The WWE released a number of others from its roster days ago, which only continued the culling of its talent throughout most of 2021. With such a large volume of superstars released in the latest batch, fans might be wondering if the company’s ranks will shrink even more before the year ends in. Well, according to recent reports, it’s possible that more superstars could be released fairly soon -- and for very specific reasons.
The latest on the WWE’s roster situation comes from Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Radio (via WrestlingNews.co), who recently discussed the major moves made by the Vince McMahon-owned company. Meltzer, who reported that he had information on the list of names considered before those cuts happened, noted there were ten other wrestlers who were on the bubble that were ultimately retained by the company. Meltzer talked about the talents spared (without naming names) but indicated why those remaining ten could allegedly be released soon anyway:
Of all the people that were cut, there were probably about 10 others that were in strong discussion about being cut. Pretty much everyone that was not being used well was on the bubble, and they were considering cutting. I’m gonna guess when I saw the list of the people that were originally looking at being cut but were not, that a lot of those people I can see them being cut. Essentially everyone at NXT that’s a veteran that you don’t see on TV. All of those guys. Again, they are trying to get younger.
Dave Meltzer focused on unused talent in the NXT brand, especially the longtime wrestlers. The WWE was once interested in pulling in veteran indie stars to hype them for an eventual main roster debut but, if this new information is to be believed, it’s looking like those days could be over.
Part of this is likely due to the shift in focus for NXT. A few years ago, the WWE was aiming to build NXT as a third standalone brand within the company, next to Monday Night Raw and SmackDown. However, with the NXT now seemingly becoming the developmental brand again, there are apparently superstars within the organization that no longer fit the vision:
Before, the idea was that NXT was gonna be this touring brand, and they were looking for guys that could be really good workers to have really good road shows and now that is not the idea. The idea is to get young guys in there…Ciampa and a few others might be safe just because they’re kind of legacy stars and you still want them on television just to kind of ease the transition. Although eventually, with the direction they’re going, Ciampa doesn’t fit. They may keep him but a lot of the other ones like Danny Burch or [Timothy] Thatcher, those kind of guys. I’m not saying going to be cut but they are on the bubble. Their names were definitely considered also. Everyone in their 30s that’s not on TV right now was in a discussion of who let go.
The releases of these unnamed WWE superstars may not be immediate, but the information from Dave Meltzer’s reports suggests that that some competitors' days are numbered. Of course, this is all alleged information and things can change in the wrestling organization all the time. So we’ll just have to wait and see how the rest of the year shapes up for the company’s roster.
Monday Night Raw airs on USA on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Keep with CinemaBlend as we continue to talk about the ongoing top stories in pro wrestling and the future destinations of some of the WWE’s recently released stars.
