The list of cut WWE superstars includes a former WWE champion, and his comments call into question whether he was fired or quit.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has terminated the working contracts of five wrestlers from its roster of superstars, including former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (real name Yuvraj Singh Dhesi) and his two companions from the all-Indian-descent faction Indus Sher. Mahal became the 50th man to hold the title of WWE Champion on May 21, 2017, and is also the first wrestler of Indian descent to win that title.
Mahal is by far the biggest name on this list and the wrestler with the longest tenure with WWE. Mahal, as he first began appearing on WWE televised programming in 2011, had been with WWE under his second contract run, and recently returned to televised appearances on January 1 at Raw Day One, where he cut a promo feuding with a recently returned The Rock that drew a huge reaction from the crowd in attendance and on social media. However, in the months to come, his appearances would be less and less frequent, as would those of his Indus Sher teammates, who were also removed from the company roster.
The other wrestlers cut from the WWE roster are Sanga (Saurav Gurjar), Veer Mahan (Rinku Singh), Xia Li (Zhao Xia), and Xyon Quinn (former Australian rugby player Daniel Vidot). Veer and Sanga had been mainly operating as a tag team prior to their release, with Mahal serving as their third faction member, manager, and on-the-mic representative. As Li was the first to announce her departure, the original source of this news comes from Diva Dirt, with Mahal and Quinn's released later being first reported by 411Mania and Veer and Sanga being added to the list as time progressed.
List of Superstars Leaving WWE
- Jinder Mahal
- Veer Mahan
- Sanga
- Xia Li
- Xyon Quinn
Questions remain whether Mahal's departure from WWE was decided by management or if he left of his own accord. Posting on his Twitter account, Mahal claimed on Friday night "I Quit. Maharaja Out," with an emoji symbolizing a bag of money. This statement has also led some fans on social media to believe that Mahal may be heading to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), which is WWE's biggest competitor and a frequent destination for its departing superstars like Percy Jackson star Adam Copeland, formerly known as Edge. It is also possible that he quit in protest of his colleagues being cut from the company.
As for the other two recent cuts, Li seemed to reach the apex of her WWE career in 2023 while feuding with Becky Lynch in an unsuccessful bid to win the NXT Women's Championship, and her last major match came in February, when she failed to win a battle royale to secure a spot in the women's Elimination Chamber match at the premium live event of the same name. Quinn had been under contract with WWE since 2018 but didn't make his NXT debut until 2020. He eventually made his way to the main roster in April 2023 as a free agent not tied to either Raw nor Smackdown, and he wrestled his final televised match for WWE on March 1. Of the wrestlers released, Quinn is the only one not playable in the roster of WWE 2K24.
