10 wrestlers were released from WWE today, and one of them was Performance Center talent Ellen Akesson.
She issued the following statement on her departure:
&#8220;I have been released from WWE. I truly loved it here. From the wrestling to the security staff to the coaches to the fans to my friends to the daily small routines like locking my bike at the PC. I am confident that I did everything I could these 6 months. Thank you for the love.&#8221;
NXT wrestler Reina Volcan replied:
&#8220;I love you Ellen . May you continue to bless everyone and everything with your huge heart and abundant kindness. &#x1f5a4;&#8221;

“I have been released from WWE. I truly loved it here” – Ellen Akesson

&#8211; Undisputed WWE Championship Match: CM Punk (c) vs. Sami Zayn
&#8211; Interim WWE Women&#8217;s Championship Match: Chelsea Green (c) vs. Nia Jax
&#8211; Nikki Bella vs. Paige
&#8211; AAA Tag Team Championship Match: The War Raiders (c) vs. Damian Priest and R-Truth
&#8211; AAA Cruiserweight Championship Match: Rey Fenix (c) vs. Ricky Saints

Card For Next Week’s SmackDown In Mexico City (September 11)

According to Fightful Select, WWE released the following wrestlers (NXT, Evolve, Performance Center talent) today:
&#8211; Adriana Rizzo
&#8211; Wendy Choo
&#8211; Anya Rune
&#8211; Zena Sterling
&#8211; Braxton Cole
&#8211; Marcus Brown
&#8211; Gary Wilson
&#8211; Jasper Troy
&#8211; PJ Vasa
&#8211; Ellen Akesson

10 Wrestlers Released From WWE

Tonight&#8217;s episode of WWE SmackDown took place at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Below are the results:
&#8211; Gunther called out Sami Zayn. Sami came out and said Gunther isn&#8217;t a victim, he is. Sami said the Undisputed WWE Champion should be a good guy like him, not CM Punk. Sami called Punk &#8220;the biggest fraud, hypocrite, piece of trash, snake in the grass.&#8221; Gunther went after Sami, but Finn Balor came out. Finn said he wants justice for himself and went after Sami. Kevin Owens came out as well and chased Sami to the back.
&#8211; Johnny Gargano finally got up and accepted CM Punk&#8217;s challenge for an Undisputed WWE Championship match tonight.
&#8211; Tatum Paxley and Charlotte Flair def. WWE Women&#8217;s Tag Team Champions Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid) in a non-title match
Paxley pinned Lainey. After the match, Jade Cargill, Michin, and B-Fab attacked Charlotte, Tatum, and Alexa Bliss, and Fatal Influence joined in.
&#8211; Nikki Bella said Paige failed the Bella brand and called her a &#8220;D-grade skank.&#8221; Paige interrupted Nikki&#8217;s interview with Cathy Kelley and said Nikki hasn&#8217;t liked her since day one because: &#8220;I built my career on Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect&#8230; and you just slept with it.&#8221;
Paige said they will have a match on next week&#8217;s SmackDown in Mexico City and: &#8220;You better bring it, or I&#8217;m gonna end your career quicker than your last relationship.&#8221;
&#8211; Danhausen met Gunther backstage again and said: &#8220;Don&#8217;t worry, Gooner. Danhausen understands exactly how you&#8217;re feeling.&#8221; Gunther grabbed his hand and told Danhausen to never touch him again.
&#8211; Interim WWE Women&#8217;s Champion Chelsea Green was cleared to compete as long as she wears a protective face mask while competing. Nia Jax came out and challenged Chelsea to a title match. Nick Aldis made it official for next week.
&#8211; Nia Jax def. Tiffany Stratton
&#8211; During their sit-down interview, Randy Orton said he insulted Cody Rhodes&#8217; mother last week and Cody did nothing. Randy questioned what kind of son Cody is. Randy targeted Cody&#8217;s dog again: &#8220;I haven&#8217;t talked about the dog. Turns out he&#8217;s not even dead. He&#8217;s got a little ways to go, but you&#8217;ll be burying him soon. You wanna hit me now? Nothing?&#8221; Randy said Cody isn&#8217;t hitting him because Cody is an addict for the WWE Championship and doesn&#8217;t want to lose that opportunity by breaking the rules.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="525" data-dnt="true">
Did <a href="https://x.com/CodyRhodes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CodyRhodes</a> just flip the script on <a href="https://x.com/RandyOrton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RandyOrton</a>?!? 😳 <a href="https://t.co/B011R2lqZm">pic.twitter.com/B011R2lqZm</a>
&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://x.com/WWE/status/2096040885800534497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8211; United States Champion Baron Corbin said Lil Yachty will be dead at Sunday Night&#8217;s Main Event, just like Trick Williams&#8217; hopes of ever becoming the U.S. Champion again.
&#8211; Bakusai (Shinsuke Nakamura and Kyoki) def. The Miz and Kit Wilson
Kyoki pinned Kit in his televised WWE debut match. WWE Tag Team Champions The MFTs came out with Haku to have a staredown with Bakusai.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="525" data-dnt="true">
Bakusai is ready for destruction. 👊 <a href="https://t.co/3X8DbpVr3Z">pic.twitter.com/3X8DbpVr3Z</a>
&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://x.com/WWE/status/2096044080803254438?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8211; The War Raiders will defend the AAA Tag Team Titles against Damian Priest and R-Truth on next week&#8217;s SmackDown.
&#8211; Blake Monroe vs. Giulia never started after Giulia attacked Blake before the match.
&#8211; Sami Zayn told Johnny Gargano to not be like Kevin Owens, and if an opportunity falls in his lap, then he should take it.
&#8211; In a backstage segment, it was revealed that Rey Fenix will defend the AAA Cruiserweight Championship against Ricky Saints next week on SmackDown.
&#8211; Undisputed WWE Championship Match: CM Punk (c) def. Johnny Gargano to retain the title despite Sami Zayn and Candice LeRae attacking him during the match
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="525" data-dnt="true">
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! 🤯
SAMI ZAYN IS OUT OF CONTROL!!! <a href="https://t.co/FjilsGH6X5">pic.twitter.com/FjilsGH6X5</a>
&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://x.com/WWE/status/2096055275996193007?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="525" data-dnt="true">
Madness.
CM Punk is still the Undisputed WWE Champion! 😮‍💨 <a href="https://t.co/XSuknDVqX5">pic.twitter.com/XSuknDVqX5</a>
&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://x.com/WWE/status/2096055629366407457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Kevin Owens attacked Sami during the match, which led to Gunther attacking Kevin and going after Sami. Finn Balor took out Gunther, which led to Sami laying out Finn. After the match, Punk gave Sami a WWE Title match on next week&#8217;s SmackDown and said it&#8217;s time for Sami to go to sleep.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="525" data-dnt="true">
CM Punk has had enough of Sami Zayn! 😤
It will be PUNK vs. ZAYN for the Undisputed WWE Championship NEXT WEEK on <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/SmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SmackDown</a> in Mexico City!! 🇲🇽 🔥
📍: <a href="https://x.com/ArenaCdMexico?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ArenaCdMexico</a> 🎟️: <a href="https://t.co/6DqFK19X8G">https://t.co/6DqFK19X8G</a> <a href="https://t.co/3ly5YyizwB">pic.twitter.com/3ly5YyizwB</a>
&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://x.com/WWE/status/2096056327181148617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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SmackDown Results – Randy Orton Calls Cody Rhodes An Addict

Royce Keys posted a video about attacking The Usos, where it was revealed that the name of his faction with OTM is &#8220;946.&#8221;
The name nods to the Oakland-area ZIP code prefix, tying into Keys&#8217; roots.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="525" data-dnt="true">
&quot;Ain&#39;t nobody safe&quot; &#8211; Royce Keys <a href="https://t.co/lW3LV7HWmP">pic.twitter.com/lW3LV7HWmP</a>
&mdash; WrestleFeed (@WrestleFeedApp) <a href="https://x.com/WrestleFeedApp/status/2096051098553569556?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Royce Keys Reveals The Name Of His Faction With OTM

On tonight&#8217;s SmackDown, Nikki Bella said Paige failed the Bella brand and called her a &#8220;D-grade skank.&#8221;
Paige interrupted Nikki&#8217;s interview with Cathy Kelley and said Nikki hasn&#8217;t liked her since day one because:
&#8220;I built my career on Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect&#8230; and you just slept with it.&#8221;
Paige said they will have a match on next week&#8217;s SmackDown in Mexico City and:
&#8220;You better bring it, or I&#8217;m gonna end your career quicker than your last relationship.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="525" data-dnt="true">
Oh wow things have gotten way out of hand between Nikki Bella and Paige. 😬 🍿 <a href="https://x.com/NikkiAndBrie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NikkiAndBrie</a> | <a href="https://x.com/Saraya?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Saraya</a> <a href="https://t.co/0H7FfhuF0d">pic.twitter.com/0H7FfhuF0d</a>
&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://x.com/WWE/status/2096034027039846477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Paige Took A Shot At Nikki Bella Sleeping With John Cena & Failed Marriage On SmackDown

After NXT&#8217;s Jasper Troy, WWE has released two more wrestlers: PJ Vasa and Ellen Akesson.
PJ Vasa (WWE Evolve wrestler) wrote:
&#8220;God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good! Fa’afetai I le atua
Thank you WWE for opening the door for me into pro wrestling… what a journey! Looking forward to more motion, more blessings, more life &#x1f64f;&#x1f3fd;
#30Days&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="525" data-dnt="true">
PJ Vasa has been released from WWE <a href="https://t.co/e1UUPl7g1A">pic.twitter.com/e1UUPl7g1A</a>
&mdash; WrestleFeed (@WrestleFeedApp) <a href="https://x.com/WrestleFeedApp/status/2096036514102964598?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Ellen Akesson (WWE Performance Center talent) wrote:
&#8220;Got unexpected sad news today but I will figure it out. What a journey this life is.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="525" data-dnt="true">
Ellen Akesson has been released from WWE <a href="https://t.co/Anieflm6az">pic.twitter.com/Anieflm6az</a>
&mdash; WrestleFeed (@WrestleFeedApp) <a href="https://x.com/WrestleFeedApp/status/2096036187454742922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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“I have been released from WWE. I truly loved it here” – Ellen Akesson

Card For Next Week’s SmackDown In Mexico City (September 11)

10 Wrestlers Released From WWE

SmackDown Results – Randy Orton Calls Cody Rhodes An Addict

Royce Keys Reveals The Name Of His Faction With OTM

Paige Took A Shot At Nikki Bella Sleeping With John Cena & Failed Marriage On SmackDown

2 More Wrestlers Released From WWE