Earlier today, WWE Superstar Cedric Alexander announced that he had been released from the company after almost nine years.
Thank you for the last 8 1/2 years!
Being a professional wrestler has been a dream of mine since I could form memories and I will continue to do so till the good Lord says otherwise. #SeeYouIn90
— PRIME Alexander (@CedricAlexander) February 8, 2025
This had fans speculating that this wouldn’t be the end of releases happening at WWE.
Turns out, they were correct.
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According to a report from Fightful Select, WWE has released a total of five Superstars: Cedric Alexander, Blair Davenport, and Authors of Pain, a tag team made up of Akam, Rezar, and WWE Hall of Famer Paul Ellering.
Additionally, Sonya Deville has been informed that WWE will not be renewing her contract.
Here are some more details on all of the WWE Superstars who have been released.
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Sonya Deville
Sonya Deville made her WWE debut in 2015 when she entered “WWE Tough Enough.” Although she was the third person eliminated, she eventually was given a contract and assigned to NXT.
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After spending some time in NXT, Deville joined Raw alongside Mandy Rose and Paige, creating the stable Absolution.
This isn’t the only team Deville would be a part of, winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship with Chelsea Green and forming Pure Fusion Collective with Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark.
Sonya Deville has been informed WWE will not be renewing her contract, @FightfulSelect can confirm.
She will be eligible for free agency upon it expiring, which we’re told is in a number of weeks. pic.twitter.com/QqA8JXmAHK
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) February 8, 2025
While other wrestlers have been released from their contracts, WWE is letting Deville’s contract expire, meaning she can join any promotion as soon as her contract ends.
Authors of Pain
Made up of Akam, Rezar, and their manager Paul Ellering, the Authors of Pain is a tag team that found a ton of success in NXT, where they won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2016 and later the NXT Tag Team Championship.
In 2019, AOP was moved to Raw where they would win the Raw Tag Team Championships and serve as the muscle for Seth Rollins.
After being released in 2020, AOP was re-signed in 2022 as part of The Final Testament, which was led by Karrion Kross and Scarlett.
However, Scarlett and Kross’ recent television appearances were missing AOP. Their last match was on Dec. 30, 2024.
Paul Ellering has had a long career in professional wrestling, dating back to 1977. While he spent a brief time as a wrestler, he is most well-remembered for his time managing Animal and Hawk, also known as the Road Warriors.
In 2011, Ellering and the Road Warriors were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Blair Davenport
Davenport made her debut as part of NXT UK and later joined NXT when the latter was disbanded. Unfortunately, any momentum she built up would be stopped by injury.
Davenport was drafted to SmackDown in 2024. However, she was rarely used and wrestled her last match on Nov. 22, 2024.
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Davenport is an incredibly talented wrestler and is expected to have multiple offers from international promotions.
Cedric Alexander
While Alexander announced his own departure from WWE, a new update has been provided regarding where he will go after his 90 day non-compete clause is up.
According to Fightful Select, sources at AEW are expecting Alexander to join Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and MVP as part of The Hurt Syndicate.
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