Report: USA Network "Disappointed" With WWE Releases, Worried About NXT Changes
The fallout from news of Vince McMahon's upcoming WWE NXT changes continues.
Another day, another story of discord between WWE and one of the company's broadcasting partners.
This time, it's USA Network, home of Raw on Monday nights and NXT on Tuesdays. The Mat Men Pro Wrestling Podcast's Andrew Zarian reports that he has heard of several high-ranking USA personnel talking about NXT, with one quoted as saying the following on the brand's recent releases.
On top of this, there's a perception within USA Network that Vince McMahon's upcoming NXT alterations may not be for the better:-
Hearing a lot of chatter from USA Network higher-ranked reps regarding the releases from NXT.
"Personally I'm disappointed with how this is going" The perception from many is that these upcoming changes will be negative. 1/2
Advertisement— Andrew Zarian (@AndrewZarian) August 9, 2021
WWE cut 13 wrestlers from the NXT talent pool on Friday, including former North American Champion Bronson Reed, Mercedes Martinez, and Bobby Fish. This is on top of the 12 NXT and 205 Live performers cut by the company in July - and more releases are expected to follow.
News of this latest round of departures was followed by a comprehensive Dave Meltzer report on McMahon's plans for NXT, with the WWE Chairman and CEO seemingly reverting to an older style of developmental favouring younger, bigger athletes over the indie standouts his company has largely focused on signing over the past few years. USA's concerns mirror those of the fans, who responded with concern when the story broke.