Wrestling reactions as WWE cuts ten wrestlers from NXT roster
On Friday afternoon, WWE began releasing talent from NXT 2.0. WWE typically has releases on April 15 and they had 10 rounds of talent cuts over the first two years of the pandemic, so the releases weren’t a surprise. It was more of who was included in the releases. The first two names announced were Dakota Kai and Malcolm Bivens.
Kai had recently reunited with Raquel Rodriguez (Gonzalez) to capture the tag team titles. After losing the aforementioned title, she unsuccessfully challenged Mandy Rose for the NXT Women’s Championship on April 12.
Bivens was the manager for Diamond Mine. According to Fightful, Bivens did not re-sign with the company in February.
The following were also released on April 29:
- Dexter Lumis
- Persia Pirotta
- Harland
- Paige Prinzivalli/Blair Baldwin (referee)
- Draco Anthony
- Mila Malani
- Sanjana George
- Raelyn Divine
NXT talent reactions
Bivens was the first to tweet shortly after his release. He released a video joking that what would miss the most was Xia Li.
— Big Stoke (@StokelyHathaway) April 29, 2022
Rising star Cora Jade tweeted a sweet post about Dakota Kai.
https://twitter.com/CoraJadeWWE/status/1520134265110994944?s=20&t=Z6udyHnfUlwj0oNxgB6qaA
Persia Pirotta simply tweeted Three Little Birds- Bob Marley. The classic song includes the lyrics “Don’t worry about a thing cause every little thing gonna be alright.”
Three Little Birds - Bob Marley
— $TEPH DE LANDER (@stephdelander) April 29, 2022
Harland posted a picture with the a caption that Parker Boudreaux is back.
https://twitter.com/harlandwwe/status/1520148369955557377?s=20&t=Z6udyHnfUlwj0oNxgB6qaA
Paige Prinzivalli was an NXT ref who recently changed her name to Blair Baldwin. She posted this encouraging picture on Twitter.
One of my fav drawings. I love you, God and I love you all! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Wm7upkORPX
— Paige Prinzivalli (@paigeprinz) April 29, 2022
Mila Malani had not debuted on TV before her release. She quote tweeted a fan that said they were still with her.
right back at ya ❤️🔥 https://t.co/HJDt2CaCEN
— mila moore (@itsmilamoore) April 29, 2022
Sanjana George was another talent who never had the chance to debut on TV. She had been under contract with WWE for a year. Prior to signing with WWE, she had two MMA matches in India.
Raelynn Divine signed with WWE during SummerSlam tryouts last year, but never made her in-ring debut on TV. She is the sister of WWE Superstar, MACE.
WWE talent weigh in
Former wrestler and NXT announcer, Beth Copeland, tweeted her support of Kai.
.@DakotaKai_WWE is a leader and an outstanding talent. One of my favorite woman wrestlers and a lovely human being.
— THE GLAMAZON (@TheBethPhoenix) April 29, 2022
Shayna Baszler also had words of praise for Kai.
.@DakotaKai_WWE is far & away one of the best wrestlers I have ever been in the ring with. And the gap is large…..now watch it grow. #KingKota pic.twitter.com/BS9Fcma7IM
— Shayna Baszler (@QoSBaszler) April 29, 2022
Former WWE Superstar, Anthony Greene weighed in on Pirotta.
https://twitter.com/alternative_ag/status/1520142288424423426?s=20&t=jkO74WPzoIFocDipKawOaQ
WWE released some surprising names today in Kai, Bivens, and Lumis. All three will likely land somewhere quickly once their 30-day non-competes are up. Harland aka Parker Boudreaux came in with a lot of high hopes, but it seems like it didn’t pan out for WWE.
Next. Asuka and Mustafa Ali return to RAW. dark
WWE has continuously cut women since 2020 and they released five women wrestlers and a referee today. It’s hard to believe that they care about developing their women’s division in NXT 2.0 to even get them to the point of being on RAW and SmackDown. They are starting a Women’s Breakout Tournament soon, so here’s hoping these women are successful.
We wish the best for all of the talent released today. As always, stay tuned to Daily DDT for the latest.