The WWE has released 12 superstars, including icon Kurt Angle, from its roster as it takes measures to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

The Olympic champion and four-time WWE champion Angle, 51, is one of a number of superstars to have been let go with Vince McMahon cutting costs.

WWE chief McMahon announced plans to furlough staff members and wrestlers during the crisis but insisted his firm is “well positioned” to deal with financial losses, The Sun reports.

Hall of Famer Angle was the biggest name to lose his job, with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows also among those to be released.

The statement suggests there are no plans for the dumped dozen to return when the company returns to a full schedule.

McMahon, however, has not ruled anything out, saying the WWE is “well positioned” to deal with the crisis.

WWE said it is “reducing executive and board member compensation; decreasing operating expenses; cutting talent expenses, third party staffing and consulting; deferring spend on the build out of the Company’s new headquarters for at least six months.” The company, which has not run house shows in over a month, says it will save $4 million a month with the measures “along with cash flow improvement of $140 million primarily from the deferral in spending on the Company’s new headquarters.”

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE has $500 million in cash reserves, was still on track to turn a “significant profit” in 2020 and does not have debt issues.

Angle, 51, won an Olympic gold medal as a wrestler in 1996. He became a WWE star in the late ’90s and 2000s. He returned to WWE in 2017 for the first time in 11 years, being inducted into its Hall of Fame and wrestling some matches. His last match was against Baron Corbin at last year’s WrestleMania.

Angle later wrote on social media: “I wanted to say thank you to the WWE for the time I spent there.

“I made many new friends and had the opportunity to work with so many talented people.

“To the superstars, continue to entertain the WWE Universe as well as you possibly can.

“They’re the best fans in the world.”

Despite being released, Drake Maverick announced in an emotional goodbye video that he will still participate in the NXT cruiserweight championship showdown announced recently.

Fighting back tears, he admitted it will be his farewell.

“There’s a lot of people I am not going to say goodbye to who I really love and care about…. If these are the last three matches I have, I just want people to know you’ll have my all, my everything. It’s not about a title anymore, it’s about my life, paying my bills,” Maverick said.

WWE recently confirmed an employee tested positive for coronavirus.

FULL LIST OF DUMPED STARS

Drake Maverick, Rusev, Kurt Angle, Curt Hawkins, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Heath Slater, Eric Young, Rowan, Sarah Logan, EC3, Aiden English, Lio Rush, Primo, Epico, Zack Ryder, No Way Jose, Mike Kanellis, Referee Mike Chioda, Lance Storm

OFFICIAL WWE STATEMENT