Right after a quarterly report that was nothing but optimistic about WWE financials for the future, where financial guidance for the year was increased due to the return to house shows which are now profitable and the recent Saudi Arabia show, World Wrestling Entertainment released 18 wrestlers.
The company announced for quarter three revenues of $255,853,000 and $43,486,000 in profits. The same quarter last year did $221,595,000 in revenue and $48,278,000 in profits.
The reason for the decline in profits is that during quarter three, Raw and Smackdown were still being taped at the Performance Center which saved a ton of money. Once the expenses for the Thunderdome play into the equation in the next quarter, things will look better in comparison with the prior year and there is literally nothing to worry about. In addition, the fourth quarter includes a Saudi Arabia show this year when there wasn’t one last year.
Blake Christian is returning to GCW. The former Trey Baxter’s release from WWE was just announced, but Christian will not be out of work for long.
GCW has announced Christian for their So Alive event in Dallas, Texas on December 4, plus their December 17 Blood on the Hills show in Los Angeles, California.
Christian tweeted: “See you in exactly 30 days #AllHeart” a reference to his WWE non-compete apparently expiring in 30 days.
Christian previously appeared for GCW throughout 2019, 2020 and the early part of 2021. He left the promotion after losing a GCW World title vs. career match to Ricky Shane Page on January 30.
Christian had a WWE tryout in October 2020 and his signing was announced in February 2021. His in-ring debut came on the NXT brand in June 2021, where he challenged KUSHIDA for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship in a losing effort.
Christian made the semifinals of the NXT Breakout Tournament, losing to Odyssey Jones in August 2021. He continued to appear on NXT and the 205 Live brand throughout August, September and October. His final WWE appearance came in a loss to Grayson Waller on the October 8 205 Live episode.
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.
WWE President and Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan says that the rash of WWE talent releases are not about readying the company for a sale.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani for BT Sport, Helwani directly asked Khan about rumors of a WWE sale and whether or not the talent releases that have taken place in 2020 and 2021 could be explained as preparation for a sale.
“I don’t know that there’s one explanation for it,” said Khan. “Ultimately, what’s looked at is this person, for us, going to move the needle now, or in the imminent future.”
“We live in the present, we live in the future, we don’t live in the past,” Khan said.
When asked to explain his “open for business” quote from an appearance on the Recode podcast, Khan said that “If someone credible calls on anything, NFTs, trading cards, we take the call. We are inherently sales people,” Khan said. “When I say ‘open for business,’ if somebody calls, credible, asking ‘hey, are you guys for sale?’ it’s what’s your offer? What are you thinking?”
Khan said plainly, though, that there are no active conversations with any outside entities about buying WWE currently going on. “People call all the time about all different things, but we’re not in an y active conversations about any of that.”
“We’re not trying to sell, that’s not our intent, there are no internal meetings about selling this company. The internal meetings are about growing it,” Khan said.
Khan went on to explain that there is a collective of individuals making the decisions as to which talent will be released. Khan listed himself, Bruce Prichard, Kevin Dunn, Stephanie McMahon, Paul Levesque and Vince McMahon as those who are responsible for the choices, but clarified that Vince McMahon has the final say.
“Keep in mind, in WWE, as you know, there’s one boss and that’s Vince,” Khan said.
Bronson Reed has spoken out following his WWE release on Friday.
In a Twitter video, Reed spoke for two minutes about his release, saying that it came as a shock.
“So I have had time to reflect now and some time to just process what has happened,” he said. “I was very shocked, very upset. As you know, this just doesn’t affect me, it affects my wife as well. We are here in a foreign country. But my wife is a super positive person and has kept me positive as well. I just wanted to reach out to all you guys, I am just very thankfulm you knowm for the love and support I have received online,”
He went on to thank various people at NXT and the WWE Performance Center, including Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Terry Taylor, Scotty 2 Hotty, Norman Smiley, and Steve Corino.
“I want to thank all the boys backstage as well,” he continued. “It was a great locker room to be a part of. I am staying positive and I do believe, I am bar none, the best super heavyweight in the world. And I will continue to prove that so, as they say, one door closes and another one opens. But for me, many doors are open. Now, it’s just about which one I want to walk through.”
Reed was one of thirteen people that were cut this past Friday. Other names include Bobby Fish, Mercedes Martinez, Tyler Rust, and Kona Reeves, among others.
The recent round of WWE NXT cuts were made by Vince McMahon, Bruce Prichard and John Laurinaitis and more changes are coming to the brand, according to Dave Meltzer on Saturday’s Wrestling Observer Radio.
Meltzer said that Paul Levesque and Shawn Michales had nothing to do with the Friday night cuts that saw thirteen talents released including Bronson Reed, Bobby Fish and Mercedes Martinez.
Meltzer said the mentality is that NXT is going to change in some ways, likely going back to the earlier days of developmental with getting talent that are younger, bigger and that could someday main event at WrestleMania.
“The feeling is that they lost the war (with AEW) and are getting back to it (younger and bigger),” Meltzer said, adding there are divisive opinions with key decision makers as to what wrestling is. Right now, the side of younger and bigger has McMahon’s ear.
“The wording is ‘no more midgets, no one starting in their 30s and people who can be box office attractions and main characters’,” Meltzer said.
This is not your typical Friday night show. Join Denise Salcedo on Speak Now Pro Wrestling as she discusses the major and unexpected news of new talents being released from WWE during the first portion of the show. Then in the second half of the show, Denise gives a quick review of the most noteworthy highlights from SmackDown.
Also, as a reminder, next week, Denise will be covering both WWE Smackdown and AEW Rampage together.
Topic Rundown:
WWE releases: Who they are, what they did, etc.
Live chat reactions to WWE releases
How this may impact the company
The future of NXT
SmackDown highlights: the latest with Sasha Banks. Bianca Belair, Seth Rollins & Edge, Roman Reigns & Finn Balor, plus more!
You can catch Speak Now Pro Wrestling multiple times a week: Tuesdays for WWE NXT, Wednesdays for AEW Dynamite, and Friday Nights for SmackDown and Rampage~!
Bronson Reed heads up the latest list of WWE NXT talent that have been released — a list of twelve talents that broke Friday night as WWE SmackDown was still on the air.
The 32-year-old Reed had been with WWE since 2019 and won the North American title earlier this year, holding it for just over a month. Reed tweeted, “Just got released by WWE. This monster is back on the loose … you don’t know WHAT you’ve just done.” and tagged AEW, Ring of Honor, Impact and New Japan.
Former two-time NXT Tag Team Champion Bobby Fish was also released. The 44-year-old was part of the popular Undisputed Era faction that included Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong that broke up this year. Strong defeated Fish this week on NXT TV.
Other talents that were released include:
Mercedes Martinez
Leon Ruff
Tyler Rust
Jake Atlas
Ari Sterling
Kona Reeves
Zechariah Smith
Asher Hale
Giant Zanjeer
Stephon Smith
Denzel Dejournette (Desmond Troy)
Most of the releases were reported by Fightful and PWInsider.
This is the latest round of cuts in what is becoming a regular occurrence for both the WWE main roster and NXT.
Last weekend, Bray Wyatt was released while Ric Flair reportedly asked for and was granted his release several days later. In June, WWE cut both main roster and NXT/205 Live talents like Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, Ruby Riott, Fandango, Lana, Tyler Breeze, Tony Nese and others. Those followed ten April cuts (Samoa Joe, Iiconics, Mickie James, Chelsea Green and others) and eight May cuts.
Robert Lee Eaton, one of the nicest guys and best performers inside the ropes in pro wrestling history, passed away on 8/4 at the age of 62.
Best known as Beautiful Bobby Eaton of the Midnight Express, Eaton was noted as a tag team specialist, but he was just as adept at singles wrestling when his number was called.
Eaton was one of the most complete and versatile performers inside the ring in history. His bumps, selling and carrying a match was equal to the best world champions. His offense was flawless, with some of the best timing, flying, high spots and punches that you would ever see. The Midnight Express versions with both Dennis Condrey and Stan Lane would have to rank near the top of any reputable list of the greatest tag teams of all-time.
His weaknesses were all outside the ring. He had the long bleached blond hair and wore nice ring jackets, so he did present himself like a star. But he was otherwise normal looking. He didn’t appear to be much into weight training or steroids in an area when that was a major part of the business, so his body, while he had enough size to be credible against all but the biggest guys, was below par for the time. He was very nice, but also shy, which didn’t translate well to interviews.
JoJo Offerman is reportedly no longer under WWE contract.
PWInsider reported this morning that Offerman departed from WWE ‘six to eight months ago’. A specific timeframe regarding her release wasn’t given.
Offerman signed with WWE in 2013, immediately joining the first season of Total Divas along with Eva Marie. She started out as a wrestler, with her most high profile appearance being at Survivor Series 2013, where she and the rest of the Total Divas cast defeated AJ Lee, Kaitlyn, Rosa Mendes, Tamina Snuka, and Summer Rae in a Survivor Series elimination match, where she pinned and eliminated Tamina.
Although she worked a few matches as part of the reality TV series, she soon shifted to becoming a ring announcer once she left the show following the first season.
Bray Wyatt, who was released from WWE on Saturday, is the husband of Offerman, and together they have two children. Budget cuts were cited as the reason for Wyatt’s release.
The former Buddy Murphy will face Brian Cage at an independent event on September 18 in his first post-WWE appearance.
Cage posted on Instagram that he would be facing Murphy at the 2300 Arena, the former ECW Arena, for Battleground Championship Wrestling.
“JUST ANNOUNCED!,” Cage wrote. “Murphy vs Machine. One of the hot matches I was looking fwd to since the slew of WWE releases. Bout to own the spotlight, have the match of the night and def get my s*** in! One helluva return to the ECW Arena.”
Murphy was released from his WWE contract on June 2, meaning the match will take place after his 90-day no compete expires. He had been with the WWE since 2013, working in NXT until he was called up in 2018. After a run as cruiserweight champion, he switched brands until being paired with Seth Rollins. The two later split, but Murphy only appeared on television sporadically after that, last being seen asking to reunite with Rollins.
Cage is the current FTW champion in All Elite Wrestling. He is scheduled to defend the title against Ricky Starks on this week’s Dynamite, the first night of Fyter Fest.
Other names scheduled for the BCW show include Matt Hardy, nZo, and the former Aiden English.
In a new interview, Triple H talked about Samoa Joe’s new role in NXT after being released earlier this year, as well as other cuts that have taken place in recent months.
Talking to the New York Post, Triple H said that the plan for Joe to work behind the scenes for NXT was something that was being talked about prior to Joe being released on April 15 of this year.
“It was something that we were already talking about anyways,” he said “And what people tend to focus on, because it’s the visual, is the in front of the camera, the character side of it. But what Joe and I have been talking about for a long period of time, before COVID, probably from the time he started in WWE in general [is] that’s he’s a very smart guy that’s very business-oriented, has a level head, and all those things. And [we discussed,] ‘What is the future like and how can he help build the future,’ and he was enamored with the other side of the business and what we do.”
“There was an opportunity for him to transition, no different than you would say, ‘Well, he was released from this pitching contract and started managing the team and became a coach.’ It’s a similar situation” Triple H added.
When asked about the recent string of WWE cuts that have taken place over the last year, Triple H said that it was something that all companies had to do eventually, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Coming out of COVID and a pandemic and everything else, all companies are having to make difficult decisions and we were no different,” he said. “It’s a part of what we do and it happens on a regular basis, all companies have to do it. It’s not the most pleasant part of what you do, but it is what it is.”
In an interview with Ryan Satin, Joe said that he had been contacted about coming back to NXT a few hours after he was released. In addition to his on-screen role as an enforcer for NXT, he is also working in the talent scouting department, as well as other administrative jobs.
During a Twitch stream that took place earlier today, Breeze said that he appreciated he had stayed with WWE for eleven years, as most people don’t last that long.
“I was with the company for eleven years,” he said. “An eleven year run in the biggest wrestling company in the world is unheard of, it’s a huge thing. Most people are there for three or four years. The fact that I was there for 11, fantastic, more than I could ask for.”
He also said that he had not expected to be fired, but assumed it could happen, adopting the mentality of preparing to be fired since the day he got hired. As it relates to his future, he said that he would set up a Cameo and have some ideas for a Patreon, and would continue streaming.
“I’ll be streaming and we have a lot of stuff to figure out,” he said. “A lot of stuff is still in the works. Yes, I’m setting up my Cameo again, I’m just waiting for them to approve it. There’s a lot of stuff in the air that we’re slowly figuring out. You guys will kinda know as I know. We’re trying to figure out a lot of stuff.”
“Will I continue my wrestling career? I don’t know, we’ll have to see,” he said when asked. “I haven’t decided yet.” Breeze also confirmed that he had a 90 day no-compete clause.
Breeze was one of fourteen people that were released by WWE on June 25. Fandango, his long-time tag team partner, was also cut.
A look at the WWE’s last PPV of the Thunderdome era and what did and didn’t work on the Hell in a Cell show is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer. We’ve got the booking, future direction for Money in the Bank, update on MITB tickets, star ratings, poll results and match and performer of the week.
Also in this issue:
A new lawsuit against UFC and why it is a potential game changer along with what would be almost a sure thing if it’s successful regarding WWE, what the claims are, and if it’s successful what it says about payment of money to athletes.
New Japan running shows in the United States, a look back at the early shows in Southern California, who is and isn’t on the cards and more.
Becky Lynch returning, SummerSlam ticket sales, WWE return to MSG, WWE ticket sales, FOX and NBCU suggestions for WWE programming, Montez Ford surgery, Karrion Kross and Bronson Reed tryouts, Shayna Baszler talks angle, International TV ratings, controversy over writer with no product knowledge continued and reaction internally, Rey Mysterio talks angle he doesn’t want to do, Kushida talks Kyle O’Reilly, Titus O’Neil talks his award nomination, plus next week’s TV shows, WWE’s biggest YouTube videos from this past week and WWE company market value.
Saturday’s UFC show with match-by-match coverage, future directions for the talent, business notes and more
Changes being worked on for the Nielsen ratings and who isn’t happy about them and why, television vs. streaming in 2021 and a comparison using AEW programming.
Suwama’s vacating the Triple Crown, how it will be decided, and then look back at how the three belts, the United National, PWF and International belts all formed, when, their rules, their history and the creation of the Triple Crown more than 30 years ago.
A feature on the death of former bodybuilding star turned pro wrestler Melissa Coates.
More into detail on the ratings than any other source, how many different viewers the shows had, breakdown of who watches the shows and how they watch, DVR numbers and how long the average fan watches.
Results of the major pro wrestling events of the past week.
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SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
WWE has filed trademarks for “Hachiman” and “Elektra Lopez.” Elektra Lopez is Karissa Rivera’s new in-ring name in NXT.
On “Shooting The Sh*t Uncensored” last week, Molly Holly spoke about the two-month trial that she’s currently doing as a WWE producer: “So when I went to the Hall Of Fame or maybe it was WrestleMania, anyway, recently I was asked if I would be willing to do like a two-month tryout as a producer to see if it’s something I would wanna do, and at first I was like, ‘No, I just — my life right now is so stress-free. Like I’m just super happy the way things are’ and then, they gave me the hard sell about how I would be such a blessing to the girls that are up and coming that used to watch me when they were little and they look up to me and then I could give a whole fresh perspective and they just gave a lot of reasons as to why I should at least give it a try. So I am in the tryout period and it’s been positive so far. So I haven’t decided, one, if I want to work there full-time and they haven’t decided if they want me full-time. They might say like, ‘Oh, we thought you’d have [brought] this to the table but it turns out you weren’t a good fit,’ something. So that’s why I didn’t want to make a big deal about this producer trial because it might fizzle out and maybe nothing will happen. But so far, it has been a positive experience.”
Shayna Baszler told Sports Illustrated about feeling that it’s important to show that she can cover a wide range of what pro wrestling is today: “I need to show that I can be counted on to nail whatever it is I’m being asked to do. It’s easy to be a badass tyrant like I was in NXT. I can totally fit that role. After establishing myself as that, it’s important to show I can cover a wide range of what professional wrestling is today. It’s like music. Some people like country, some like heavy metal. Not everything is for everyone, so I understand why some people roll their eyes when I do comedy. But I’m established as what I am. All it takes is one sentence from a promo delivered properly. I am a legitimate badass; that’s always there for me. I’m glad I can be on Raw and show a wider range.”
Drew McIntyre will be a part of the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week event. He will be a part of Shark Rumble, which will air on Discovery+ and on Discovery’s TikTok. Shark Week will take place during the week of July 11.
WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded John Cena vs. Kurt Angle in Cena’s debut from the June 27, 2002 episode of SmackDown, Brock Lesnar vs. RVD in the King of the Ring tournament finals from King of the Ring 2002, and Paige vs. Naomi for the Divas Championship from Money in the Bank 2014.
Other Wrestling
Xeva reported that Sexy Dulce, the former Sexy Star, has been hospitalized after undergoing emergency surgery for appendicitis in Guatemala. She is expected to be in the hospital for a few weeks while recovering.
Marina Shafir tweeted about her release from WWE: “It’s a cold world. Good thing I was born in Moldova. Thank you to everyone who reached out and thank you for the opportunity @WWENXT. I will continue to be the hardest worker in the motherf*cking room, but now i need to be keen. I’m not done.”
Arturo Ruas also wrote about his release: “First of all I want to thank all my friends and fans for all the kind words and support!! Means a lot to me! Also want to thank @WWE for all this years where I had the opportunity to meet great people and learn from the best! Can’t wait for what’s coming next!! See you soon!!”
Bayley and Amanda Huber wrote posts in appreciation of Tyler Breeze after his release.
Tony Nese tweeted about his Cruiserweight title match against Buddy Murphy from the post-WrestleMania 35 episode of 205 Live in 2019: “I love that my Mania moment left an impression on some of you. I suggest watching the rematch vs @WWE_Murphy from the 205live after. That was the match we really wanted to give you but weren’t allowed. Good thing is, no one in-house even watches 205 so we just did it then [winking face].”
On Barstool Sports’ Rasslin with Brandon F. Walker earlier this month, Tony Khan discussed working with Sting: “Sting, who is very much a star of today… I’ll be honest, I don’t know how you could screw it up with Sting. Because I’ve been working with Sting now for the last seven months. This is the easiest, greatest man that I have ever known. And he wanted to work! He wasn’t looking for a $20 bajillion either, I’ll be honest with you. He would be very useful to any wrestling company in the world, and he wanted to do stuff. And he’s at TV every week! He’s a huge part of our roster. So, I count him as a star of the present. Sting hadn’t wrestled a match in many years and this year he came back and wrestled two great matches and two very different kinds [of matches]. He’s very much proved he’s still a star of the present.”
The July 1st and 2nd NJPW shows that will air on NJPW World will be free, with no sign-up required.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio after a newsworthy day in WWE. We go over all of the 14 releases.
We also discuss AEW finanances, Edge showing up at Smackdown, Fast 9 releasing in the US on Friday with John Cena as the main villain, Kenny Omega vs Jungle Boy, the New Japan Pro Wrestling show in LA with Jon Moxley, Filthy Tom’s match with Kojima, and some MMA news.
Check out our new Facebook Group for those of you interested in attending any F4W meetups, including the 2022 F4W Convention.
