Updated: John Morrison, Hit Row And Other WWE Stars Released

WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis sent out an email this evening stating that Hit Row (Top Dolla, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott & Ashante "Thee" Adonis), John Morrison, Tegan Nox, Drake Maverick, Shane Thorne and Jaxson Ryker were released, Wrestling Inc. has learned.

The cuts were described as "budgetary."

This is the second round of WWE releases this month. On November 4th, WWE released 18 talents including Keith Lee, Nia Jax, Karrion Kross, Eva Marie, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Scarlett Boudreaux, Oney Lorcan and Ember Moon.

Hit Row debuted on the main roster this past October, alongside B-Fab. B-Fab was one of the talents released by the company earlier this month.

John Morrison re-signed with WWE in 2019 following an eight-year absence. He was paired with the Miz during that time, and the duo faced Bad Bunny and Damian Priest in a featured match at WrestleMania 37 earlier this year. The Miz turned on Morrison this past August, however, the two never had a chance to wrestle as Miz was announced as a contestant for Dancing With The Stars. Morrison's wife, Taya Valkyrie (f.k.a. Franky Monet) was released earlier this month.

Tegan Nox signed with WWE, and had just made her main roster debut this past July in a tag team with Shotzi Blackheart as simply Shotzi & Nox. The team was used sporadically before Nox was drafted to the RAW brand last month while Shotzi remained on SmackDown.

Drake Maverick signed with WWE in 2017 and was immediately named the General Manager of 205 Live. He had since appeared mostly on 205 Live and WWE NXT, although he did have stints on the main roster, most recently vying for the 24/7 championship. He was actually released in April of 2020, but he was signed to a new deal months later.

Jaxson Ryker signed with WWE in 2017 and was a member of the Forgotten Sons on the NXT brand. The stable made their debut on the WWE main roster in 2020, but the act was dropped after some controversial tweets from Ryker. Later that year, Ryker was paired with Elias before splitting up this past May. Ryker had mostly been wrestling on WWE Main Event lately.

Shane Thorne signed with WWE in 2016 in a tag team with Nick Miller dubbed TM-61. He was called to the main roster in March of 2020 as an associate of MVP, however that gimmick was quickly dropped. He was sent back to NXT before returning to the main roster that September as a member of Retribution as Slapjack. Retribution disbanded earlier this year, and he proceeded to mostly work dark matches since then, although he was a remember of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal this past April.

Below is the email from Laurinaitis, that Wrestling Inc. has obtained:

Due to budgetary cuts the following WWE talent were released today, November 18, 2021. John Morrison, Top Dolla, Ashante Adonis, Isaiah Swerve Scott, Tegan Nox, Drake Maverick, Shane Thorne, and Jaxson Ryker.

Thank you,
John Laurinaitis

More shortly.