Shotzi's WWE Contract Reportedly Not Renewed Amid Strowman, Baszler, More Releases
Shotzi is reportedly set to depart WWE once her current contract with the company expires.
Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp reported the news Saturday, adding that it was an "expected move" from Shotzi's perspective.
Sapp previously reported that several other WWE main roster and NXT Superstars were released from their contracts on Friday and Saturday. Braun Strowman, Shayna Baszler and Dakota Kai were among the biggest names to get cut.
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance were reportedly released from the main roster as well, as were Cora Jade, Gigi Dolin, Eddy Thorpe, Oro Mensah, Riley Osborne, Javier Bernal, Wolfgang, Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, Jakara Jackson and Dani Palmer from NXT.
On Thursday, Shotzi posted a promo on X, which led to speculation that she was perhaps on the verge of leaving WWE:
Once Sapp reported Saturday that Shotzi's time in WWE is indeed coming to an end, she posted the following message on her X account:
Shotzi, 33, first signed with WWE in 2019 on the heels of a successful run on the independent scene under the name Shotzi Blackheart.
She was part of NXT from 2019 to 2021, holding the now-defunct NXT Women's Tag Team Championships on one occasion with Ember Moon.
Shotzi got called up to the main roster in 2021, enjoying sporadic success amid inconsistent usage. She suffered a torn ACL in February 2024, causing her to miss about 10 months of action.
When Shotzi returned in December, she did so in NXT and formed a stable with Dolin and Tatum Paxley.
Shotzi was in the corner of Dolin and Paxley when they won a Fatal 4-Way tag team match on the pre-show for NXT Stand & Deliver during WrestleMania 41 weekend, but both Shotzi and Dolin are now gone from WWE.
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Triple H Has Entered a New—less Kind—era as Head WWE Booker
One could feel the backlash brewing before WrestleMania 41—and we’re not talking about the the upcoming Backlash PLE.
No, the backlash to Triple H’s run at the head of creative for WWE has been simmering to a boil for a while now. The breakpoint occurred just before ‘Mania itself when interviews around the event seemed more tense than usual in the wake of big issues, such as the lackluster build around John Cena’s heel turn.
Things are only getting worse and it has made one thing clear—the honeymoon phase Triple H enjoyed is way over.
It’s bad enough that things already felt like WWE was heading for an offseason of sorts. Cody Rhodes appears to be on a hiatus after his loss to Cena who, though understandable, is something of a part-time champion. Roman Reigns appears to be on a break for the foreseeable future, too.
Normally, fans forgive those breaks from top names though—most sensible fans agree WWE is silly for not better mimicking a real sport and having offseasons so wrestlers can rest and lead somewhat normal lives, anyway.
But also normally, the gap after ‘Mania usually gets some good stories and chances for other names to shine.
What fans have seen so far this year, though, hasn’t provided much in the way of encouragement.
The tag-team scene, for example, is a trainwreck. The women’s tag scene just hot potatoe’d titles around ‘Mania and the night after to…set up a Becky Lynch solo feud apparently aimed at propping up another mid-tier women’s title. Liv Morgan, one of those caught in the crossfire, could be on a hiatus soon while holding a title, too.
On the men’s side, New Day got just over nine minutes on Night 1 of ‘Mania. That was still somehow better than The Street Profits, who didn’t even get a spot on the show.
As far as singles titles go, Jey Uso’s big win over Gunther at ‘Mania was hamstrung by a mediocre build derailed as soon as it started because it was a Raw retread. The feud between Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair just got straight-up weird in many ways and seems to have stunted momentum for the champion, too.
Then there’s the Cena-Rhodes fallout. It was always going to be hard for Triple H and Co. to meet decades-long expectations around a Cena heel turn. But what they offered up was so bland that it’s hard to wonder if fans didn’t have better ideas.
It’s worth wondering, of course, how much The Rock’s involvement or lack thereof ruined things. Because his awkward writing himself out of storylines, then re-inserting himself in Cena’s heel turn, just to not show up alongside Travis Scott in the main event of ‘Mania just stinks.
Rock’s interviews before and after ‘Mania and internet spats about the business side of wrestling and what’s real and fake have done more harm than good, too. If it’s an attempt at a character for a storyline, it’s backfiring hard, even with some casual fans.
Make no mistake, WWE is eating good right now. These problems aren’t necessarily reflected in programming ratings or show attendance yet. But they tend to happen on a delay and when they hit, they hit hard.
The fact ‘Mania felt like a bottom-half showing in the storied event’s history is a big red flag flapping in the wind, considering the headline act was Cena’s heel turn. One shudders to think what it looks like without that carrying along a middling card.
Again, the fact that we’re talking about the main event of Mania as a flop and where it might rank on the all-time worst ‘Mania main event lists is a shocking development, given what the Triple H era has accomplished so far.
It’s all a shame, too, because when WWE hit on its resurgence under Triple H, it felt like a motivated response to fend off competition. AEW hit on a massive downturn at the same time. Now, it feels like the scales are tipping a little bit more to even out—which wouldn’t happen if there weren’t so many self-inflicted wounds by the much bigger company.
The Triple H era no longer enjoys the honeymoon phase in a post-Vince world, but that’s not all that’s at work here. There are bright spots, like the Seth Rollins stable. But that can only do so much of the heavy lifting when so much else is obviously wrong across the roster.
And again, testy, if not defiant interviews from Triple H and others around ‘Mania season haven't helped. The angry reactions are a warning sign to WWE because what they fear the most in the pro wrestling business could come next—straight-up indifference.
Given what fans have seen from these creative forces in the past, this is usually the time of year good stories and fan favorites get moments to shine. That can still happen, but it’s clear fan patience and willingness to hand out benefits of the doubt are over.
If WWE doesn’t respond to this less kind environment accordingly, things could devolve into dubbing it a new era with a to-be-determined name—and it wouldn’t be a nice one.
Braun Strowman, Shayna Baszler, Dakota Kai Reportedly Among WWE Roster Releases
Braun Strowman, Shayna Baszler and Dakota Kai are among the list of professional wrestlers that WWE has released on Friday, per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com.
The news dropped one day after a PW Insider Elite report (h/t Olivia Quinlan of Wrestling Inc.) stated that 10-12 WWE staff members were released, with the caveat that the exact number was unknown at that time.
Quinlan added: "Among the departments who were affected by the releases were the photography and creative services, but it remains to be seen if any wrestlers or on-screen personnel were included as part of the list of releases."
That list included Senior Vice President of Creative Writing Operations Christine Lubrano, who was with the company for more than four years.
As far as the WWE Superstar talent goes, it appears Cora Jade, Eddy Thorpe and Riley Osborne were released as well.
Gigi Dolin has also been released, per Sapp.
Strowman is obviously a big release given his status as an ex-Universal champion, Intercontinental champion and two-time Raw Tag Team champion.
The 41-year-old made his main roster debut in 2015 and stayed with the company until 2021, when he was released. He went to Ring of Honor but returned to WWE in 2022.
He remained with the company for three more years, with his last match occurring on April 4, when he fell to Jacob Fatu in a Last Man Standing match to determine the No. 1 contender for LA Knight's WWE United States Championship.
Elsewhere on the list of releases, Baszler is an accomplished mixed martial artist who went 15-11 during her career and notably became the FCF Women's Bantamweight Grand Prix Champion.
Baszler was a two-time NXT women's champion and three-time WWE women's tag team champion, twice with Nia Jax and once with Ronda Rousey.
Dakota Kai was also a two-time WWE women's tag team champion, earning the accomplishment with current Women's World champion Iyo Sky. She also starred in NXT, winning the tag team belts twice with Raquel González and claiming victory at the NXT Women's Championship Invitational in 2018.
Ultimately, those three are part of another talent exodus within the company after another one occurred in February, which saw eight different talents released, including Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and Sonya Deville.
WWE Crown Jewel 2025 Date Revealed; Latest Rumors on WWE Draft, Roman Reigns, CM Punk
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Crown Jewel Set for October in Australia
WWE announced Friday that the 2025 Crown Jewel premium live event will be held in Perth, Australia, later this year.
Crown Jewel will emanate from RAC Arena on Oct. 11, plus the same venue will host SmackDown on Oct. 10 and Raw on Oct. 13.
The first Crown Jewel event was held in 2018, and aside from 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been an annual show ever since.
However, Crown Jewel 2025 will break a trend, as every previous Crown Jewel took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Crown Jewel will mark the second WWE premium live event held in Perth since the start of 2024, as Perth played host to Elimination Chamber back in February 2024.
Australia's own Rhea Ripley headlined that show, beating Nia Jax in the main event to retain the Women's World Championship.
There is little doubt that Ripley will be featured heavily again at Crown Jewel, along with other Aussie Superstars such as Bronson Reed and Grayson Waller.
Date for 2025 WWE Draft Reportedly Unclear
The WWE Draft is reportedly still expected to happen this year, although the exact timing remains unknown.
According to WrestleVotes on Backstage Pass SK (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), a draft is expected, but no date has been announced publicly or internally, the WWE's busy calendar may be a big reason why.
WrestleVotes noted that Backlash is scheduled for next weekend, followed by Saturday Night's Main Event two weeks later, Money in the Bank two weeks after that, a Saudi Arabia show three weeks later and a rumored Evolution all-women's show the following week.
Things are reportedly expected to "calm down" before the two-night SummerSlam on Aug. 2 and 3, which suggests there could be an opening to do the draft in July.
The WWE Draft has been held every year since 2016 with the exception of 2022, but the dates have been all over the place.
From 2019 to 2021, the draft took place in October, but it began in April each of the past two years.
An April draft typically makes sense due to the fact that it is after WrestleMania and around the same time as the NFL draft, but April has come and gone and WWE has given no indication that the draft will happen in the immediate future.
Still, since the draft is a great way to reset the Raw and SmackDown rosters, there is reason to believe it is going to happen at some point this year.
WWE Reportedly Planning Reigns, Punk Tag Team Match
After getting attacked by Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker, there are reportedly plans in place for Roman Reigns and CM Punk to team up in the near future.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Carrier), WWE is reportedly aiming to book Reigns and Punk against Rollins and Breakker eventually.
Meltzer noted that they don't want to rush the match and it won't happen next weekend at Backlash, but it could occur at either Money in the Bank on June 7 or SummerSlam on Aug. 2 and 3.
At WrestleMania 41, Reigns, Punk and Rollins clashed in a Triple Threat match that featured a shocking ending, as Paul Heyman turned on Reigns and Punk, helping Rollins win.
After Rollins attacked Punk two nights later on Raw, it was revealed that Breakker was working with Rollins and Heyman, as he saved Heyman by hitting Reigns with a spear.
Neither Punk nor Reigns were on this week's Raw, as Rollins and Breakker were instead confronted by Sami Zayn.
Rollins offered Zayn the opportunity to go to SmackDown, but when Zayn refused, he had to face Breakker, who defeated Zayn and attacked him afterward.
With Rollins and Breakker running roughshod over Raw, it will be a huge moment when Reigns and Punk return to confront them.
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Iyo Sky and the 3 Most Pleasant Surprises from WWE This Year
WWE can be a bit predictable sometimes, but WrestleMania season still delivers star-making moments and hidden gems.
Pro wrestling fans pride themselves on how much arbitrary trivia they can remember or how knowledgeable they are about backstage happenings. This frequently cynical fanbase tries to predict every outcome and booking for our favorite storylines and wrestlers.
Honestly, it's hard for longtime viewers not to feel like we've seen it all before, or point out tell-tale signs of where we think a match or story is going. Most of us do this without a second thought because we're so overconfident in our understanding of this absurd pastime.
So much so that it's nice when WWE genuinely surprises us again with a well-executed plot twist or unexpected outcome. When the audience assumes the worst or grows too impatient, it's also exciting to see the right character change or in-ring style click for a wrestler we underestimated.
With this in mind, these are three of the most pleasant surprises from WWE so far this year. Let us know what you've enjoyed more than expected in the comments section.
Naomi
Naomi’s recent heel turn has been incredibly entertaining, and she’s clearly having so much fun with it.
The former women's tag team champion has some of the most passionate fans online. They have been waiting for a meaningful storyline since she returned to WWE last January.
During her appearance on The Ringer's Masked Man Show, the 15-year veteran said she has worked her whole career for a moment and a story like this. So, it has been refreshing to see her finally get the opportunity to prove she can cut promos and showcase her acting chops.
Her feud with Jade Cargill kicked off Elimination Chamber on March 1 and became one of the most consistent storylines throughout the road to WrestleMania 41.
In fact, the two earned a spot on the card in the first non-title women's match at the event since 2006.
Naomi’s creativity, character work and social media presence have been the highlight of this rivalry since she revealed she attacked Cargill.
WWE Tag Team Title TLC Match
The Street Profits vs. The Motor City Machine Guns vs. DIY delivered an instant classic in the main event of the April 25 episode of SmackDown.
This WWE tag team title match was nearly 23 minutes of nonstop action and enough inventive spots to keep the most hardcore fans on the edge of their seats.
Don't be surprised if it ends up on many lists as a match-of-the-year candidate.
It's a shame the first Table, Ladders and Chairs match since 2020 didn't take place on The Grandest Stage of Them All. WWE has been building toward this showdown since the Royal Rumble, and the payoff belonged on the card.
Edge and Christian, The Dudleys and The Hardy Boyz famously tore the house down at WrestleMania 17. This would have marked a fitting return to the event where TLC 2 immortalized the three teams in 2001.
Nevertheless, this was the best iteration of this stipulation we've seen in years and an excellent showcase of three of the most talented tandems in the company.
Iyo Sky
Iyo Sky's current run as WWE women's world champion has been the most pleasant surprise of the year so far.
The Japanese star has been one of the best wrestlers on the roster since last year. However, it was unclear how she would factor into WrestleMania 41 after she didn't win her qualifying match for the women's Elimination Chamber match.
Who could have guessed she would defeat Rhea Ripley for the women's world title on the March 3 episode of Raw and successfully defend it against her and Bianca Belair a few weeks later at The Showcase of the Immortals?
Even more, the critically acclaimed Triple Threat was the best match of the two-night event.
Longtime fans of The Genius of the Sky already knew she could compete at such a high level due to her time as the ace of Stardom. Still, wrestlers from Japan don't always transition this well to mainstream television.
As Shinsuke Nakamura noted, Sky was the first Japanese wrestler to win on the main card at WrestleMania in 27 years. The reactions from her peers and her parents in the crowd made it the feel-good moment of the weekend, and she continues to live up to the hype that surrounded her signing in 2017.
WWE Is Finding New Ways to Capitalize on the Booming Business of Pro Wrestling
The way wrestling is consumed is constantly evolving, as is the way WWE delivers it.
As the company builds more and more momentum in the newest era spearheaded by Triple H, it has run into a real problem: Not every Superstar can be represented at WrestleMania—WWE's premier premium live event—with some being forced to miss it altogether.
Although this is an annual occurrence with The Show of Shows, it has never been more apparent than now, with the roster being the most stacked it's been in many years. Even with the event expanding to two nights starting in 2020, there is a finite number of spots for WWE's top talent.
WrestleMania 41, emanating from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 19 and 20, proved to be a prime example of this.
The Show of Shows featured its fair share of sleepers and stinkers, as well as monumental moments and poorly executed outcomes. Every installment does, but this one in particular stood out from the rest with the increased number of opportunities for Superstars to take part in branded matches, at least compared to the past.
Even something as simple as logos on the ring mat was frowned upon by the previous regime, but it has since been encouraged by WWE's new ownership, TKO. They've become especially prevalent on Raw on Netflix and PLEs.
At the end of the day, these branded deals generate additional revenue for WWE, and when executed correctly, they can also help wrestlers gain more exposure.
Clash of Clans was one of the leading sponsors of this year's 'Mania in Sin City, specifically for the World Tag Team Championship bout between The War Raiders and The New Day.
For a match with such minimal buildup going into it, the incorporation of the Clash of Clans partnership earned them a spot on the WrestleMania lineup they may not have had otherwise.
The two talented tandems seized the opportunity to have a quality contest and deliver a WrestleMania-worthy title change, with The New Day taking home the titles.
The successful mobile game has over two billion lifetime downloads and boasts the likes of Rhea Ripley as "Archer Queen," The Undertaker as "Grand Warden" and Rey Mysterio as "Minion Prince," among others.
It's yet another opportunity for WWE's most popular performers to break further into the mainstream and be immortalized as iconic personalities in the gaming realm.
WWE Brand Continues to Expand
It's a collaboration that only makes sense, given WWE's long-standing history with Clash of Clans over the last decade-plus, including its association with John Cena.
"John Cena used to say, 'Make sure to get your attacks in, they better be good!'" former WWE champion Big E said about his experience with Clash of Clans.
"It was a big part of our travels. We used it to connect, we built a community around it. [Actor] Stephen Amell was a part of it. We had this big WhatsApp group chat over it. For us, we need distractions on the road because we all travel, and this game that we all love and some of us have poured six figures into...it's just really cool."
Cody Rhodes, who just headlined his fourth WrestleMania against Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship, has quickly become a heavily played Superstar in the game with over 50 million total raid attempts on his base and has seen his stock soar outside of the squared circle in the past three years.
"Now I'm watching these Clash commercials with Cody and seeing him play as OverloadRhodes, that was his name years ago, when he was still Stardust," Big E said. "It's so weirdly full circle. It's a nerdy pursuit of ours that we're all obsessed with."
Perhaps the most surprising inclusion in the app game is Jey Uso, now known to Clash of Clans regulars as "Thrower." Although his "YEETer" troop has already been deployed in 212 million battles, the tag team specialist reaching such larger-than-life status would have been unfathomable just a few years ago.
"I'm just taking it all in as it comes," Uso said. "I never thought I'd be any kind of character in any kind of game because we're so used to creating ourselves. It's cool to be a character in the Clash of Clans game, for sure... I think my character has been played the most, I heard, so YEETers are number one."
It's appropriate Uso and Rhodes find themselves at the forefront of the Clash campaign now they're positioned as two of the top fan favorites in WWE coming out of WrestleMania 41.
"I've spent years building my legacy in WWE, but it's time for fans to know where I've landed most of my victories, in Clash of Clans," Rhodes said. "As OverlordRhodes, I don't defend, I conquer. Villages will fall, and any opposition will be crushed under my command. This isn't about playing fair in the ring, it's about ruling the battlefield."
WWE Learning from Past Mistakes with Sponsored Matches
Clash of Clans' product placement during WrestleMania's world tag team title bout was far more subtle and harmless than WWE's previous efforts at holding sponsored matches on PLEs.
Among the first—and arguably most egregious—instances came at WrestleMania Backlash in 2021 when Damian Priest and The Miz met in a Zombie Lumberjack match, serving as a promotional tie-in for Netflix's Army of the Dead film.
Actors portraying zombies surrounded the ring and the Superstars were instructed to act scared of them. Despite Priest picking up the victory, the stunt nearly killed his aura and ruined what was shaping up to be an entertaining event.
Bray Wyatt and LA Knight then battled in what was billed as a Mountain Dew Pitch Black match at the 2023 Royal Rumble.
The bout was designed to promote the return of Mountain Dew's Pitch Black flavors. The rules weren't quite clear until showtime, when it was announced that it would be contested under black lighting with no disqualifications.
Even at only five minutes long, the Mountain Dew Pitch Black match was regarded as one of WWE's biggest flops in 2023, and the company was wise to avoid following that formula with future sponsored contests.
That was evident mere months later when Rey and Dominik Mysterio culminated their seven-month storyline in a highly anticipated outing sponsored by Cinnamon Toast Crunch at WrestleMania 39.
Beyond the branding on the turnbuckle posts and around ringside, the sponsorship hardly took away from the in-ring action, which ultimately went down as one of the weekend's most memorable show-stealers.
Now, it's nothing out of the ordinary for WWE matches to be backed by sponsors, as seen on the rest of the WrestleMania 41 card.
In addition to the Clash of Clans theming during War Raiders vs. New Day, Drew McIntyre had a Doom: The Dark Ages-inspired entrance for his Sin City Street Fight with Priest. Dominik Mysterio was sponsored by personal care brand Dude Wipes later in the night before winning the Intercontinental Championship, a moment that will forever be synonymous with the men's disposable wipe product.
Consequently, all of these tactics are translating to big business for the company.
According to WWE, WrestleMania 41 featured 28 partners, setting a new all-time event record for revenue. The show was also the most-viewed ever, up 114 percent from last year's installment, meaning there were more eyes on these sponsored matches, the wrestlers involved and the product itself than at any other point in the promotion's history.
WWE's status as a world-renowned entity has never been questioned, but the buzz around the on-air product has certainly fluctuated over the years, depending on various factors, including talent, storylines, and the strategic incorporation of pop culture elements when necessary.
TKO has discovered that WWE can't operate on its own. Partnering with other established brands and approaching each mutually beneficial promotion with creativity are the keys to boosting brand awareness for all parties.
The New Day vs. The War Raiders match, featuring Clash of Clans as one of many sponsored contests across the card at WrestleMania, was just a small taste of what fans should become accustomed to going forward.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.