Someone In TKO Reportedly Pushing WWE Away From Spooky Characters

TKO/WWE
Photo illustration in Canada - 18 Mar 2025 In this photo illustration, the TKO Group Holdings logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. Canada Copyright: xThomasxFullerx/xSOPAxImagesx TFSPI_18032025-5586
by Ishaan

In April, shortly after WrestleMania 42, TKO/WWE released over 20 wrestlers from their roster. This included popular names such as Zelina Vega, Aleister Black, members of The Wyatt Sicks, and more.

A fan asked PWInsider if there is a pattern in this release spree, considering a ton of wrestlers who portrayed a darker character in the company are no longer part of the roster.

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Someone In TKO Doesn’t Like Darker Characters

PWInsider couldn’t verify if there was a pattern here, but Mike Johnson did say that he heard a story that someone in TKO doesn’t like such spooky characters, which they believe is the reason why these wrestlers left WWE.

“I don’t know if there’s a pattern but I can tell you there’s been a story bouncing around among talents that someone in the TKO realm isn’t a fan of the darker characters and that’s been the blame placed on why The Wyatts, Aleister Black, Zelina, etc. were all cut.” 

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Someone also told them that The Undertaker coming out as The American Badass instead of as The Deadman is proof of this. Now, PWInsider couldn’t verify the accuracy of this story, but it has been recounted to him multiple times over the last week.

There has been a lot of speculation regarding what’s next for these wrestlers. Aleister Black, who has previously worked for AEW, could return to Tony Khan’s promotion in the future, but there have been reports that people in that promotion aren’t too excited about it. During Black’s last stint with AEW, he reportedly refused to job at times.

 

There’s always a chance Black could return to the TKO-led WWE in the future, like the following wrestlers who were released and then brought back to the company within a year.

Also read: These Wrestlers Departed WWE Only To Return In Less Than A Year

WWE Released Over 20 Wrestlers In April 2026

List of the WWE wrestlers who were released on April 24, 2026:

Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, Nikki Cross, Santos Escobar, Andre Chase, Dante Chen, Apollo Crews, Bo Dallas, Dexter Lumis, Kairi Sane, Zoey Stark, Luca Crusifino, Malik Blade, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Chris Island, Sirena Linton, Trill London, Alba Fyre, Tyra Mae Steele, Tyriek Igwe, Tyson Dupont, Erick Rowan, and Joe Gacy.

Main image credit: Imago