Backstage News On Dolph Ziggler & Aliyah's WWE Releases

The latest round of WWE releases on September 21 contained several shocking names, with former World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler arguably the biggest name let go by the company.

Whilst Ziggler’s release was a shock to fans around the world, Fightful Select have reported that ‘The Show Off’s deal was set to expire in Summer 2024, with Ziggler having been angling to leave the company several years back before agreeing to a new deal.

Ziggler wrestled only 10 televised matches in WWE all year, with his last match coming on the May 29 edition of Raw.

A release that wasn’t quite as shocking as Dolph’s was that of Aliyah, with the former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion barely used by WWE across her eight years with the company. Fightful’s report suggests that Aliyah was rarely ever brought to television and was ‘not factored in creatively’, and her release was expected. 

Indeed, Aliyah had not wrestled at all in WWE since dropping the tag titles in September 2022 before her release, only wrestling on television 73 times in seven years across NXT, Main Event, SmackDown, Raw, and one PPV appearance as part of the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble.