It's been a long time since WWE has done one of their mass releases, and for a while, the company seemed content to simply let contracts expire. The tide turned today, however, when nine wrestlers and a referee were handed their walking papers by WWE.

Why now? Some have speculated it's a cost-cutting measure to make the bottom line look better to Wall Street and their investors. WWE is coming off a one-two punch of having the low end of predicted WWE Network subscribers, and re-signing with USA Network for well below what industry experts and those in WWE management expected. In that vein, it makes little sense to hold onto contracted talent who have been inactive (Evan Bourne) or who have little upward mobility (Curt Hawkins, Yoshi Tatsu, etc.).

The releases could also pave the way for wrestlers to debut on NXT. Like on the main roster, there are a finite number of spots up for grabs in NXT, especially with only one hour of TV per week. Perhaps WWE thought it better to give those opportunities to younger talent who have potential on the main roster, rather than wrestlers like Brodus Clay, who only seemed to be in NXT because creative had nothing for him in the big time.

A few of these wrestlers, notably Bourne, should find ample work on the independent scene. It remains to be seen whether or not TNA will have any interest, as they spent most of the year purging their own roster. And let's not discount the fact that some of these wrestlers could find their way back to WWE in the future; I'm thinking specifically of wrestlers like Camacho and Drew McIntyre. With some seasoning overseas or on the indies, and with the stench of a failed WWE run in the past, they wouldn't be the first to resurrect their careers after some time away.

So yes, be sad for these men (and woman) who have lost their jobs today. It's never something to celebrate. But as Bo Dallas would say, when one door closes, another opens. I'm sure it's not the last we've heard of many of these talents. I'll have more in-depth thoughts on these releases later today on the PWTorch Livecast with James Caldwell (pwtorchlivecast.com) at 5:30 EST, as well as in my column in next week's Torch Newsletter.

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