WWE, one of the few sports organizations still operating during the coronavirus pandemic, announced Wednesday that it was furloughing a portion of its workforce and releasing on-screen talent.
Among the more high-profile names let go were former world champion Kurt Angle, former tag team champions Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, former cruiserweight champion Lio Rush and former 24/7 champion Drake Maverick. WWE announced the cuts via a release on its website.
Lio Rush acknowledged his release in a tweet, writing “To all of my fellow co workers, whatever happens today or the remainder of this week….just know, we’re all going to be good.”
To all of my fellow co workers, whatever happens today or the remainder of this week….just know, we’re all going to be good. ?? Once a family, forever a family. #Wrestling
— Lio (@itsLioRush) April 15, 2020
Veterans Heath Slater, Curt Hawkins, Eric Young, EC3 and Aiden English were also released. Slater is a former four-time tag team champion, Hawkins is a former two-time tag champion, and EC3 was signed as a high-profile free agent in 2018 after two runs as the TNA heavyweight champion.
The furloughs are part of a financial restructuring that also includes reducing executives’ salaries and pausing construction of a new headquarters, the company said in a release. WWE said it expected the furloughs to be temporary.
Angle had not competed in the ring since losing at last year’s “Wrestlemania” but had made a few on-screen appearances since then.
Anderson and Gallows were highly featured leading into “WrestleMania” earlier this month and were part of the main event of the first night of “WrestleMania,” a Boneyard Match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles. Anderson and Gallows are longtime story-line teammates of Styles.
Rush was the WWE NXT Cruiserweight champion as recently as December. Maverick won the 24/7 title five times and had been a heavily featured act on television.
On Monday, WWE was deemed an “essential business” in Florida, allowing the company to resume live television shows from its Orlando training facility and Full Sail University in Winter Park.
Essential businesses that are supposed to remain open during Florida’s stay-at-home order include those in the health care, financial, energy, food, communications and transportation sectors. A spokesperson from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office told ESPN on Monday that such services were characterized as essential “because they are critical to Florida’s economy.”
WWE will run live shows without fans after several weeks of taped programming, a spokesperson confirmed to ESPN.
“We believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times,” WWE said in a statement Monday. “We are producing content on a closed set with only essential personnel in attendance following appropriate guidelines while taking additional precautions to ensure the health and wellness of our performers and staff. As a brand that has been woven into the fabric of society, WWE and its Superstars bring families together and deliver a sense of hope, determination and perseverance.”
WWE has three TV shows per week: “Raw” (USA Network) on Monday, “NXT” (USA) on Wednesday and “SmackDown” (Fox) on Friday.
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