewomen and Alexa overshadowing her. Other than being Fandango's dance partner and being part of that awful Rusev/Dolph love triangle storyline, Summer never got any moments that stand out. Truly awful. I hope she finds better opportunities elsewhere. I wish both Summer and Emma the best of luck in what they do next from here.

And then there's Darren Young. I won't go as far as to say "good riddance" but I won't miss the guy one bit. There was nothing he brought to the table that made me want to see his matches. Sure, he was in the original Nexus. Most of the other members were better than him. Oh, but he was in the Prime Time Players. Most of that group's success can be attributed to Titus who is doing well in his role as a "coach" for Apollo and Titus Worldwide. Then we had that whole "Make Darren Young great again!" thing. All that did was make me realize how much I missed Bob Backlund. So long, Darren.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Darren Young was the only one who did anything relevant, so I'll miss him the most. To be openly gay and not become a complete joke in pro wrestling is a feat onto itself. Picking up tag team gold in the age of The New Day is pretty special too, as there's quite a list out there of great teams who didn't. Shame writers had nothing for him, because he wasn't that horrible a hand to have.

Emma leaves a bit of a hole in the women's division and that's not good. Someone with talent will have to either job a bit or a lackluster superstar is getting more screentime. Either way, it will not be fun.

Nobody will miss Summer Rae. Everybody will miss Summer Rae's legs.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I bet Emma regrets stealing that iPhone case. She was doomed after that.

WWE are going to have to make a new gay superstar.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm a little surprised they released Emma. I'm assuming that this was in the works for a while and, if so, then I think it would've made more sense to just have Asuka decimate her during their matches instead of making them competitive. Or, did she ask for her release after finding out that her losses to Asuka weren't leading to her moving up the ranks or to anything relevant? It's a shame as she brought a good deal to the table but, as Jake pointed out, it looks like the iPhone case bit is something that just wouldn't go away. I'm sure there'll be denials on both sides that had anything to do with it, which is possible I suppose, but I don't think it's something I'd believe.

Darren Young has spent more time injured than he has competing as a wrestler, so him being gay hasn't made him of use to Vince and his public works scams. Young also had little to no real personality that I ever saw so hopefully he was smart and banked as much as he could because he's not gonna get much out on the indie scene. Cody Rhodes might've been a mid-card and tag team star but he had a career worth bragging about in WWE, so he can command more.

I'd say that Summer Rae is done with wrestling altogether. She's been out over a year with, what was it? Major back issues? At any rate, this is no big loss as she and Young were both dead weight.

 

[Dolph Ziggler's Gimmick]

Summer Rae and Emma getting released is a damn shame. Emma was always good, she even made stuff that was seemingly tailor-made for cringe work, whether that was her idea or the company's. And Summer, I'll agree with her being natural as a heel, but she also had some potential as a babyface from the few matches I've seen her work in that role. In the mic she was good, in the ring she could hold her own, and I'll always associate her with the early era of Triple H's NXT.

Darren Young was a slight shock, I never expected them to release their first openly gay wrestler. As part of the original Prime Time Players with A.W. as their manager, the whole act was gold, everything seemed to click. But it's just been all downhill for him ever since, no matter how much they tried to experiment with him. As others mentioned his ring work was solid, he had great work ethic(the whole no-days-off attitude) but at the end of the day, and I hate to say this, he just didn't have the talent to stand out. It's sad but it took me a good minute to even remember he was a part of the Nexus, I guess that's not a bad legacy to have, it's better than "Black John Cena" or "That one gay wrestler."

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There's more to come no doubt... Bear in mind WWE just did a big tryout and they're gonna want to sign the Chinese boxer Dong if they can at minimum... that'll cost as he can make money in the boxing ring.

Emma/Summer Rae - let's face it, she was going nowhere and with Ronda and her Horsewomen coming in, if they're not gonna use her...then freeing up her and Summer Rae's salaries is a necessary move. Nia may still get her wish yet but the one I see happening which would be a dick move by WWE...Dana Brooke, her boyfriend died but I can see Vince wanting her back or letting her go... On a side note, Lio Rush put his foot in it mocking Emma's release... he will be cut, Trips won't like it and it'll send a message... especially as there has been some other Twitter unpleasentness in recent weeks. Harsh perhaps, but people gotta learn.

Darren Young - The "he's gay" card played long enough...harsh but true, he's probably stayed under contract 2-3 years longer than he would have done before that and not really done anything in that time...

Who else is gonna go?

Neville will probably be officially released... if they want to play hardball, it's not gonna do them any good and may put talents off signing... best to let him go.

R-Truth seems a good bet to be released, he's really run his course now... could also see Mark Henry be released.

Of the lower tier, The Ascension seem most likely to be cut... possibly along with Tyler Breeze AND Fandango... Emma proves that just cos you have something going, doesn't mean you're not surplus to requirements and those skits alone aren't worth those 4 contracts.

I can see Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley also on the bubble, although the Gronk thing will probably save Rawley, especially if they want to try and get him in a match for Mania. The Hype Bros have lost their hype and Zack has been "robbing a living" for too long...

Can see a good number of the 205 guys going, along with the UK talents they have... They may keep Pete Dunne and the belt, and possibly Tyler Bate... but the others will get cut and I can see Dunne dropping the UK title to someone on the main roster before long. If they can keep Neville, it'd be a good angle for him, let him defend that belt out on the indies for a few months. On 205, they seem to be retooling with bigger names from the main roster... so Noam Dar, Tony Nese and Rich Swann could all be on the outs.

No one is gonna be safe... I get a nasty feeling that we're gonna see the end of the Rotunda boys out of this... I can see them cutting Bo AND JoJo... and that leading to Bray requesting his release. While people get sick, that those guys were the ones to get it is sods law... Vince will hold it against them as it cost him both the Shield reunion AND them having to use Kurt. Curtis Axel is another guy who is right on the bubble... The Miztourage has kind of run its course/been wasted due to the aborted Shield match... I can see them putting Miz with somebody much bigger than him as a bodyguard rather than using Bo and Axel going forward.

The biggest name? I think we're gonna see Dolph Ziggler go in this cull... either cos he asked or again, it's a salary they can get off the books that won't make drastic loss to the show - with the kind of money Ronda is gonna need to sign, his $4-500k will be a big chunk.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

they've been trying to find a way to release EMMA ever since they were forced to re-hired her a few years back because the whole i phone case stealing business. Now they figured that enough time as pass since that incident that they could actually release her without getting any backlash surrounding it.

I think it's a shame that she got release because out of the three, she had the most upside and was actually getting somewhat of a push for the first time in her WWE career. So i'm pretty sure that wherever she goes next, she will be fine compare to the other 2.

So now the question is who's next to go. I wouldn't be surprise that at some point they will announce Neville as officially been release, maybe Dana brooke also since she hasn't been on tv for a while now. Also i don't know if Lio Rush as officially sign a NXT contract with the company but after the little stunt he pull today on Twitter and the backlash it got from a lot of WWE performers, i wouldn't be surprise if they cut him because of it.

 

[adam]

I would think the cuts would come from the Women's side with the 4 horsewomen, 2018 return of the Bellas and talent from the Mae Young tournament. They could roll 205 Live back to Raw and create a women's show if they wanted to.


Lot's of underused guys on both Raw and SD Live. There seems to be an abundance of 220 lb guys and a shortage of guys > 260lbs.

 

[The Perfect Max]

Emma shocks me tremendously, especially when you consider what other talents are on the women's roster right now. She has proven time and time again that she has the athletic qualities necessary in this new era of women's wrestling, and throughout her gimmick changes, she has shown her capabilities as a wrestling actress. Was it not enough? I seriously doubt that she didn't know about this before TLC, which could be why she got the match with Asuka. Perhaps she asked for the release and this was WWE's way of inviting her to stay. I don't know, just hypothesising, but I didn't see this one coming.

Summer Rae is a slightly different story, though I question why her particularly. Is it that she also suffers from injuries? Perhaps, because if not, then I question how Alicia Fox is still here. Alicia has gotten better and has been with the company about 10 years now, but that's it. Anyway, so long Summer Rae.

As for Darren Young, again, this doesn't surprise me so much, however I did wonder whether or not his recognition for coming out would provide him with some sort of security. As a gay person myself, I can't really say that I care any more or any less for Darren Young as a WWE superstar, but I appreciated the significance of what he did and how WWE responded to it. If anything, Darren Young has accomplished (which, let's face it, isn't that much in the ring) a new feat in this kind of sport where it is okay to be openly gay. Hopefully, anyway. As for his time on the roster, they tried, it didn't work, they tried, and it didn't work again. That's just it. I seriously doubt he had any more to give.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I always get such a kick out of the love that people get and excuses that are made for them when they get released. Emma was fine. She was never all that impressive. Her most interesting aspects were her hot chick role while injured and her arrest. She really isn't that good at anything.

Summer Rae was worse. She wasn't really good at anything. She was Stacy Keibler but not nearly as pretty. Sadly enough her best work was a shockingly decent match with Sasha once, her dancing with Fandango, and her ridiculous acting with Rusev.

Young was what he was. I would have loved to see WWE take a serious tact with his sexuality but it is a long shot as to whether or not it worked.

Hopefully this will open some room for real talent.

 

[wewanttables]

I was very surprised by them cutting Emma. It leaves me feeling that they lack depth on both main roster women's divisions. And the problem seems more glaring with the injuries that Bayley and Sash have had (which I believe has resulted in a reduced level of in-ring performance). Having someone else that can share those bumps that is good at her character like Emma is something the roster needs. You might say "the WWE has more women under contract than they have ever had." And most of them still need to be in NXT. There are only a few ladies that have shown me that they perform well enough to at NXT to warrant a shot on the main roster: Liv Morgan, Peyton, and Nikki Cross. Peyton and Cross seem to still be in NXT because their partners (the rest of Sanity and Bill Kay) are not ready to debut on the main roster. I would not be surprised to see Nikki Cross win the NXT women's title at Houston.

Daren Young is talented and I would not be surprised if he shows back up in a few years with the Primetime Players because Vince has been breaking tag teams up like it is a hobby. Young is a good performer and Titus can get over.

What happened to Summer and why has she been gone so long? Oh well.

Some people have stated that this is a cost-saving move. I would be surprised if it saved much. I don't believe that the majority of the main roster gets a base guarantee. So if they don't work they do not get paid. I can be wrong on this though.

 

[d_henderson1810]

Here's a rule for all WWE Divas. To avoid release,

(a) be related to a past WWE wrestler. That's why Tamina, Charlotte and Natalya will never get fired.

(b) be married to a WWE wrestler. Naomi, and again Natalya keeps their jobs over this.

or

(c) be a member of the Four Horsewomen. This is how someone like Becky Lynch, who is hard to understand, keeps her job.

This was Emma and Summer's problems. They needed to hook up with current talent, or Emma needed to find out if she is distant relatives with the Fabulous Kangaroos. This is why they lose their jobs, and an ugly like Natalya will have a WWE job for life (because she married a WWE employee, her dad was a WWE wrestler, and her uncle is someone who bitches and moans when you piss him off).

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

You know when no gimmick works then you're doomed in WWE. They tried and tried and tried with Emma to give her something to run with but it didn't work everytime. Her last gimmick as an internet obsessed person was the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

[therockiswwf]

Here's a rule for all WWE Divas. To avoid release,

(a) be related to a past WWE wrestler. That's why Tamina, Charlotte and Natalya will never get fired.

(b) be married to a WWE wrestler. Naomi, and again Natalya keeps their jobs over this.

or

(c) be a member of the Four Horsewomen. This is how someone like Becky Lynch, who is hard to understand, keeps her job.

This was Emma and Summer's problems. They needed to hook up with current talent, or Emma needed to find out if she is distant relatives with the Fabulous Kangaroos. This is why they lose their jobs, and an ugly like Natalya will have a WWE job for life (because she married a WWE employee, her dad was a WWE wrestler, and her uncle is someone who bitches and moans when you piss him off).

What? Holy crap no.

Looks are subjective. Summer Rae's talent level is way below the current top women stars. It would take too much time to get her going vs growing new talent. Emma probably got released because she complained.

Natalya is also employed because of her talent. Not a great character but good in-ring and probably mentors people backstage. Valuable to have. Naomi has that glow stuff. Probably good for merch. Charlotte is awesome. Tamina is solely employed because of her dad but she is probably very cheap. This is the only one you are right about. Becky Lynch isn't any harder to understand than Sheamus.

 

[d_henderson1810]

What? Holy crap no.

Looks are subjective. Summer Rae's talent level is way below the current top women stars. It would take too much time to get her going vs growing new talent. Emma probably got released because she complained.

Natalya is also employed because of her talent. Not a great character but good in-ring and probably mentors people backstage. Valuable to have. Naomi has that glow stuff. Probably good for merch. Charlotte is awesome. Tamina is solely employed because of her dad but she is probably very cheap. This is the only one you are right about. Becky Lynch isn't any harder to understand than Sheamus.

We never got to see if Summer Rae could wrestle or not, because they didn't put her in many matches.

You don't know why Emma got released. How do you know she complained too much?

Natalya may be employed for her talent, but she keeps her job because she is related to the Hart Family. If she wasn't, I think she would have been retired out now.

Naomi has that glow stuff....and she is married to Jimmy Uso!

Charlotte is very good in the ring.....and the daughter of Ric Flair.

At least you admit nepotism when it comes to Tamina.

At least Sheamus says some funny stuff, and him and Cesaro have had many matches close to MOTY status. What has Becky Lynch being doing of relevance lately? But she is a Horsewoman, so that helps her keep her job.

 

[therockiswwf]

We never got to see if Summer Rae could wrestle or not, because they didn't put her in many matches.

We did get to see her. She sucked. It was going to take a lot to get her going. Better things to focus on.

You don't know why Emma got released. How do you know she complained too much?

Hmm...

Natalya may be employed for her talent, but she keeps her job because she is related to the Hart Family. If she wasn't, I think she would have been retired out now.

You don't know why she keeps her job. How do you know she keeps it because of who she is related too?

Naomi has that glow stuff....and she is married to Jimmy Uso!

Okay, and? This doesn't prove shit.

Charlotte is very good in the ring.....and the daughter of Ric Flair.

And very talented.

At least you admit nepotism when it comes to Tamina.

Cause that is the one you got right. Nothing else you said was right.

At least Sheamus says some funny stuff, and him and Cesaro have had many matches close to MOTY status. What has Becky Lynch being doing of relevance lately? But she is a Horsewoman, so that helps her keep her job.

Becky is underused.

Also Miss Kitty, Del Rio, Sim Snuka and Kristal Marshall would like a word about this nepotism thing.

 

[Navi]

I'm surprised about Emma like some others are, but the nail's in the coffin with her are twofold. First she had suffered a few injuries which kept her out of action for extended periods of time, second was the failure to morph into Emmalina. What a humongous waste of time and effort that turned into.

Summer Rae and Darren Young on the other hand weren't too much of a surprise. Haven't seen either one of them in forever and neither one was really missed.

Fully expecting to hear more in the coming weeks.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

R-Truth and Golddust better run for the hills, if another release is coming, it's probably one of those guys.

 

[stingray11214]

OK, let us start with the one who is probably going to disappear. Summer Rae was basically eye candy, and nothing else. She was NOT a great wrestler by any stretch of the imagination. She was basically valet material. Nothing more and nothing less. If she continues in wrestling, I would be surprised. I think she is looking at Hollywood.

Darren Young is an enigma. Granted, he was not much in the ring. He was great with Titus O'Neil. Then, he came out. His problem became Fed Phelps inability to use judgment when he ripped the Middle East tour. Yes, Fred Phelps was, and is right about the rampant and merciless discrimination the LGBT community receives in those countries. However, you do not rip your own company when they are going to those countries to help pay your salary. He was on borrowed time from that point forward. #MDYGA with Bob Backlund was very much a bust. IN the end, no surprise of his release. However....

This could very well be a blessing in disguise. Earlier, the Young Bucks put out a Rainbow-colored Bullet Club shirt in his honor. This makes for an intriguing question: Does Cody Rhodes put in a good word for fka Darren Young in New Japan? If New Japan is serious about the fan base in SE Asia, Mr. Phelps will go a long way. Remember, homosexuality is tolerated in SE Asia. You will see Ladyboys all over the place. Can you picture New Japan doing shows in Thailand, and every Ladyboy wants a picture with fka Darren Young? And, even if they do not go all out in SE Asia, fka Darren Young could still be a big draw on the USA coasts. fka Darren Young could wind up being a bigger star LEAVING WWE then he ever was in it.

A long time ago on these very boards, I said WWE would do Emma a favor is they "Future Endeavor" her. I said that she would be far more appreciated in Japan or Europe. I was right then. And, I am right now. After that incident in a Hartford Wal-Mart, WWE would not give Emma the right time of day. The ONLY reason they rehired her was because of the Australian Tour they would have soon after. SO, now that she is gone, and I think Tennille Tayla will be far better for it. I can virtually guarantee Rossy Ogawa, Chigusa Nagayo, or the gang at Ice Ribbon have been ringing Ms. Dashwood's phone off the hook since Mr. Ceman dropped the bomb on Emma. She would be a major asset to Stardom. She would be battling the likes of Kris Wolf and Io Shirai. Furthermore, she could serve as a mentor to AZM, Momo Watanabe, and if she comes back, Arisu Nanase. If she goes to Marvelous, she would be a gaijin lynchpin to an up and coming roster featuring Takumi Iroha, rising star Mio Momono, and being led by the legendary Chigusa Nagayo. She goes to Ica Ribbon, and we may get a "dream match" between Tennille Tayla (fka Emma) and Manami Toyota. Either way, she will be a far bigger star coming out of Japan than she ever would have been in WWE. If she goes this route, I would not be surprised if Trips brings her back to NXT in 2-3 years a la Drew Galloway(McIntyre)..

Get out the popcorn. There are going to be plenty of more cuts coming.

 

[d_henderson1810]

R-Truth and Golddust better run for the hills, if another release is coming, it's probably one of those guys.

I don't think Goldust will ever be released, but more likely not used. Dustin will probably be a trainer (he is doing a bit of that now) and Goldust might still appear from time to time in Royal Rumbles and the like.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

What? Holy crap no.

Looks are subjective. Summer Rae's talent level is way below the current top women stars. It would take too much time to get her going vs growing new talent. Emma probably got released because she complained.

Natalya is also employed because of her talent. Not a great character but good in-ring and probably mentors people backstage. Valuable to have. Naomi has that glow stuff. Probably good for merch. Charlotte is awesome. Tamina is solely employed because of her dad but she is probably very cheap. This is the only one you are right about. Becky Lynch isn't any harder to understand than Sheamus.

Natalya has her place and they used it in the past when they sent her and Tyson to NXT as "RA" types, who helped new talent adjust. She now is the the "elder stateswoman" of the Women's division... she has the experience, knowledge of the company and time served that she is probably safe until such time as she chooses to leave. Also, there is the elephant in the room of Tyson suing them the moment she is fired that is coming into play... that's a case WWE probably would lose, so they keep both on the payroll.

Naomi - they've learned not to fire wives of talents they want to keep from when Lawler walked. Naomi has improved and made her "glow" gimmick work, so fair play to her... not sure she should be "safe automatically" but they don't want to piss the Uso's off at this point so it's no harm... she's at least good fodder for Ronda and the girls when they come in.

Alicia Fox is the interesting one... it seems surprising they've just pushed her to be captain of the SS team as she is one I'd have pegged to be released AHEAD of Emma. Perhaps this is the same for her, she gets a big PPV moment and released straight after...

Tamina is an interesting one as her family name has a lot of stigma... but she is also someone who can be fed to Ronda or one of her girls early to set them up as being badass.

Becky Lynch... I don't think it's about the accent. I think there's a little bit of Finn Balor backlash on her... their relationship has never really been defined, are they ex's, just teacher and student or best mates? They couldn't punish Balor for getting hurt and ruining their plans but they could penalise Becky indirectly. Ironically I think her "steampunk" thing is the best "look" of all the Women other than Alexa... it's crying out for her and Marty Scurll with his plauge mask to be a duo tho.

 

[Spencesc11]

Yes they need to do the following as well

1) Release Ziggler & Neville (they are more trouble than worth right now)
2) Send The Revival, The Ascension, & Apollo Crews back to NXT. Revival needs to get built back up after injuries and Crews needs repackaging. Ascension could help get new up and comers over down on NXT.
3) Call up McIntyre (Raw), Authors of Pain (Smackdown), & Ember Moon (Raw)
4) Package Bray Wyatt & Bo Dallas as a Tag Team
5) Reform the Lucha Dragons to (Raw)

 

[Aeon Mathix]

Out of everyone to release you release 2 women? Aren't these so called "divisions" lacking enough already? There has already been about 20 multi women matches on both shows because there are like 5 women on each show for two separate titles. Head scratching really. That's about the only reason I miss Summer Rae, not because I thought she was great but because both shows need more women and we don't want to raid NXT like crazy right now.

Nothing to be said about Emma. She has a point to starting the Revolution with her matches against Paige. They weren't quite as a good as the four horsewomen's matches, but they definitely made me take notice due to actually being treated like something worth while and not a piss break. Emma will find much success in a company that will use her a lot better and she will be back down the road in NXT once again for hopefully a better 2nd run.

Darren Young was approaching JTG legendary status of wondering how he still has a job for so long. Nexus was 2010? 7 years that guy lasted. Maybe the gay thing was a factor but for someone so incredibly average and uninteresting that's quite the stretch. I don't feel as bad for wrestlers getting let go as the Indy market is banging right now, but it still sucks for them losing their (or any wrestler's) dream job.

With that said I hope news will break of Dolph Ziggler relatively soon. I was watching old Raws and that guy has literally been here for over 10 years and is the exact same uninteresting wrestler as when I watched him against Mysterio, Bryan etc. Maybe he can finally request to be let go himself since he's complained every year about being held back but apparently likes the smell of money too much for his ego to get in the way otherwise he would have left long ago.