Chris "Masters" Mordetzky was one of the five WWE talents released earlier, along with Melina, Gail Kim, Vladamir Kozlov and DH Smith.

Masters issued the following statement this afternoon on Twitter (@WWEMasterP):

"Obviously, I'm surprised by the move. But I'm optimistic. I'm going to move forward and see what lies ahead. I still love this business and I'm not going to give up because of this small set back. I want to explore and see what options I have for the future."

Masters is already taking independent bookings and can be reached at masterpiece83@gmail.com.

More WWE releases are expected today.....