WWE Talent Told “Nobody Is Safe” After Recent Releases
WWE went through a rigorous talent release recently.
On April 24, the Stamford promotion released two dozen of its talents across various brands, with SmackDown suffering the brunt of it.
The entire Wyatt Sicks faction, comprising five members, was removed from the blue brand, whereas the real-life couple of Aleister Black and Zelina Vega was also released. Alba Fyre, who has been an aide to Chelsea Green for a couple of years, was also let go. Motor City Machine Guns were canned, too.
On Raw, Kairi Sane and Zoey Stark were given their marching orders. Sane’s release, especially, took WWE fans by surprise, as she was involved in a long-standing storyline with Asuka and IYO SKY. Stark, too, was declared fit to compete after being on the shelf for the last several months.
EVOLVE and NXT releases featured names such as Tyra Mae Steele, Luca Crusifino, Andre Chase, and Dante Chen, to name a few.
WWE Hall Of Famer Warns Talent About Future
While WWE’s culling of the roster is always a surprise for wrestling fans, it does give the previously unused talent a chance to make an impact on live television.
Despite that, Hall of Famer Booker T has warned everyone on the roster, stating that no one was safe.
The 61-year-old discussed the latest release on an episode of his Hall of Fame podcast, where he called the release a part of the business.
After WrestleMania season, we know a lot of guys normally get cut—that’s just budget, they’ve gotta fix that. This is a round—23 people got cut. I always think this kind of stuff is gonna happen, it’s inevitable.
He then spoke about the importance of making a quick impact, as it could cement a talent’s place on the roster in the long run.
I talk to these young guys all the time, and I tell them, ‘You guys got a certain amount of time to really start making improvements’ for the upper echelon to see—‘We see something in this guy, I don’t know about this guy.
It’s important for these young guys to really hone in and take this thing as seriously as they possibly can. Not saying that the ones who got cut didn’t take it seriously, but you’ve gotta figure out how to make yourself stand out in this business—especially today—because there are so many young kids trying to get into this business.
The former WWE Champion compared different generations, claiming that the industry had changed significantly, and with that change, the company had to adopt a different approach, too.
Now it’s like the Matrix, right? We’re growing talent now. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing—it’s a different thing. And I think today’s talent has so much competition. You’ve got so many people you’re gonna be competing with for that one spot.
He also discussed the release of Tyra Mae Steele, who is a former Olympian, stating that there are no longer guarantees in WWE, irrespective of personal accolades.
I’m talking about Tyra Mae Steele—Olympic gold medalist—that got cut, season one winner of WWE LFG. That should tell everyone that nobody is safe.
You gotta figure it out—do something. Might be a new dress. You guys aren’t missing anything—maybe you want to think about upgrading your outfits. They come dressed the same way every week. Man, I never dressed the same way every week—I always had a different pair of boots, everything—because I had to make myself feel like a star in order for people to look at me like a star.
H/T: Ringside News