WWE cleaned house with a handful of releases earlier this week, and more could be coming in the near ... [+] future.

WWE made a handful of releases earlier this weekletting Sin Cara, Luke Harper and The Ascension go in one fell swoopbut that may just be the tip of the iceberg.

The company released a statement on WWE.com on December 8 announcing the quartet of releases, with the former two departures coming as no surprise. Luke Harper had been linked to a possible WWE exit for much of the year after the former Wyatt Family member took to social media to request his release in April only to have injury time added to his deal before ultimately being let go this week. Likewise, Sin Cara revealed on Twitter that he asked for his release last month, and at the time, it was reported that he likely wouldnt have his wish granted before WWE ultimately changed course.

WWE has come to terms on the releases of Jonathan Huber (Luke Harper), Sin Cara and Ryan Parmeter(Konnor)and Eric Thompson (Viktor) of The Ascension.WWE wishes themall the best in theirfuture endeavors.

For most of 2019 and even in previous years, WWE had typically avoided releasing superstars in large part due to internal fear that theyd end up in All Elite Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling or another one of WWEs biggest competitors. But earlier this year as more and more superstars wanted out of WWE due to the lure of AEW, those within WWE began debating whether or not to let those superstars go, with some pushing for WWE to release disgruntled stars who probably wouldnt make a huge impact in AEW (or elsewhere) while others maintained that WWE shouldnt let any superstar get awayno matter who that superstar is.

As evidenced by the releases of Sin Cara, Harper and The Ascension, that former group won out, and according to PWInsider.com, there are rumblings of additional releases coming, though those releases were expected to happen earlier this week and havent as of yet. Fightful Select adds, however, that a number of NXT stars believe that cuts are coming to the yellow brand in either January or February, a move that wouldnt be all that surprising given thatas has been the case with Raw and SmackDowna number of NXT stars have reportedly been seeking their WWE exits due to broken promises, poor pay and creative dissatisfaction. Tom Colohue of Sportskeeda, meanwhile, adds that there are some additional WWE stars who may request their release soon:

In other words, the recent slate of WWE releases has opened the floodgates for a potential mass exodus of talent.

Paul Davis of WrestlingNews.co reports that WWEs sudden willingness to release superstars may truly be boiling down to one thing: Money. Heres what Davis wrote regarding the recent slate of WWE releases:

A WWE source told me that another reason why the company is more open to releasing some wrestlers is that it helps them cut down on salaries while freeing up more money to offer deals to mid and upper card wrestlers who they dont want to leave the company.

As noted, WWEs new stance is that it will release superstars who it believes likely wouldnt become huge stars in AEW, NJPW, ROH, Impact Wrestling, etc. That, of course, is almost impossible to predict as most within WWE likely didnt think that Cody Rhodes or a name like Juice Robinson would have as much success as they have when they left WWE a few years back. Still, its probably safe to say that names like Harper, Sin Cara and The Ascensionwhove all spent most of their careers as mid or lower card performersarent going to turn the tide in the new wrestling war if they end up in AEW, which made them expendable at a time when WWE could be looking to cut costs while still prioritizing signing superstars it deems to be more valuable to the company.

It hasnt gone unnoticed, after all, that a talented tag team like The Revivalwhich has reportedly been seeking its WWE release for close to a yearhasnt been let go while WWE has also made re-signing Rusev a top priority amid reports that he could be looking to leave WWE as well. Names like The Revival and Rusev would probably make a much bigger splash outside of WWE than stars like The Ascension and Sin Cara, which is why WWE has put so much emphasis on re-signing those stars it believes are more critical to the success of the company. Among the names who have recently inked new long-term deals with WWE are Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, and The Miz, who are all obviously featured much more heavily than Harper, The Ascension and Sin Cara were.

So, its apparent that WWE is still willing to shell out the big bucks to maintain talent, even at a time when its disappointing earnings have caused concern within the company. Its no secret that WWE has experienced sharp declines in many key metrics over the past year, including total revenue, live event attendance, merchandise sales and the WWE Network subscriber count, a reality that has caused some concern about WWEs financial future despite its huge TV rights deals that would seemingly keep the company financially secure for the foreseeable future. But the lack of WWE Networks growth, the companys signings of a number of top indie stars and its disappointing TV ratings have undoubtedly given WWE pause about whether or not to continue signing talents just to sign them.

As recently as a few months ago, WWE was in a position where it could sign any and all stars to lucrative long-term deals without fear about how that might affect its future. However, that was a short-sided strategy that didnt take into account what might happen if WWEs financial future seemed less secure or if it acquired more talent than it knew what to do with. Morale within WWE has plummeted this year due at least in part the sheer overload of superstars the company has, and with Vince McMahon potentially looking to cut costs, the most obviousand perhaps the easiestway to do that is to cut bait with disgruntled and/or seldom used stars who wont make the jump to AEW and immediately help pro wrestlings new No. 2 promotion.

With a boatload of WWE stars currently struggling to find a spot on TV and WWE looking to trim the fat where it can, it certainly looks like the releases of Sin Cara, Harper and The Ascension were just the beginning of what could be a long process of WWE cleaning house.

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Even More WWE Releases Are Likely On The Way - Forbes