Keith Lee, Karrion Kross, Nia Jax part of 18 WWE releases

Shortly after WWE’s quarterly investors call wrapped, the company began making cuts to their talent roster, citing “budget cuts” as the reason. 

From the main WWE roster, Keith Lee, Mia Yim, Nia Jax, Karrion Kross, Eva Marie, Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik, Harry Smith, and B-Fab were released. 

From the NXT roster, Scarlett, Ember Moon, Franky Monet, Jessi Kamea, Katrina Cortez, Jeet Rama, Oney Lorcan, Trey Baxter and Zayda Ramier have been let go.

Mass releases have become a regular occurrence in WWE throughout 2021 as they made 13 roster cuts on August 6, another 14 on June 25, six on June 2, eight on May 19, and 10 on April 15. 

Kross and Lee are both former NXT Champions. Lee had been rebranded as “Bearcat” Keith Lee on Raw. Kross had not been accompanied by Scarlett on the main roster as he had been in NXT. 

Jax is a former Raw Women’s Champion and a two-time former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion. Her pairing with Shayna Baszler was the focus of the women’s tag division in WWE throughout much of this year. 

Scarlett stated on Twitter that she has a 30-day non-compete clause following here release, while Oney Lorcan stated on YouTube that his non-compete is 90 days. 

Monet tweeted: “TAYA VALKYRIE” while Moon tweeted: “All I can do is laugh…”

Women’s title match off Tuesday’s WWE NXT

Update —

Raquel Gonzalez and Franky Monet’s NXT Women’s Championship match is officially no longer being advertised for tonight’s show.

**********

It appears that one of the matches that was scheduled for tonight’s NXT will no longer be taking place.

Fightful Select reported today that Raquel Gonzalez and Franky Monet’s NXT Women’s Championship match that had been announced for tonight’s NXT will no longer be taking place on the show. A reason for the match not happening tonight wasn’t given.

After having a staredown with Gonzalez the previous week, Robert Stone informed Monet last Tuesday that she would be challenging for Gonzalez’s NXT Women’s Championship on tonight’s show. WWE has been building to a Gonzalez vs. Monet title match since Monet confronted Gonzalez while making her NXT debut this April.

NXT’s revamp will begin with tonight’s episode. The show will feature Pete Dunne, Tommaso Ciampa, Kyle O’Reilly, and LA Knight facing off in a fatal four-way match to determine the new NXT Champion. The wedding of Indi Hartwell & Dexter Lumis will also take place on the episode.

Dunne vs. Ciampa vs. O’Reilly vs. Knight was originally announced as a number one contender’s match, but it was changed to being for the vacant NXT Championship when Samoa Joe had to vacate the title due to injury.

Franky Monet to challenge for WWE NXT Women’s title next week

The NXT Women’s Championship will be on the line as the brand’s revamp begins next week.

WWE has announced that NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez will defend her title against Franky Monet on NXT next Tuesday. Monet (the former Taya Valkyrie) first set her sights on the NXT Women’s Championship when she confronted Gonzalez while making her NXT debut this April.

Monet interrupted a backstage interview with Gonzalez on NXT two weeks ago. She promised to take Gonzalez’s shine and her title.

After Gonzalez defeated Jessi Kamea on last week’s show, Gonzalez and Monet had a staredown in the ring. Monet is aligned with Kamea and Robert Stone.

Gonzalez won the NXT Women’s Championship from Io Shirai at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver in April. Gonzalez has since had title defenses against Mercedes Martinez, Ember Moon, Xia Li, and Dakota Kai.

NXT’s new logo will officially debut next week as part of the revamp. There will also be a new look for the Capitol Wrestling Center.

Here’s the full list of what’s been announced for next Tuesday’s show:

  • Fatal four-way number one contender’s match to determine the first challenger for Samoa Joe’s NXT Championship: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. LA Knight vs. Pete Dunne
  • NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez defends against Franky Monet
  • The wedding of Indi Hartwell & Dexter Lumis

NXT Championship rematch, Franky Monet’s in-ring debut set for May 25

– Finn Balor is getting his rematch against NXT Champion Karrion Kross — but the match won’t be taking place at NXT’s next TakeOver event.

WWE has announced that Kross will defend his NXT Championship against Balor on the Tuesday, May 25 episode of NXT. Kross defeated Balor to win the title at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver last month.

After Kross defeated Austin Theory in a non-title match on tonight’s NXT, Balor confronted Kross in the ring. Balor told Kross that he doesn’t wait in lines. Balor said he wants his rematch — and Kross said he wants the match just as much as Balor.

Balor, Kyle O’Reilly, and Pete Dunne had all interrupted Kross on last week’s NXT, leading to a brawl breaking out. When Kross was the only person left in the ring, Theory and NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano ambushed Kross and laid him out.

The Kross vs. Balor title rematch is taking place in advance of this year’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House event. It was announced earlier today that TakeOver: In Your House will be held on Sunday, June 13.

– The Tuesday, May 25 episode of NXT will also feature Franky Monet’s WWE in-ring debut. Monet (formerly known as Taya Valkyrie) made her first appearance for NXT four weeks ago. She’s had interactions with NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez, Io Shirai, Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon, and Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro.

Taya Valkyrie debuts as Franky Monet on WWE NXT

Now going by the name Franky Monet, Taya Valkyrie arrived in WWE on tonight’s TakeOver: Stand & Deliver fallout edition of NXT.

Monet made her NXT debut by interrupting new NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez on tonight’s show. WWE had been hyping for the past two weeks that Monet would be debuting tonight.

After defeating Io Shirai to win the NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night one last week, Gonzalez cut a promo on tonight’s show and declared that the Raquel Gonzalez era has officially begun. Monet’s music then hit and she came out to the ring with her Pomeranian dog. Monet congratulated Gonzalez on her title win but said she was here to formally introduce herself to Gonzalez and the world. Monet called herself La Wera Loca Franky Monet.

Monet said the best division on the planet has now gotten a little shinier, a little more boujee, and a whole lot better. Monet said that since Gonzalez is at the top of Monet’s division, she’ll be seeing a whole lot more of Monet. Gonzalez responded by saying Monet is lucky that she’s in a good mood tonight. Gonzalez said that if Monet interrupts her again, she’ll shove Monet’s dog straight up Monet’s butt. Monet told Gonzalez that she’ll be seeing her every single Tuesday.

After Monet left the ring, new Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley and new SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair appeared on NXT and celebrated their title wins with Gonzalez.

It was announced this February that Valkyrie had signed with WWE and joined the Performance Center. She’s a former Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion and has also held the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship three times during her career.