Ex-WWE Champion Reveals Status After Release
A former WWE talent is counting down the days until they can get back in the squared circle.
On Friday, April 24, the Stamford promotion released 20+ superstars from the roster across all brands. SmackDown suffered the most number of cuts, including an entire faction being axed.
Many fans were shocked by the prominent names that were featured on the list, some of whom were former title-holders.
One of these talents was Zoey Stark, who had been on the shelf since May 19. In a triple threat qualifying match for the Money in the Bank, Stark was pitted against Rhea Ripley and Kairi Sane.
During a spot involving a springboard attack, Stark awkwardly landed on the mat, injuring her knee, leading to her being taken out midway through the bout. She later confirmed that she had torn her ACL, MCL, and meniscus.
The 32-year-old wrestler constantly shared updates on her surgery and rehabilitation, and was even recently cleared to compete. However, WWE decided to give her the marching orders before she could make her return.
Stark, who is a former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion, is now serving a mandatory 90-day no-compete clause. While sharing a post on Instagram, she missed wrestling and could not wait to get back to in-ring competition, revealing she had 85 more days to go.
View this post on Instagram
Who Is Responsible For the 2026 WWE Release?
Since September 2023, TKO Group has been the owner of WWE after Vince McMahon decided to relinquish his hold over the family-owned wrestling promotion.
More recently, TKO had come under fire for inserting former NFL star Pat McAfee in an already-established storyline between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton.
The backlash was so severe that McAfee decided not to return after WrestleMania 42.
Ever since, fans have been questioning TKO’s involvement in WWE’s creative direction, considering Paul “Triple H” Levesque holds the creative reins.
Following the recent release, fans have speculated about the responsible party/parties. So, Fightful provided the answer, confirming that Triple H, WWE President Nick Khan, and Talent Relations were the ones who decided which wrestlers to let go.
Amid the release, the current company roster has also witnessed movement of talent between different brands. While several wrestlers from NXT were called to the main roster, some names from EVOLVE and ID Program made their debuts on NXT.