WWE has parted ways with former Divas champion Kelly Kelly, according to the company’s official website. While not the best worker in women’s wrestling history, Kelly Kelly was a popular figure in WWE and there was some speculation that she might eventually be revealed as the blonde haired attacker of Kaitlyn but it looks like that won’t be the case.

WWE has announced on its website that the company has come to terms on the release of Daniel Bryan. It’s unclear right now if this is a legit firing or if this is all part of the NXT Invasion angle.

It wouldn’t make sense to get rid of Bryan right now, with the angle so hot and WWE previously investing time in his program with The Miz and Michael Cole. Dave Meltzer is reporting that the release is for real, but only after previously reporting that it was part of a storyline.

The one thing that makes no sense out of all of this, from the standpoint of the NXT Invasion, is if WWE can fire Bryan, who participated in the attack, then why wouldn’t they fire everyone involved? If the firing is legit, it opens up the can of worms I mentioned, which is why I think it might all be a work.

We’ll have to wait until Monday to see how this all plays out.

World Wrestling Entertainment has announced the release of Carlito after he failed a drug test and refused to enter rehab at the request of the company. Unlike most of the company’s releases which are buried in the “News” section of WWE’s website, Carlito’s release is a feature story, albeit a two sentence paragraph.

Carlito and Primo had recently reformed their tag team and an alliance with Ted DiBiase was hinted at. Now Primo will be on his own and likely shoved back down the card. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in a tag team with Evan Bourne, though.

Carlito has long had a reputation for being a great talent but someone who lacked motivation and desire. TNA will likely be very interested but who knows if they’ll chase him since the rumor is Dixie Carter and Co. will be cutting talent.

WWE announced today the release of Tony Atlas and, as usual, wished him well in his future endeavors.

Since Mark Henry’s face turn and move from Raw to ECW last year, WWE didn’t really know what to do with Atlas. He was paired with Abraham Washington as his sidekick but hadn’t been seen since the demise of ECW.

The 56-year-old Atlas has had a storied wrestling and bodybuilding career that includes championships in the World Class Wrestling Association, World Wrestling Council and World Wrestling Federation. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.

The cuts keep on coming as the WWE announced late tonight that they have released Mike Knox. Earlier in the day, Mickie James, Shelton Benjamin and four others were also let go by the company.

The release of Knox certainly isn’t a shock since he’s been relegated to low mid-card status for his entire tenure with the ‘E. His one bright spot came during a mini-program with Rey Mysterio that never really amounted to anything.

Knox is the seventh performer dropped by WWE today.

In surprising news, WWE today announced the releases of six performers, most notably Shelton Benjamin and Mickie James. Katie Lea Burchill, Kung Fu Naki, Slam Master J and Jimmy Wang Yang were also let go by the company.

Mickie James was widely regarded as the best women’s wrestler in WWE and was a five-time Women’s Champion and held the Diva’s Title once.

Shelton Benjamin was one of the best performers in the company but had been horribly booked and never allowed to shine. It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see both James and Benjamin in TNA once their 90-day no-compete clauses expire.