WWE faced criticism for a ‘tone deaf’ segment after letting go of over 20 superstars.
WWE fans were upset after a segment on Monday Night Raw seemed out of touch, especially after the company recently let go of many wrestlers. After WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, WWE released over 20 wrestlers by not renewing or canceling their contracts. This tough move has become a yearly thing after WrestleMania, with stars from Raw, SmackDown, and NXT moving on to new opportunities.
The big news came out over the weekend, revealing that the whole Wyatt Sicks group—Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis, Nikki Cross, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy)—along with the Motor City Machine Guns, Kairi Sane, Zoey Stark, Apollo Crews, Santos Escobar, Zelina, and Aleister Black, were all part of the big releases.
Raw went on as usual at the Sames Auto Arena in Laredo, Texas, and featured Joe Hendry’s official debut. He started things with a live concert in the ring and joked about Logan Paul. He sang the line, “Can we fire Logan Paul?” with the crowd cheering along.
This funny moment led to Logan Paul and his tag partner Austin Theory rushing to the ring, but Hendry was supported by the Street Profits. However, some fans didn’t like the joke about firing someone right after so many wrestlers had lost their jobs.
One fan wrote on X, “Ah yes, a segment about firing people just two days after more than 15 wrestlers were released. This company is really out of touch.” Another said, “It would have been okay if this segment happened at a different time.” A third commented, “Joking about firing someone just days after firing over 20 wrestlers? WWE, stay classy!” Someone else added, “A segment about firing people only three days after mass firings? That’s tone deaf.”
Usually, wrestlers who are released have to wait 90 days before working elsewhere, and those from NXT have a 30-day wait. Wrestlers whose contracts simply end can start free agency immediately.
Many WWE stars shared their sadness about the situation, which is believed to be a move to make space for new signings, according to Fightful. The decisions were made by top people like Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, WWE’s President Nick Khan, and the talent relations team.