Why WWE NXT Is Dead
WWE's mass releases are sad, ugly, and worthy of condemnation (particularly when a company that has never been so profitable is attributing them to "budget cuts"), and a byproduct of its talent hoarding era.
The grim truth is that for the past few years, WWE has been stuffed with wrestlers it has no intention of pushing to any meaningful degree. Many of them have been let go by the company already, though NXT, in particular, is still home to dozens who don't fit McMahon's edict and will therefore never enjoy a presentation that matches their talents.
WWE began the process of attempting to tie up every name free agent to inflated long-term competitions not because it wanted these wrestlers, but because it didn't want competitors to sign and utilise them as potential assets. This accelerated with the birth of AEW then slowed with the global pandemic's onset and Nick Khan's appointment as President and Chief Revenue Officer. A businessman, not a wrestling man, Khan's priority is the bottom line. WWE is so many lightyears ahead of its closest competition that he likely views talent hoarding as frivolous and petty.
To many, Khan is WWE's new public-facing boogeyman. Understandable, given the myriad changes in company policy since his arrival, but the releases aren't on him. No, this is on the hoarders. Had Vince not spent several years stuffing his roster with more performers than he could ever hope to use, NXT's policy change wouldn't have been such a bloodbath.
And you can't mention "NXT" and "bloodbath" in the same sentence without rewinding through the architects of the brand's creative demise, All Elite Wrestling.
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