Dave Meltzer has explained why WWE’s post-WrestleMania 42 release wave was much larger than in previous years, pointing to three distinct factors that combined to produce an unusually high number of departures.
Meltzer explained on Wrestling Observer Radio that the primary driver was WWE playing catch-up after deliberately restraining itself during the same period last year.
“The story on the cuts being so many, there’s a couple of reasons behind it. What happened is essentially, last year, because they had basically just taken over the company and they were trying to be good guys, so they didn’t order a lot of cuts last year, they kinda held back. So it’s kinda like a catch-up,” Meltzer said.
He also detailed how the wave of NXT call-ups to the main roster directly created the need for a large number of departures, and how the impending SmackDown format change amplified the situation further.
“The main roster cuts, essentially, it was two things. Number one, all the people who were brought up from NXT that got spots, essentially, they wanted to remove a similar amount of people. They went to creative. It was creative that made the call as to who. They said, ‘Who are you not planning on using? Give us X number of names.’ The number that were brought up, and additional names from SmackDown, the reason being that SmackDown at the end of this month is going to two hours, so therefore there is an hour less time of television, so therefore there is less time to put as many people on, so therefore there would be additional cuts on the SmackDown side. So that’s the story behind the number of cuts,” Meltzer said.
As of this writing, there have been 30 known WWE departures since WrestleMania 42, including 18 from the main roster. That compares to just six main roster cuts at the same point last year, meaning this year’s wave was triple the size. Among the notable names let go were the New Day, the Wyatt Sicks, Kairi Sane, Aleister Black, and the Motor City Machine Guns.
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