Shortly before SmackDown began on Friday night, WWE announced the release of 25 main roster and NXT Superstars. There were some surprises, especially as names like Aleister Black, Bo Dallas, and Kairi Sane were brought back into the fold by Triple H.
Zelina Vega recently confirmed that the call to inform her of her release came from TKO, not WWE's Stamford headquarters. That's led to speculation that the decision to release these wrestlers came from somewhere higher up the food chain than WWE's Chief Content Officer.
Dave Meltzer has shared some insights, revealing that specific talent cuts aren't coming from executives like TKO's Ari Emanuel and WWE President Nick Khan. While they might make the need to cut costs clear, it's ultimately Triple H who decides who should go.
"Nobody above Levesque is saying who to cut. Maybe [WWE President] Nick Khan, maybe not. Ari Emanuel isn’t sitting there saying we have to fire Zelina [Vega] and Kairi," he explained. "By and large, the decision maker, for good or for bad, here is Paul. It’s like in other years where people blamed this person or that person when the decision was 100% Vince [McMahon]."
"There’s not a chance TKO is ordering who to cut. It is possible they’ve got an unofficial salary cap, and Levesque, as the manager, has to keep the number below that," Meltzer continued. "Most likely the salary total would be a Khan decision, and as far as the key in the personnel decision, that’s Levesque, although Khan having input and others having input is likely."
"It’s like Vince would consult with a few people, but at the end, it was Vince’s call, not evil Jim Ross or evil Johnny Ace or evil JJ Dillon."
This isn't hugely surprising in many respects. After all, it would be odd for executives like Emanuel and Khan to sit down and decide which wrestlers should be cut, especially when neither is heavily involved in creative.
In comparison, Triple H has his finger on the pulse and is aware of who isn't being used and who the creative team no longer has plans for.
You can find a full list of released WWE and NXT Superstars by clicking here.