Dave Meltzer Assesses AEW Landscape In Wake Of Recent Releases

It's been an eventful week in the world of AEW, with one of the most notable pieces of news being the first-ever set of mass releases in the company's history. It was announced on April 1 that a total of 10 people under contract with AEW had been let go from the company. Stu Grayson, Gravity, Jora Johl, Dasha Fuentes, Slim J, Jose The Assistant, Parker Boudreaux, The Boys, and Anthony Henry were all let go in a move that shocked and upset many.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter wrote extensively about the decision to release people, stating that the AEW roster is so big that the idea of slimming it down makes sense, as none of the people who were cut will greatly affect the company. However, Meltzer noted that AEW President Tony Khan has said in the past that he is against letting people go from their contracts, opting instead to keep people under contract for the amount of time allotted to them so that they would still be getting paid, regardless of whether they are being used on TV. 

Meltzer stated this was a way to separate AEW from WWE, who have made numerous cuts in recent years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Khan stated in the ROH Supercard of Honor media call that the idea of the cuts was to keep an eye on the company's budget, as he wants to sign more free agents later in the year, meaning that releasing people does make sense from a business standpoint, but doesn't look great in the grand scheme of things. Khan has also rectified one of the releases, as he has confirmed that Anthony Henry will return to AEW and ROH once he is medically cleared, with Henry being let go while he was recovering from a broken jaw.