Matt Cardona And More Former Superstars React To WWE Releases

Over the last few years mass WWE releases became quite common and a number familiar faces were let go. It seemed that things calmed down for a while, but today another round of releases was revealed when it was reported that Dolph Ziggler, Elias, Shelton Benjamin and several other wrestlers had been let go.

Matt Cardona previously wrestled in WWE as Zack Ryder until he was released in 2020. Cardona has since reinvented himself as one of the top stars on the independent circuit, and he made sure to try and provide a little inspiration to the released talents when he posted the following on X:

” TO THOSE WHO WERE JUST RELEASED

This can be the END of your career…

Or it can be the BEGINNING……

Look yourself in the mirror and decide.

I promise you the work and the MONEY is out there.

It’s not easy. It’s a grind. It’s a hustle. It’s frustrating…

But it also can be incredibly rewarding (in more ways than one) IF YOU WORK YOUR F****NG A** OFF!

I hope to see a lot of you down the road.”

Steph De Lander previously competed in WWE as Persia Perotta before she was released in 2022. Since then she’s gone on to find success elsewhere and she reminded other talents of that fact when she posted an inspirational message on social media.

“Getting released by WWE can be the best thing or the worst thing to happen to your career. The choice is yours & my success proves that.”

Mike Bennett was released from WWE in 2020 and he went on to return to ROH and Impact Wrestling. Bennett officially joined AEW in October of 2022, and he’s currently involved in one of the company’s top storylines involving himself, Matt Taven, Roderick Strong, MJF and Adam Cole. Bennett showed his support for the released Superstars when he posted the following:

“Today can be the worst day of your life or it can be the day everything changed. Today can be the finish line or it can be the starting line. It’s all up to you. Remember that phone call, but don’t let it define you. Your talent and your value is not determined by one person or company. Put your head down. Ignore everything you hear. And just get back to work. Immediately getting to work on the next thing in your life is a great way to deal with the emotional roller coaster you are inevitably going to feel. You can’t control what just happened but you absolutely can control how you respond to it. It’s Day 1, but you’re not starting over. You have new knowledge and experience and equity that you’ve built over the years. It’s Day 1 of the next phase of your life.

I love y’all.”

Stay tuned for more updates on WWE releases as they become available.