Every WWE Release Of 2021 - Where Are They Now? (Five Years Later)
16. Oney Lorcan
Then: Hard-nosed and no frills would summarise Oney Lorcan's style inside the ring. It always seemed to clash with WWE's overall style, even on a more wrestling-centric brand like NXT, but Lorcan did carve out some neat opportunities for himself on the third show.
His rough and ready tag act with Danny Burch ended on a low note due to the Brit's shoulder injury, then Oney was on the outs by (you guessed it) November 2021. He requested his own release. His final match under the WWE banner was a forgettable loss to Xyon Quinn on the 28 September '21 edition of the revamped NXT 2.0.
Now: Someone as respected as Oney was always going to find work outside the WWE bubble once he was discarded, and that proved to be the case. He scored bookings in GCW, Beyond, House Of Glory and even PWG before announcing that he'd returned to WWE in October 2022.
Lorcan wasn't brought back for another whirl on NXT though. The promotion posted him to the Performance Center as a trainer for rookies breaking in. Think of him as Hardcore Holly without the unnecessary rough-housing of younger talent. "Rough-housing". Bullying is what Bob was doing, let's be honest!
Oney must've impressed the right folks, because WWE moved him into a joint role as a trainer and a producer for NXT. He has a lot of experience, and crucially knows what didn't work for him in the system. Lorcan formally retired from the biz (as an active wrestler) at some point throughout 2023.
He's content with his new twin role, which is great.