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Fightful has learned a little more about the shift in mentality, hiring, and developmental for WWE, and some concerns raised about them.

We can't corroborate everything that has been reported elsewhere, and are still working to find out more, but there has been a noted shift in the development of talent. Hits to morale happened well before this past weekend's releases, with female WWE talent speaking to Fightful about their concerns for the future of their booking, as well as who would be hired to work with them, once Johnny Ace was put back in his talent relations spot. 

Canyon Ceman had plenty of heat within WWE and the Performance Center, but that's also happened with nearly every person we've spoken with as it results to talent relations. However, when it became clear that Ceman was on his way out, there were a lot of concerns about what direction NXT's hiring was going. There were also some names passed on at recent tryouts that people in NXT thought were going to be a slam dunk, that a couple of wrestlers claim were red flags. 

If it seems like there have been a lot of "NXT morale low" posts since the pandemic, there have been, with a noticeable shift happening since the pandemic started. 

Comments

Anonymous

Sounds bleak!

Anonymous

How long is NXT’s deal with USA Network?

Damian Bushay

They might as well get rid of NXT at this point. Kills me to see how they ruined it so fast

Anonymous

So a global NXT presence probably unlikely at this point huh?

Anonymous

The wrestlers who have a need to be creative will more likely in up AEW and those who just want that rub of being in the WWE will end up in NXT. Great time for ROH to pickup some talent for their roster

Dave Wilkins

I’m really concerned for NXT at the moment. It’s the only WWE show I bother watching regularly and it seems like it is being dismantled before our eyes.

Anonymous

I wonder what will happend to talent like campia gargano and thatcher will they just move to main ?

Anonymous

Now whats goin to happen with NXT UK now? Cuts could be coming there too.

e d

Having nxt around was a no brainer, grooming talent for the main roster and building future stars. Without a developmental system, thier long term future doesn look good, espeially if you combine that with people being turned off by their business practicses. This is gonna be really bad for them in a few years or so mark my words.

JB

SRS any idea what USAs reaction to any of this is? Seems wild to be turning the “third brand” into a clear minor league (if that?) after it gets put on national tv

Anonymous

I wonder if HHH has heat with Johnny Ace or Bruce Prichard and now he can’t overcome their vision for the product. Also the ratings have not improved since moving nights meaning they were hindering AEW’s growth more than growing themselves. But it really feels like a dismantling of everything HHH has been doing for the last 8 years and a return to pre-2010 WWE. I fully expect them to can most of the current women, back up the brinks truck to get Kamille and Penelope Ford as soon as they’re available, and they, along with Scarlett will be the future anchors of the women’s division. Then they’ll release all of the indie darlings they’ve acquired since 2015 or so.

Anonymous

If this was being done to bolster Raw and Smackdown and revert NXT back to a true developmental, I'm fine. But if the WWE doesn't see the creative problems on the main rosters, they aren't fixing the problems.

Anonymous

How does the USA network feel about this going on

Anonymous

The timing is so interesting to me. As we come out of the pandemic with more opportunity for larger audiences, you would think this is a time for growth in NXT. Makes me truly wonder about the sale rumors. Also - going public may have been the worst thing for WWE. I didn’t assess it back then but why did they go public? Did they need the cash? Once public, it’s all about the bottom line.

Doug McCloud

For years, we've heard that everything on the main roster goes through Vince. I can't help but wonder if Vince is blaming Triple H for so many NXT talents flaming out on the main roster (even though it's the garbage creative team's fault), and has decided to turn back the clock even further on how WWE develops talent. People have been saying for years that Vince has grown increasingly out of touch with what modern audiences want, this seems to be an indicator that he's retreating to his "safe" space and moving even further away from what audiences want.

Kamonte Jackson

Vince is the problem but so are his puppies dogs (Bruce Prichard, John Laurinaitis, and Nick Khan). Triple H is going to have to stand up to his father in law or something bc he is furious inside but i guess it is not easy to go against Vince even if you are in the family.

Matt

Do you talk to any talents that are actually happy? Or are those just not reported?

fightful

There aren't a lot of talent happy in WWE. You read the news lately?

TorchCrawler

All I can say is this makes me sad. The NXT women's division was literally my favorite thing in wrestling.

Will Landrum

I don't know that Penelope would leave AEW as long as they make a decent offer. Shes friends with almost everyone there, is involved in vlogs, her SO is there and she is smart enough to see how wwe treat talent. Shes also one of the few women who get consistent tv time.

ARose Lab

That division is/was the best women's division out of any brand or any show for a minute! Multiple creative storylines, so much talent, great characters and superb matches