With it now a week since WWE's most recent round of mass releases, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has a further update on why exactly the talent involved in those cuts were let go.
As per the Observer, the simple fact of the matter is that WWE management - as in Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and Bruce Prichard - just didn't see the 13 cut names as ever being a part of the main roster. With them not seen as potential main roster names, it was deemed pointless to keep these 13 under contract.
The 13 names let go last Friday by WWE were Bronson Reed, Mercedes Martinez, Bobby Fish, Leon Ruff, Jake Atlas, Ari Sterling, Tyler Rust, Desmond Troy, Kona Reeves, Zecharian Smith, Asher Hale, Giant Zanjeer and referee Stephon Smith.
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Of course, the biggest shock of last week's news was that former NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed was axed. Prior to his release, the Thicc Boy had been working dark matches ahead of Raw and SmackDown, with the belief that he was imminently moving to the main roster. Instead, WWE had a change of mind and surprisingly released Reed.
Since these cuts, we've heard how WWE is shaking up NXT by having the brand be more of an outright developmental system for younger, bigger, greener talents.
Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics.
As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.
