During a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez revealed more about WWE's decision to release another round of NXT and main roster Superstars. Keith Lee, Eva Marie, and Karrion Kross were among those fired by the company last week, though at least some - including Nia Jax - may have been axed due to their vaccination status.
According to Meltzer, there are around 10 names who came close to being cut that weren't...for now.
"There were probably about 10 others that were in strong discussion about being cut. Pretty much everyone that was not being used well was on the bubble and they were considering cutting. I’m gonna guess when I saw the list of the people that were originally looking at being cut but were not, that a lot of those people I can see them being cut. Essentially everyone at NXT that’s a veteran that you don’t see on TV. All of those guys."
"Ciampa and a few others might be safe just because they’re kind of legacy stars and you still want them on television just to kind of ease the transition. Although eventually with the direction they’re going, Ciampa doesn’t fit. They may keep him but a lot of the other ones like Danny Burch or [Timothy] Thatcher, those kind of guys. I’m not saying going to be cut but they are on the bubble."
Meltzer noted that Johnny Gargano and Kyle O'Reilly's contracts are both nearly up, so don't be surprised if they too head for greener pastures. As for the story going around that a refusal to have the COVID-19 vaccine factored into why WWE released certain talents, it sounds like that's true.
"Probably a half dozen or more that did not get vaxxed that were cut and it was very much a part of the reason. The thing is and I know this from a couple of different people because I asked ‘were you told that if you don’t get vaxxed that you were in trouble?' They never told anyone to get vaccinated, as far as I know, or threatened [or told] you have to."
Why is it important to WWE that wrestlers are vaccinated? Well, the main reason is likely that not opting to have that both increases risk of illness (which would affect storylines) and potentially stops them from travelling overseas to countries like the UK and, crucially for WWE, Saudi Arabia.
Stay tuned on this one as we learn more.