Backstage Reason For WWE’s NXT Releases Revealed
The April 24 and May 2 WWE releases have significantly altered the company’s roster.
The first batch of releases saw prominent names like Kairi Sane, Zelina Vega, Aleister Black, Motor City Machine Guns, and The Wyatt Sicks featured in it, whereas the second batch featured Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Tonga Loa, and JC Mateo.
The first list was not limited to the main roster, as some talents from the developmental system were also let go.
These wrestlers are: Tyra Mae Steele, Carlee Bright, Sirena Linton, Tyson DuPont, Tyriek Igwe, Chris Island, Malik Blade, Trill London, Andre Chase, and Luca Crucifino.
Before representing any other wrestling promotion, the aforementioned talents must abide by a 30-day non-compete clause, which will end on May 24.
Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer informed his subscribers on X that the NXT cuts were more in relation to talent evaluation as opposed to budget cuts.
Dave Meltzer, too, wrote about the WWE NXT cuts on the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, noting:
Steele (Tamyra Mensah-Stock, a 2021 Olympic wrestling gold medalist) had won LFG and was pushed as going to the NXT roster after winning the series, but then only used for a few weeks before being forgotten about. In truth, she did not impress.
Bright and Linton are both on the current season of LFG, meaning they were cut the day before the season started where they were battling for an NXT television push. Bright also just started airing on a commercial for The General Insurance with Rhea Ripley.
Questions Raised Over LFG’s Relevance After Tyra Mae Steele’s WWE Release
Something unprecedented happened when WWE released Tyra Mae Steele on April 24.
Steele, who is a former United States Olympian, won Season 1 of Legends & Future Greats (LFG) as the mentee of The Undertaker.
She had also performed on a few NXT tapings, while also wrestling in a mixed tag team match at NXT Heatwave, teaming up with Tavion Heights against Chelsea Green and Ethan Page.
Steel’s Season 1 win should have secured her a spot on NXT, but she announced that she would go to EVOLVE, where she competed until her release.
Following Steele’s release, Bryan Alvarez revealed that there was confusion backstage on the developmental brand, as some of them questioned the relevance of LFG if its winner was at risk of losing their job.
A lot of people in NXT questioning what the point of LFG is if they’re just going to cut the winner.