More WWE NXT Releases Coming - Veterans On The 'Chopping Block'?
Could long-serving NXT veterans become casualties of WWE's new developmental focus?
2021 has been a year of mass releases for WWE, with the promotion letting go of over 50 wrestlers in total, attributing most to "budget cuts."
The company's latest round of releases saw 13 NXT wrestlers leave in early August, including former North American Champion Bronson Reed, Bobby Fish, and Mercedes Martinez. This was followed by news that despite the latest rank-thinning exercise, WWE wasn't done letting wrestlers go.
Dave Meltzer brought this topic back into conversation on today's episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, stating that he has heard of certain wrestlers who may be on the chopping block. While we won't know anything until it actually happens, the names he has heard have been with WWE for "a long time."
As covered extensively over the past few weeks, NXT is about to undergo a complete and total overhaul, with WWE set to reconfigure everything from the brand's logo and theme music to its developmental approach as a whole. Older, smaller wrestlers with vast indie résumés are out, and younger, bigger trainees are in, which was reflected in the company's latest Performance Center intake.
Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard are now seemingly on the verge of taking control of NXT's highest level of production, with Prichard set to visit the PC this weekend.