Released WWE Wrestler Says "Nobody Feels Safe" Following NXT Releases
The former Asher Hale on WWE's uneasy locker-room environment.
Former WWE wrestler Anthony Henry believes that recent NXT releases have had a negative impact on locker-room morale.
Interviewed by Inside the Ropes' Liam Alexander-Stewart, Henry (who wrestled as Asher Hale in WWE) claimed the following when asked about the situation:-
“Yeah, I definitely do think that morale is impacted, for sure. Because nobody, like you said, just with it being a case of like names being released, that previously we would have thought would never have been released."
Henry was one of 13 NXT wrestlers let go by WWE on 6 August. He was under contract with the promotion for less than seven months, having only been signed on 19 January, debuting on television three-and-a-half months later.
Continuing, Henry said that while he doesn't necessarily believe that the situation is impacting performances, NXT wrestlers don't feel particularly safe at the moment:-
“With that being the case, nobody feels safe I don’t think you know, and I wouldn’t say it necessarily affects their performances, but their mental state and just the overall feeling of the locker room, I would say is impacted. You know, and I think that’s natural and that would be the case for anybody, any locker room, any job situation, but I mean, it’s a great locker room.”
Swooping changes are seemingly in the black and gold brand's future, with NXT going back to an older style of developmental favouring younger, bigger wrestlers. This is at Vince McMahon's behest. His son-in-law, Triple H, is reportedly at the heart of a power struggle between his backers and people within WWE who fear for their positions should the NXT founder ever grow in power.
Henry is yet to announce his next move in professional wrestling, though he has tweeted a list of wrestlers he'd like to face after his 30-day non-compete expires.