Real Reason For Recent WWE Releases (WWE News)
More details on WWE's latest round of cuts.
With WWE having released several developmental talents over the weekend, there's now a little more of an update on the reasoning for these latest cuts.
Per Fightful Select, these releases were due to the "natural progression of cycling out developmental talent", rather than necessarily being driven solely by finances.
Previously, WWE has often made rounds of cuts as a way to save money, particularly if it comes to wrestlers on big contracts who the company feels they aren't getting full value for. Here, though, it appears to be more a case of assessing talents and, ultimately, deciding they aren't progressing at the level WWE wants from them.
For those who may have missed it, this latest round of cuts saw Wes Lee, Stevie Turner, Lance Anoa'i, BJ Ray, Haze Jameson, Summer Sorrell, Drako Knox, Jin Tala, and Jamar Hampton let go by WWE. On top of that, WWE ID prospect Zayda Steel opted not to re-sign with the company, fellow ID prospect Zara Zakhar has decided to step away from wrestling after the expiration of her prior deal, and former EVOLVE Women's Champion Kylie Rae has left to have a baby,
Of those names, Wes Lee is clearly the most notable name, with the Cardiac Kid a former NXT North American Champion and former NXT Tag Team Champion who at one point seemed main roster-bound. Severe back injuries forced Wes out of action for several months through the end of 2023 and into 2024, but he returned just as good as ever in terms of his in-ring work. In terms of creative, Lee has since turned heel and has been paired with Tyriek Igwe and Tyson Dupont as the High Ryze, though that group has more recently been featured on EVOLVE programming rather than main NXT TV.
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