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Last night’s bloodletting within World Wrestling Entertainment with 18 known talents having been released from Raw, Smackdown, WWE NXT and/or in the case of Harry Smith, some great void somewhere in between brands, brings to mind the following question.
What are we doing here?
The professional wrestling business is said to be in a massive boom period by some, but even ignoring the 70+ talents that were released by WWE this year alone, we’ve seen talents cut by MLW as they’ve opted to roll back their output and roster after streaming deals have yet to take hold and in the case of Ring of Honor, every single contracted talents will have been released by the Spring of 2022 thanks to issues with parent company the Sinclair Broadcast Group.
There’s been a nuclear arms race to sign or keep talent since All Elite Wrestling first became a thing in 2019, but much like the countries that build and maintain nuclear power plants and silos with nuclear bombs across the world, there’s only one problem once you acquire these things - you have to maintain them.
World Wrestling Entertainment hasn’t done a great job of maintaining their talent over the last several years. Sure, there are a very small subset of stars who drive the company’s engine and will be remembered as the defining personalities of this era of the company, unless something unforeseen happens, such as Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, Drew McIntyre, Charlotte Flair, The New Day, The Usos, etc. but it is hard to argue that some of the releases that found their WWE careers ending, at least for now, were well beyond the control of the talents themselves.
Before we go any further into looking at the releases, there’s been a lot of talk overnight that some of the releases may have been spurred on by the vaccination status of some of the talents. No matter how you feel about the COVID-19 vaccinations (and full disclosure, I am vaccinated, which tells you where I fall on the argument), the reality is that if there is any truth to that, no one within WWE is going to go on record and admit that, because for some, it opens up a massive can of worms in terms of whether they can require independent contractors to be vaccinated or not.
However, WWE has always required talents traveling internationally to make sure they are inoculated against diseases they may encounter overseas that they wouldn’t likely deal with here in North America, so it’s not a stretch to believe the company wanted talents inoculated, especially after Vince McMahon’s own brother passed away during this pandemic. Additionally, as those in the film, TV and stunt worlds have increasingly learned, it’s going to be a logistical nightmare for a company to mount and run tours, domestically and abroad as more and more venues and countries start enforcing guidelines related to vaccinations.
For example, If you are WWE or any other promotion, it will eventually (and we may already be at this point) be impossible to sign and use a talent if they don’t want to get vaccinated. If “Blue Marvel” is signed to WWE and they want to invest in him/her as a talent, that means they devote TV and marketing time to the character. If Marvel doesn’t want to be vaccinated, for whatever that reason is, it now puts WWE in a position of not being able to send Marvel on the road to certain venues, to appear at certain promotional and marketing events, to have Marvel tour internationally, not to mention the higher likelihood that Marvel could get sick and miss time (or worse), or spread COVID-19 to others.
If you are WWE and you’re trying to get the touring back in order and get the locomotive’s engine chugging along as fast as possible, the last thing you want is to continue to find obstacles on your railroad tracks. So, it makes sense they would want to try and make their process going forward as easy as possible. It’s pretty obvious advice at this point that if someone shows any intentions of working for WWE going forward, even in terms of getting a tryout or being an extra, they are going to need their COVID-19 vaccinations in order.
So, having addressed the vaccination rumblings, I want to return to the original question at hand, what are we doing here?
It’s no secret to anyone who follows WWE’s main roster programming that there are far too many segments on far too many weeks on WWE shows that are bloated and with talents who aimlessly float around. Whether it's a talking segment that goes on forever or verbiage that no one outside of WWE actually speaks or understands, repeated versions of the same concepts, or just matches that have no real purpose in the long-term storytelling beyond something was needed to fill a few segments, we all know what these segments are, what they look and feel like and when we wonder why is this happening, yet again.
There's good reason for these segments existing. In many cases, the plans for the shows are meticulously ripped apart by Vince McMahon in production meetings the week before anyone arrives at TV tapings. Then, in many cases, McMahon throws the script out the window the day of the show - even his own ideas! - and everyone starts from scratch as he shoots down ideas until we get what pops up on the show.
The closest equivalent to this process, given the live proponent of the show, would be SNL, but there’s likely never been an episode of SNL where the first half of the show is on the air and the creative team is working on the latter half of the show. That has happened many times in WWE in recent years. At least SNL has something locked in before Saturday so that they can run through a dress rehearsal to make their final decision on what makes air when they finally broadcast.
In WWE, the final decision is never really final, thus everyone else waits around, hovering, trying to do their job to the best of their ability despite the impossible environment they find themselves trying to succeed in. The parameters of what the boss wants changes, multiple times, sometimes on the same day. It's Vince's vortex and everyone else is just spinning in it. Whether you want to blame McMahon’s eccentricities on his pursuit of whatever the best creative in that moment might be, his age, his health or just waking up on the wrong side of the bed that day, the WWE product has suffered and continues to suffer because of them.
Instead of the accountability being that perhaps someone in his 70s doesn’t know what’s hip and fun for a younger generation watching his version of professional wrestling, there’s instead a revolving door or writers and staff and talent, while the Emperor remains.
Understand, I’m not writing this advocating that Vince McMahon give up the throne. No one is going to legitimately believe for a second that anything short of a medical emergency is going to lead to the exit of Vince McMahon, but what I am stating is that until someone with some power in the company uses it to challenge McMahon as opposed to being in total fear for their jobs or having a job that requires them to enhance and enrich whatever his wishes are in that moment, nothing is ever going to change. Until something does, the talents who live their entire life trying to achieve the dream of signing with WWE, will instead, in many cases, end up in the meat grinder until they are discarded to go elsewhere.
It’s insane to think that just an hour after the company was celebrating that their revenue was $258 million in the third quarter of 2021 and Stephanie McMahon was comparing WWE talents to superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, talking up how they were all their own franchises waiting to be mined on an earnings conference call, it may as well have been Infinity War after the call concluded, because bodies were dropping left and right.
However, while every talent has to take some accountability for their own mistakes and short-comings, WWE’s main roster often gets into a groove where instead of accentuating these talents, they place them in a position to get stagnant and fail, not over-achieve. Need some evidence?
Keith Lee was signed after a hot run on the independent circuit and continued that hot run in WWE NXT. He was the first man to hold both the NXT and North American titles, but more important than that, he was entrusted enough by the company to be an important supporting character in their Netflix film The Main Event, exposing him to a youthful family audience. Even more than that, two years ago at Survivor Series, he was the one presented as the badass NXT representative, going toe to toe with Roman Reigns and being given the big rub. Instead of capitalizing on that, Lee remained in NXT far too long, had the music and even his costuming changed when he came to the main roster and from day one, it was a mis-step, both in his presentation and a clear, distinct break from his NXT personality. He was Keith Lee in name alone, as fans who liked him waited for him to consistently become the Keith they always liked and fans who didn’t know him never got to see him consistently become a talent they’d fall in love with. His health issues and needing time away from the ring notwithstanding, does anyone truly believe that had Lee not gotten sick, he would have been treated any differently? WWE spent weeks upon weeks retooling him in dark matches, bringing him back and dropping him, but the Lee that earned his place in the company, who succeeded in NXT, was never truly seen. That’s not Lee’s fault, especially when there was hardly ever any creative in place to support him. Name one great Lee angle on Raw. Exactly.
Then, there’s the sad case of Mia Yim, an extremely talented, unique personality and performer who is signed during a time period where WWE and everyone else wants to tout diversity. With the exception of the Retribution stable and story that seemed to stumble almost immediately out of the gates, what opportunities were provided for Yim on the main roster? There were plans to reintroduce her as someone outside of Reckoning but they were halted and then she was swapped from brand to brand without ever being used. Not a dark match. Not putting someone else over. Not managing someone. Never, ever used. She’s released last night, but really, did she ever have a fighting chance out of the gate? Not really, and even worse, she was someone unique who had she been utilized, could have been immediately seen by portions of the audience as representing them. Instead, she’ll bring those unique traits, her inspiring backstory and her in-ring work, elsewhere.
Karrion Kross and Scarlett are another example of WWE NXT coming across something that worked and then WWE’s main roster stamping it out. Kross was never going to be Ricky Steamboat in the ring, but not every wrestler needs to be Steamboat or Brad Armstrong in the ring. Kross’ strengths were always his appearance, the presentation of being a bad-ass who enforced his will in the ring and in NXT, a hell of an entrance alongside Scarlett. There was certainly an attraction created with that act. So, the team is split when Kross goes to the main roster and in his first appearance, the undefeated (and at the time NXT Champion) Kross loses in two minutes to Jeff Hardy.
Ignore that a portion of the audience watching Raw is not watching and doesn’t care about WWE NXT. There was actually a meeting somewhere where a pitch was made and approved, that the best way to debut the brand new guy whose strengths are being a muscular tough guy and who used to legitimately guard people’s lives for a living, was to have him come out and lose in 90 second to a babyface who hasn't been consistently pushed in forever (allegedly, according to some, due to Hardy's age) after said babyface cheats even though he never ever cheats. Forget that the follow-up was all screwed up because Hardy caught COVID-19, Kross was dead in the water the second that creative was approved, because you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
The creative, in that 90 seconds, blew every piece of work that Kross and everyone down in WWE NXT put into to build him up and get him ready to be an asset for the company. Removing Scarlett from the act was taking a hatchet to the mighty oak for sure, but the creative, which Vince McMahon had to approve, took a chainsaw to the tree before the company had any chance to enjoy the fruits of its own labor.
Say what you will about Eva Marie, but she had a personality that the audience either extremely liked or hated, which is what you want in a pro wrestling character. Her Smackdown run several years ago elicited a great response and the creative, where she constantly somehow got out of performing, was pitch-perfect to lather up the segment of the audience that didn’t respect her as an outsider reality personality coming into their pro wrestling. Her return this time around? Some great vignettes and then a short alliance with Doudrop, which was great for debuting and getting Doudrop into the mix, but for someone who had previously made waves for the company even in her short bursts, there was nothing clicking for Eva Marie. It wasn’t even a shock to hear she was released last night as there seemed to be more of a reaction to it being reported she was back with the company than anything the company did with her - and again, this was a person with a great personality that the company never truly seemed to want to utilize this time around beyond a few initial weeks with Doudrop. What was the point in her even returning?
Let’s keep going down the list. Franky Monet was a great asset and piece of Impact Wrestling as a personality but from the second she popped up in WWE NXT, no one seemed to know what they wanted her to be or do, except not be the same Taya Valkyrie. They debuted her twice and then it was almost like she was shoved over into the corner before Thanos snapped his finger and she disappeared yesterday. She didn’t fail. There was nothing good or bad about her time in NXT. She wasn’t even given the chance TO fail.
Harry Smith, same story. The company decided to bring him back and then he was so low on the list of talents, he was just collecting a check to sit and wait and do nothing. Not only was there no creative plan for him, there wasn’t even any thought into what brand he should have been part of. The narrative has always been that Vince McMahon loves big talents, but here was Smith, who checks off all those boxes, just waiting in some void somewhere, not even important enough to bring to TV to sit around and eat WWE catering. Whether you like Smith as a talent or not has nothing to do with it - unless there’s something behind the scenes we are unaware of, the WWE system never remembered to actually put Smith, you know, INSIDE their system so that they could get something out of the investment they were putting into him - and now, they never will.
Ember Moon was released last night and wrote on Twitter that she had to laugh. So do I, because anyone who saw her work in Texas or elsewhere knows how great she was as Athena, this bad-ass powerful wrestler who’s might and ferocity far exceeded her 5’2” frame. Once she shifted from WWE NXT to the main roster, Moon just floated around until being injured. Then, when it appeared she’d find her footing again with a fun return to WWE NXT, NXT stopped being NXT and suddenly, she stopped being a WWE talent. Who failed here? Moon? I’d argue that she didn’t and I’d argue that when she shows up somewhere else, it won't be long before people smack themselves in the head and wonder why she wasn’t used better in WWE, just as people ask that now about the former Rusev, Miro, now that he's found himself in AEW.
We can keep going down the list, but again, the question: what are we doing here?
WWE is in an era where they are making more money than ever before but releasing talents from all levels of importance - from former WWE Champions on down to developmental talents - at a quicker pace than ever before, instead of making the most out of those same talents.
Zayda Ramier, a Booker T protege, was seen as can’t miss when she was hired, but not only did she not miss, she was never really given a chance to hit the target. Blake Christian was tearing things up on New Japan Strong and in GCW, but even with being tweaked to fit into the WWE system, what chances was he truly given before being let go? With most of what made NXT so captivating to the audience now gone, and so many talents who went through that system (many of whom were successful and became NXT stars - including five recent former WWE NXT Champions!), one can't help but wonder if Paul Levesque even wants to come back after losing power and dealing with some pretty major health issues, but that's likely a column for another day.
The future of WWE NXT notwithstanding, the fact that talents get regularly frustrated with how they are used isn’t news. Every wrestler wants to be the biggest pushed star and to be the World Champion. We reported weeks ago that Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado had been regularly seen waiting to talk to management to voice their concerns about how they were used.
In the eyes of some in the company, I am sure, they were seen as pains in the ass who needed to just go away and do the job that was asked of them. If you are a wrestler and this is all you’ve wanted to do your entire life, unless you are so carny you don’t care about anything but the next check you can squeeze out of someone, there’s a level of pride that comes with your performance and in loving what you do. When you don’t get to do that, pride is replaced by bitterness. At that point, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy and there are very few Drew McIntyres who go through that process and then return better and become a more important asset for the company, and one could even argue that McIntyre has been sadly pushed into a less relevant position in recent months.
Whether you think Lucha House Party or anyone else should have been used better or not isn’t the issue - that’s subjective, but there’s an old line in a Steve Austin ECW promo where he’s talking about his World Championship Wrestling run - “They fed me sh** and I became complacent” - and there’s a lot of WWE talents today who certainly feel that way but can’t figure out how to get an audience with the Pope to change their fate. Last night, the clock ran out for them. We know Metalik wanted out, but there are lots of others who have been let go over the last 18 months who just wanted to have their dream job and be the best at it they could be, because they grew up wanting to be part of WWE, only to end up trapped in the same void that Harry Smith was in.
The fault cannot just be seen as the talents failing. If so, why have there have been so many talents who have failed in WWE but seem to be doing pretty damn well elsewhere? What is scary is that unless there is a change to the WWE system, we’re going to continue to see this churn of talents who could and should be potentially used in a stronger way instead just continue to be part of a bloated TV product where they flail around, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, never being put in a position for anyone to truly care about them before they just disappear one day.
Not every character on every TV series is going to be the lead star of the show, but everyone who is part of the ensemble is there for a reason, to drive the narrative of the show forward. If WWE can’t figure out what the role of their talents are in driving the WWE narrative from week to week and PPV to PPV, who they hire and fire is not the issue and never will be.
It’s time for someone to sit down with Vince McMahon and say, “What are we doing here?”
The problem is, the majority of those in a position to do so have their own families and mortgages and lives to maintain and who wants to put themselves willingly within distance of a killing blow?
One can understand and respect that, but until someone truly gets Vince McMahon to listen and consider the question, the majority of those working for the company are on a treadmill, going nowhere, until the inevitable.
For 18 talents, the inevitable happened yesterday and now they find themselves part of the race to grab bookings and hopefully find a new full-time job in professional wrestling, something that is looking to become increasingly harder as more and more of their fellow wrestlers from WWE and other companies land on the open market. One wishes them luck and hopes they realize it wasn’t they who failed WWE. One can easily argue that for many, it was the other way around.
Yesterday was an awful day, but unless there are changes addressed all the way at the top of WWE that radiate through the entire company, it will be far from the only awful day for talents going forward - recent history has already told that tale. When the next earnings quarter has been completed in a few months, we'll be hearing that tale yet again, unless something changes. So, what are we doing here?
Mike Johnson can be reached at MikeJohnsonPWInsider@gmail.com.
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