On a day when CM Punk talking about AEW was the biggest pro wrestling news story of the day, some more unfortunate news came out about some of its performers later on Monday night.
As reported by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, a number of AEW wrestlers and some other talent have been released. Among the names that would be most familiar to regular Dynamite and Collison viewers were Anthony Henry of The Workhorsemen and Stu Grayson — the former Dark Order member who was in his second AEW stint after his initial contract expired in 2022.
Other releases that caught some fans online by surprise were The Boys, longtime partners of Dalton Castle. Ring announcer Dasha Gonzalez and manager Jose The Assistant (best known for his time as manager for Andrade El Idolo, who is now in WWE) were also among those whose contracts were terminated.
The full list of today’s releases is as follows:
- Anthony Henry
- Dasha Gonzalez
- Gravity
- Jora Johl
- Jose The Assistant
- Parker Boudreaux
- Slim J
- Stu Grayson
- The Boys
Sapp also noted that he was unsure whether there were other releases beyond this list or if more names would be forthcoming.
I've not heard of any other releases or if there will be more.
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) April 2, 2024
Along with messages of support and hope that the talent affected would land on their feet, social media posts expressed some dismay about what the releases would mean for ROH. The Boys and Henry worked most often on that brand.
I don't see what the goal is with ROH at this point. I really don't. Your champions are MIA unless you're within two weeks of a PPV, and when you (apparently) need to save money, you utterly gut the midcard. What are we doing? https://t.co/uoi7f6hj0Y
— Kyle Sparks of Bodyslam.Net (@kyleksparks) April 2, 2024
PWInsider also reported on the releases and added that the belief is that all affected would be “100% free agents immediately.”
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