Just over a month since the company’s last set of releases, WWE has reportedly let go of several more names.
As initially reported by PWInsider and Fightful, WWE has released Alexander Wolfe, Jessamyn Duke, Vanessa Borne, Ezra Judge, Kavita Devi, Sykler Story and NXT referees Drake Wuertz and Jake Clemons.
Back during the April releases, there were rumblings that further NXT cuts were to follow – and it appears that this is exactly that.
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In terms of the most surprising of these, Alexander Wolfe was seen as recently as last night’s NXT episode, with him seemingly booted out of Imperium after losing to Killian Dain. Then there’s Vanessa Borne, who was mooted for a move to Raw or SmackDown before the pandemic hit earlier last year.
Of course, Jessamyn Duke is one of the famed Four Horsewomen of MMA - alongside Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler and Marina Shafir - and it’s baffling to think that WWE at one point had everything in place for a Four Horsewomen vs. Four Horsewomen rivalry and did absolute zero with it.
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Then there’s Drake Wuertz, who has caused quite the stir in recent months due to his political proclamations – including missing an episode of NXT earlier this month so that he could attend a virtual school board meeting where he argued how making people wear face masks only serves to encourage sexual predators.
At this point, WWE has yet to publicly announce these releases, and this is very much a developing story.
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.
