WWE developmental talent are on the clock.
On October 10, WWE released several wrestlers from NXT and EVOLVE, including Wes Lee, Jin Tala, and Lance Anoa’i, among others. Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer and Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp have since noted that these cuts align with the company’s approach of cycling out developmental talent, with those released viewed as either not progressing quickly enough or lacking the potential to reach the main roster.
Speaking on a recent episode of his Hall of Fame podcast, NXT commentator Booker T addressed the releases, delivering a stern warning to talent that their window to make an impression is limited.
“As far as this developmental system, I would implore guys to think that they got perhaps two, two and a half years at that. So you better be motivated to try to figure out what this thing is all about. Don’t cruise. Don’t put it in cruise control, because you can find yourself being one of these guys getting released. The clock is ticking and they’re watching to see if you are one of the guys perhaps that could make it on the main roster and make it to SummerSlam and WrestleMania.”
-Booker T
Booker T also expressed surprise at the release of former NXT North American Champion Wes Lee, though he acknowledged that the length of time Lee spent in NXT without progressing to the main roster made him a likely candidate for cuts.
You can find the full list of WWE releases from October 10 here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on WWE’s recent developmental talent releases and their policy on talent progress as soon as we hear more.
H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
