Several WWE stars in danger of being released
Posted by Sushi X on 04/22/2009 at 05:42 PM

Zack Ryder, who was sent to ECW in the Supplemental Draft last week, is not expected to get much a chance to shine on his new brand, reports the Wrestling Observer. You can add the former WWE Tag Team Champion to the list of those who are likely in danger of being let go in the near future.

Here is our report from last week detailing those expected to be let go:

Expect some talent cuts to be made in the near future now that everyone has been sorted following this week's drafts — not to mention a likely lackluster company earnings report on the horizon. Following the aftermath of the two drafts, three wrestlers in particular appear to very much in danger of being "future endeavored" in the near future.

As noted in an earlier report, ECW wrestler DJ Gabriel's future is said to be very much in doubt following the departure of his manager Alicia Fox to SmackDown in the Supplemental Draft. Fox's move to SmackDown may have been the death knell on his character as he was having enough trouble finding television time as it is when he was partnered with her. His push was nixed a while ago after he failed to generate any semblance of a connection with the audience following numerous television matches. Gabriel has not competed in a singles match on ECW on Sci Fi since March 10, 2009.

Another wrestler on the endangered species list comes in the form of SmackDown star Curt Hawkins following his tag partner Zack Ryder's departure to ECW in the Supplemental Draft. Ryder is more regarded by company officials, which is why he got the nod for a fresh new start and possible singles push on ECW. Hawkins is now left to fend for himself on SmackDown and things don't look good for him to say the least.

A third wrestler to watch out for is SmackDown wrestler Jesse following the departure of his trusty tag partner Festus to the Raw brand in the Supplemental Draft. Jesse has yet to even garner a singles win on WWE television, which should be a good indication of his future prospects in the company — or lack thereof. Of course, Jesse is the son of legendary wrestler Terry Gordy of the Fabulous Freebirds, who head SmackDown creative team writer and fellow Freebird Michael Hayes fondly remembers. Hayes is perhaps the second generation wrestler's lone saving grace as he has a lot of pull in the company and can put a good word in for him. However, in these trying times when the company is looking to cut costs wherever, Hayes probably won't have enough pull to ultimately save his job. On another note, he was the main person behind Jesse and Festus getting called up to the SmackDown roster in the summer of 2007.

The time frame to look for talent cuts is mid-May as that is when WWE will be releasing their next financial quarterly report. By all indications, this will likely wind up as their worst report in quite some time as pay-per-view buys — the company's biggest revenue source — have declined at a frightening pace in recent months. The decline was capped off by the worst figure for the Royal Rumble in twelve years, and this year's WrestleMania appears in line to underperform as well as the company opted not to release the direct numbers for the show. This would be the first year WWE has done a post-Wrestlemania business report, bringing up pay-per-view, without mentioning a buys number, which should be a good indication that the number was low enough that they didn't want it out. WWE's cost-cutting measures are at their highest immediately following a financial quarterly report — especially when a lackluster report comes into play — and it's pretty much a lock that the company will not have much to crow about in the report coming out in a few weeks.