WWE has conducted a significant round of releases just days after WrestleMania 42, with the list of departures ultimately encompassing the entire Wyatt Sicks stable and several other notable performers. Bryan Alvarez initially reported the releases on Friday afternoon, with Fightful Select‘s Sean Ross Sapp subsequently confirming additional names that brought the total to a significant post-WrestleMania cull.
The confirmed releases are Nikki Cross, Zoey Stark, Alba Fyre, Joe Gacy, Uncle Howdy (Bo Dallas), Andre Chase, Dexter Lumis, and Erik Rowan. The addition of Lumis and Rowan — confirmed by Sapp — means that the entire Wyatt Sicks faction has been released from WWE. Alvarez noted at the time of the initial report that “the list of releases is expected to be fairly big, unfortunately,” suggesting additional names could follow.
Stark’s release is particularly notable given the circumstances — she had been sidelined since suffering a knee injury during a Money in the Bank qualifying match on Raw last year and had been cleared medically prior to being let go. Both Fightful and Alvarez confirmed she was healthy before receiving her release.
Alba Fyre, Nikki Cross, and Joe Gacy All Responded to Their WWE Releases on Social Media
Several of the released performers moved quickly to respond on social media with reactions that ranged from warmly reflective to pointedly humorous. Alba Fyre — formerly Kay Lee Ray — wrote: “Kay Lee Ray would batter Alba Fyre. Just saying….” — a characteristically sharp line that immediately had fans speculating about which name she might compete under going forward. Nikki Cross took a more heartfelt approach, thanking WWE, William Regal, Robbie Brookside, and others for her time in the company. Joe Gacy delivered perhaps the most concise response of the group — a peace sign emoji and the word “lol.”
The wholesale release of the Wyatt Sicks — the faction built around Bo Dallas’s Uncle Howdy character as a tribute to his late brother Bray Wyatt — marks the end of a chapter that had been one of WWE‘s more emotionally resonant creative endeavors in recent years. The post-WrestleMania release period is traditionally one of the more active windows for WWE roster moves, with the company reassessing its talent needs heading into a new television and pay-per-view cycle.
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