UPDATE: WWE has announced another release, as 205 Live’s Desmond Troy confirmed the release on social media. Troy, real name Denzel Dejournette, wrote on Twitter “Life is tough, but it’s about time I got some adversity to see what I’m made of. What a way to start the weekend. Thank you @TripleH and @WWENXT for the opportunity. There’s power in the name and with a name like Denzel Dejournette I can’t and won’t lose! ✌🏾.” It was believed the previous 12 cuts were the only releases happening, but it appears there could be more after all.
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WWE is currently in the middle of SmackDown, but during the show, the news of new releases from the NXT roster started coming to light courtesy of Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful. The releases include a multitude of names from the NXT roster, including some prominent talents recently featured on television. So far the list includes Bobby Fish, Bronson Reed, Jake Atlas, Ari Sterling, Kona Reeves, Leon Ruff, Stephon Smith, Tyler Rust, Zechariah Smith, Asher Hale, Giant Zanjeer, and Mercedes Martinez. That’s a long list, and so far WWE hasn’t officially confirmed the news, but we’ll keep you posted as we know more.
That’s a large number of stars, and people like Reed, Fish, Reeves, and Rust had just been featured on television earlier this week. Reed was the North American Champion just a few months ago, while Fish recently returned from an injury and was on a solo run after the disbanding of the Undisputed ERA.
In all, WWE released
-Bobby Fish
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) August 7, 2021
-Bronson Reed
-Jake Atlas
-Ari Sterling
-Kona Reeves
-Leon Ruff
-Stephon Smith
-Tyler Rust
-Zechariah Smith
-Asher Hale
-Giant Zanjeer
-Mercedes Martinez.
Meanwhile, Atlas had been involved in strong showings, and Reeves was part of the recent Breakouts Tournament. Rust was part of the just-launched Diamond Mine faction with Roderick Strong, and Martinez was recently in a feud with Tian Sha and Xia Li, though she was also competing for the NXT Women’s Championship not too long ago.
It’s unknown why these stars were released, and many of them hadn’t even really had a chance to be pushed or featured on NXT. ina major way, at least on television. We might very well hear the budget cuts reasoning given once more, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Our thoughts go out to all those who lost their jobs today, and we sincerely hope they get back on their feet and back into a wrestling ring as soon as possible.
