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Several WWE Talents Released Including Sonya Deville, AOP and Blair Davenport

Sonya Deville, Blair Davenport, AOP, Paul Ellering and Cedric Alexander have all been released from WWE, according to multiple reports.
Rick Ucchino|
Sonya Deville has been released from WWE
Sonya Deville has been released from WWE | WWE.com

WWE released several talents on Friday night.

The news began to roll in just before SmackDown got underway when former WWE Cruiserweight and Tag Team Champion Cedric Alexander took to social media to announce his departure from the company.

More talent cuts began to surface as the night progressed. Among them is former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Sonya Deville. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful is reporting that Deville was informed that her contract will not be renewed and she'll hit free agency in the next few weeks.

Deville had just competed in last Saturday's Women's Royal Rumble as a member of Pure Fusion Collective, and recently celebrated her 10-year anniversary in WWE.

Three members of Final Testament, the group led by Karrion Kross, have also been released. Fightful and PWInsider have both confirmed that the Authors of Pain, Akam and Rezar, and Paul Ellering are all being let go.

"AOP came into WWE with a bit of heat throughout the industry due to some of their outside projects", Sean Ross Sapp later reported. "One of which saw a few people in wrestling put money in, and were upset they didn't get back. One person in WWE said that could be a reason they were put with Karrion Kross who is generally well liked."

Ross Sapp says that there were no creative plans for AOP and Ellering after their roll in Final Testament's feud with the Wyatt Sicks.

It's also been confirmed that SmackDown Superstar Blair Davenport will be released. Televised appearances for the former NXT UK star had been few and far between in recent months, and creative plans for her were reportedly non-existent.

Her last match was back in November when she competed in the opening round of the Women's United States Championship Tournament. Word is that Davenport, formerly known as Bea Priestley, is expected to have interest from across the globe once she's eligible to sign elsewhere.

We'll continue to update this developing story as more information becomes available.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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