WWE fans were left reeling at the departure of a string of performers as the company wielded the axe over the weekend.
Over the course of Friday and Saturday, reports emerged that a host of former champions, wrestlers and managers had been told their futures lay elsewhere as WWE switches up its roster.
News broke from Fightful in the US that sweeping changes were being made, the list of those exiting WWE arguably headlined by former two-time tag team champions The Good Brothers, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.
The latter, the outlet adds, has been let go despite still being in the midst of recovery from a long-term injury.
Other names moving on from WWE reportedly include another former tag team champions in Sonya Deville and Isla Dawn, while former Imperium member Giovanni Vinci also prepares for pastures new.
Blair Davenport, Cedric Alexander and The Authors of Pain are also noted as being moved on from WWE, though another name stands out as being most tenured performer of them all, 71-year-old veteran Paul Ellering.
Storied manager Ellering steered the on-screen careers of many a wrestling tag team, not least multi-time former WWE tag team champions Legion of Doom, their association dating back to the 1980s.
It was alongside LOD that Ellering, a largely menacing and brooding figure, shone as part of one of the most iconic entrances in WWE history at SummerSlam 1992 in front of over 80,000 at Wembley Stadium in London.
After two preliminary matches, it was LOD who were first to bring the crowd to their feet for the pay-per-view version of SummerSlam for its opening match, their battle with Ted DiBiase and IRS.
Before Hawk and Animal appeared, it was Ellering who cruised through the curtain first, all three riding motorcycles as the were roared on by the thrilled crowd who chanted emphatically for their heroes.
Ellering’s bike, leading the way, was adored by the team’s mascot, Rocco, a ventriloquist doll that remained with the manager for the duration of the match.
Sadly, though, while the epic entrance stands the test of time as one of the most spine-tingling moments of one of WWE’s highest profile shows, the match itself was marred in controversy after Hawk wrestled while battling drug addiction, his stumbling throughout the encounter forcing mass changes on the fly – and his eventual release by the company.
Nonetheless, Ellering’s tenure with Legion of Doom remains legendary. He had joined them In WWE earlier that year at WrestleMania having previously managed them across the world, later going on to tutor the Authors of Pain as their manager in NXT and the main roster.
In recent years, he’s been aligned with AOP – also released – and Karrion Kross, but his latest tenure with WWE is at an end, more then 30 years after his time there began.
Dawn, meanwhile, took to X to address her WWE departure, insisting she’ll be back in front of fans in 90 days – the standard period in which released wrestlers need to wait before being able to wrestle elsewhere.
She noted: “From NXT UKs White Witch to Raw’s Bad B**** To… ???. See you in 90.”
The 31-year-old’s most prominent WWE win came in 2024 when, alongside Alba Fyre, she won the tag titles in her home city of Glasgow at Clash at the Castle: Scotland.