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I was actually kinda shocked by the Teddy Long release in that I figured he was just a lifer at this point and had signed some sort of backstage/production/consulting type of contract. I figured his days as an on-screen performer were over. I was actually just reminiscing about Long as SmackDown GM...I know the endless tag matches are a punchline with him, but Long as GM from like 2004-06 or so reminds me of a time when I actually watched SmackDown every week to see guys who only wrestled there, before they abolished the brand split.
Drew and Jinder were definitely the biggest surprises. When 3MB first debuted I thought they were only going to last a couple of months and instead they stuck around over a year and a half, featured on Raw most weeks. They were never going to be more than a comedy group, but they did their jobs well. Pretty much anybody released from WWE can find indy work fairly easily, but especially these two. Heath surviving the cuts means WWE is at least aware that he is excellent. I imagine he'll get a Santino-esque comedy heel push circa 2007/08.
Brodus Clay feels like a big wasted opportunity. Heel Brodus could have been an absolute badass who could have easily gotten into the US/IC title picture with minimal effort. It seemed like they were letting him hash out a heel persona on NXT so definitely disappointing he didn't get another crack on the main roster. I think he would do wonderfully in Japan if he wanted to go that route.
Camacho is another guy who should be able to do great things in Japan if he wanted to go there. WWE saddled him with a shit gimmick and even after moving him back to NXT they didn't really change it at all.
I like Curt Hawkins, I really do. He was a solid hand in the ring and I have a soft spot for him because he's a suffering from the soul-sucking disease of being a Mets fan, just like I am. He really did seem best suited as a tag team guy, and I enjoyed his team with Tyler Reks but they'd done nothing with him since. He'd make an odd appearance on Superstars or NXT but barely. He started his own wrestling school probably because he knew the release was coming sooner or later, so I doubt this is too much of a shock to him. At least on the indies he'll be able to wrestle more than once every 3 months.
Aksana...she was pretty funny. Not a good worker in the ring or anything but that's not why I liked her. There are several divas who might be getting called up soon and they obviously weren't going to get rid of Cameron or Eva Marie due to Total Divas, sad to see her go though.
Yoshi Tatsu was the fucking man. But WWE just wasn't using him. I think the only main roster work he was getting was a token booking when they'd do a tour of Japan. I imagine he'll have no issues finding work, especially back in Japan. Kinda weird to think that WWE doesn't have a Japanese wrestler under their employ for the first time in ages, unless KENTA has actually signed.
Sad Evan Bourne never made it back. He was an idiot by allowing himself to get suspended a second time, but the injury he suffered was pretty brutal and it seemed he was working his ass off to make it back. My favorite Bourne match was a match he had against John Morrison on ECW, I believe that match was quite popular in IWC circles, actually. I bet those two get booked against one another on the indies.
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