Emma one of three superstars released by WWE

Raw superstar Emma has been released from the WWE with immediate effect, the company has confirmed.

The departure of the 28-year-old Australian, alongside Summer Rae and Darren Young, comes as something of a surprise after she was Asuka's opponent in her debut match at the recent Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view event and had been growing in popularity.

It ends a six-year association with the organisation for Emma, who was being used regularly on Monday Night Raw and whose matches against Asuka seemingly represented a great show of faith in her capabilities.

Emma responded to the news on Twitter with a single emoji - a broken heart, and immediately received messages of support on social media from her fellow competitors.

Emma, whose real name is Tenille Dashwood, had been with WWE since 2011, working initially with the company's Florida Championship Wrestling promotion for a year before spending two years in NXT.

She was a main roster worker for a year between January 2014 and January 2015, at which time she returned to NXT before again being called up to the main roster in March 2016.

Emma had been gathering some momentum on Monday Night Raw, claiming she started the women's revolution, and she performed well in her two matches against Asuka, both of which resulted in submission losses.

A statement from WWE said: "WWE has come to terms on the releases of WWE Superstars Emma, Darren Young and Summer Rae.

"WWE wishes them the best in all of their future endeavours."

After last week's chaotic scenes when Raw came #UnderSiege you can follow the latest instalment this Monday night from 1am on Sky Sports Arena