Ex-WWE Star Mandy Rose Slams Rumors That WWE Releases Were Due to Talent Being Lazy

Mandy Rose and Tino Sabbatelli aren’t holding back when it comes to WWE’s latest round of releases.

Speaking on their Power Alphas podcast, the former WWE couple addressed rumors that the recent cuts were due to certain talents being “lazy” or not putting in enough effort — claims that Cora Jade and Gigi Dolin both shot down on social media.

Mandy Rose wasted no time calling out the rumors as baseless. “There are some rumors going around that I happened to see on social media. One rumor was, ‘Apparently, the people that got released weren’t putting in enough work or they were lazy,’” Rose said. “A couple of the girls, Cora and Gigi, made a comment about it on Twitter. I like that they spoke up. I think it’s BS and it’s so stupid because we’ve been there and we know how it works when it comes to releases.”

Rose went on to explain how intense the schedule at WWE’s Performance Center is, making it nearly impossible to be lazy. “There is no time to be lazy at the PC. You’re training all week, you’re putting in the work, some of these girls have been there a couple of years now. You’re going to live events and traveling all around Florida. You have one day off, like Sunday, to regroup and all that. You’re hustling. To say that is so stupid,” she added.

Mandy also addressed the rumors surrounding Braun Strowman’s release, who was reportedly let go due to his high salary. “Then there was a rumor ‘Braun Strowman was getting paid too much,’ maybe that’s true, I don’t know,” she said.

Tino Sabbatelli, who was released by WWE in 2020, re-signed in October, and then released again in 2021, chimed in, calling the rumors outright lies. “Let me squash all that bullsht right now and tell you why it’s all bullsht. They have to say something to justify the release,” he said.

Sabbatelli broke down how WWE decides who to cut, describing it as a revolving door system. “It’s a business model with a revolving door, meaning as guys sit in their office and they are dorks and nerds and they crunch numbers all day and they know WWE has X amount of money for their salary and X amount of money to pay. Every six, eight, ten weeks, they have layoffs. That’s what they do,” he explained.

According to Sabbatelli, WWE officials likely go down a list and decide who to let go based on various factors. “Whatever that period of time is, they probably sit in a room, ‘We have cuts this week. Here we go. Who is running cold? Who is not cooperating?’ They go down this list. ‘We have to eliminate ten people so we can hire ten new people,’ and that’s the way the revolving door works,” Sabbatelli said.

Mandy agreed, saying it’s common in every major company. “Just like every company,” she said. “What annoys the talent when they do get released is seeing stupid sht like that on the internet because me personally, I would find that annoying too.”*

Rose continued, saying she understands why Cora Jade, Gigi Dolin, and others fired back against the “lazy” rumors. “If I was Cora, Gigi, Jakara, Katana, Kayden, Dakota Kai and these other girls that got released, you can’t say they were lazy or didn’t put enough work in. Dakota Kai had two or three injuries. Do you know what it takes to get back from a knee injury? To get back into full tip top shape? You can’t say that,” she said.

Sabbatelli concluded the conversation by reiterating that each release is different and that every person’s situation varies. “The reality is, everyone is in different situations. One person could be getting paid too much. One person is not being used or fizzling out. Every single person who gets released is a different scenario,” he said.

Mandy then shared some encouraging words for those recently released, saying she’s thriving since her WWE exit in December 2022 and offered to help. “If you need help, reach out. I’m here,” she said.

Mandy Rose was released just one day after losing the NXT Women’s Championship, a decision that many fans still question. Meanwhile, Tino Sabbatelli experienced multiple releases, first in April 2020, then again in June 2021 after a brief re-signing.