There have been a number of WWE departures already in 2026, following on from multiple notable exits in 2025.
Here are 15 recent WWE releases and departures, including all of those that have happened so far this year.
We wish everyone all the best for their futures.
15. Ava
A surprising WWE departure that was confirmed recently was that of Ava, the daughter of The Rock.
Ava, real name Simone Johnson, had been signed with WWE since early 2020 and debuted on TV in 2022 as a member of Joe Gacy’s Schism faction.
After just a couple of TV matches, Ava was moved into the role of NXT General Manager, a position she held for over two years before abruptly announcing her exit from WWE, which was her own decision when her contract expired and she decided not to re-sign.
There’s no concrete word on what she’s expected to do next outside of some talk that she could work for her parents’ company Seven Bucks Productions.
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14. Tatyanna Dumas
After the news of Ava’s WWE departure emerged, the Wrestling Observer reported that Tatyanna Dumas had been released shortly beforehand.
Dumas is Ava’s girlfriend and was a contestant on the first two seasons of WWE LFG.
She’d joined WWE after featuring on the Australian versions of Ninja Warrior and Gladiators.
Dumas has yet to publicly comment on her WWE release.
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13. Tommaso Ciampa
Tommaso Ciampa is one of the recent high-profile WWE departures, due in large part to what he’s already done since his exit.
Ciampa announced in January that his contract was set to come up and he would be leaving WWE.
Around the same time, he was quietly taken off TV and was no longer appearing alongside DIY tag team partner Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae.
Almost immediately after his departure, Ciampa signed with AEW and has already won the TNT Championship.
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12. Brinley Reece
Brinley Reece, real name Breanna Ruggiero, signed with WWE in 2022 after taking part in that year’s SummerSlam tryouts.
Over a year later, she made her NXT TV debut and was soon partnered with Edris Enofe and Malik Blade.
Due to injury issues to Enofe, Blade, and herself, Reece took extensive time off TV multiple times over.
In early January, she announced her departure from WWE and said it wasn’t an easy choice, but it was a necessary one.
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11. Kelly Kincaid
The most recent name to announce their departure from WWE is Kelly Kincaid.
Kincaid signed with WWE as an interviewer and ring announcer in 2022 after working on the indies and in ROH under the name Quinn McKay.
Announcing her WWE exit, she said her contract officially expires on February 14.
Kincaid later stated she wasn’t given the option to re-sign with the company.
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10. Andrade El Idolo
Andrade El Idolo is officially the first name to go from WWE to AEW back to WWE and then back to AEW again.
And it’s even more complicated than that due to the contractual issues with his AEW return and potential non-compete clause, which has all now been cleared up.
Andrade now finds himself in the hunt for the AEW World Championship as he faces Hangman Adam Page at Grand Slam Australia, with the winner challenging MJF at Revolution.
He also won the German Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Championship in Berlin this weekend, then retained it in Hannover the next night.
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9. Goldberg
Goldberg’s time with WWE came to an end last year, as he ended up as the first name of a growing list of careers ended by GUNTHER.
On the July 12, 2025 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event, GUNTHER retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg and retired the Hall of Famer in the process.
A few days after the match, Goldberg voiced his unhappiness with how his retirement was handled, both with the lack of a long build-up to the match and the fact his farewell speech was cut off after less than 30 seconds.
However, he did say he was happy with the match itself and enjoyed working with GUNTHER.
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8. R-Truth
R-Truth is a WWE departure that very nearly happened, but ultimately was overturned.
WWE was planning to let Truth’s contract expire last year, but after there was an uproar from fans and WWE talent, the company decided to re-sign him.
After a brief run as the more serious Ron Killings, it appears Truth has reverted back to the comedy character he had made his own for the past number of years.
He recently revealed that his contract was a four-year deal with a three-year option.
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7. Braun Strowman
One WWE star who departed the company but still had something of a presence months later was Braun Strowman.
Strowman was released by WWE for a second time in May 2025, but still had a show airing later in the year on USA Network.
Everything On The Menu With Braun Strowman aired directly after SmackDown for a few weeks, essentially replacing the third hour of SmackDown until it made its return when the show was finished.
The belief is that WWE will look to run a similar show in 2026 to cut down on SmackDown being three hours again.
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6. Santos Escobar
Santos Escobar officially exited WWE when his contract expired in October.
However, just a day later he actually re-signed with WWE on a reportedly big money deal.
He has yet to return to mainline WWE TV, but did appear on the first AAA on Fox show to confront Latin American Champion El Hijo De Dr Wagner Jr.
Escobar wore his father Fantasma’s mask, before unmasking and revealing himself. He previously wrestled in the mask as El Hijo Del Fantasma before signing with WWE in 2019.
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5. Scott Stanford
A long-tenured WWE broadcast personality, Scott Stanford left the company in 2025.
Stanford had been with WWE for 15 years and wore many hats, including at the announce table for a spell calling WWE Superstars alongside CM Punk.
He was also a regular host for pre-shows, post-shows and recap shows like Bottom Line, Afterburn and This Week In WWE.
Upon his departure, he received a standing ovation at WWE headquarters and kept the door open for a potential return to the company.
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4. Dakota Kai
A surprising name on the list of WWE releases last year was Dakota Kai.
Technically, it marked Kai’s second release from the company – the first came in April 2022 after which she returned a couple of months later at SummerSlam when Triple H took over creative and formed Damage CTRL.
Kai hasn’t wrestled since her May 2025 exit, but that’s about to change.
She returns to the ring under the name Charlie against Kris Statlander at Pro Wrestling EVE on March 8.
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3. Greg Miller
Greg Miller announced his WWE departure in March 2025.
Miller had been a host for some WWE digital shows like This Is Awesome, as well as the yearly roster reveals for the WWE 2K video games.
Despite his exit, Miller occasionally gets shoutouts from Michael Cole on commentary for his research and stats gathering, including as recently as the Royal Rumble.
He originally joined WWE in 2022.
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2. Haze Jameson
Haze Jameson, real name Hayley Montoya, featured on the second season of WWE LFG and had a few outings on Evolve.
On LFG, she was under the tutelage of Bubba Ray Dudley, who praised her even after her departure.
She was released on October 10, but recently announced that she’s rebranding under the name Pinky Montoya.
Her first post-WWE match will see her face Alfonso Gonzalez at Ego Pro Chicago on March 6.
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1. Ridge Holland
A WWE departure that ended up being particularly newsworthy was that of Ridge Holland in November.
After spending a year in NXT and a few months in Evolve, Holland suffered an injury working a match in TNA.
Shortly after that, his contract was coming up and WWE had told him it wouldn’t be renewed, which left him in a position where he’d be getting no income until he recovered from his injury and subsequent surgeries.
Holland had been with WWE since starting in NXT UK in 2018.
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