It seems that not even the NXT brand is safe from cuts at the WWE.
Today, a handful of superstars were released by the company.
As first reported by PWI, referee Jake Clemons and superstars Skyler Story (formerly Brandi Lauen), Alexander Wolfe, Ezra Judge, Jessamyn Duke, Vanessa Bourne and Indian star Kavita Devi have all been released.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the bunch is Alexander Wolfe. Fed up with his miscues, the Imperium faction turned on him on last night’s NXT broadcast. Previously, Wolfe was been a member of Imperium on NXT UK and was an original member of NXT’s Sanity faction with Eric Young, Killian Dain and Nikki Cross.
Jessamyn Duke entered NXT with pal and fellow UFC fighter Marina Shafir lending a helping hand to Shayna Baszler whenever they could. They have both made sporadic appearances ever since that time and even fewer when Baszler was called up the main roster. Recently, Shafir was at Roderick Strong’s side when he “quit” NXT last month and Duke participated in the now defunct WWE Underground angle.
Dating back to last year when the policy was announced, Duke was vocal about her opposition to the WWE’s third party policy. Word is she made more money off her streaming video game content than actually working for NXT and wasn’t willing to sacrifice that income.
Vanessa Bourne appeared to be an up and coming talent for quite some time dating back to her signing in 2016 after she was trained by Rikishi and Gangrel. For a brief time she teamed up with Aliyah, who has also floated around the NXT mid-card for years.
Jake Clemons Tweeted this out today…
Thank you.
— Jake Clemons (@JakeClemonsWWE) May 19, 2021
…but wrote this just four days ago.
On this day 11 years ago, I debuted at @OfficialRAPW in my hometown of Barberton, Ohio – from the Shamrock, to Turner’s Hall in Cleveland, to the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, to the Bell Centre in Winnipeg to the @WWEPC, I’m very blessed to be living the life I live. pic.twitter.com/EFSJ0dFg1Q
— Jake Clemons (@JakeClemonsWWE) May 16, 2021
Skyler Story had this interesting response on Twitter today…
Opening it back up soon! https://t.co/idJoW6ojpS
— Brandi Lauren (@brandilauren_) May 19, 2021
Ezra Judge had this inspirational message for his fans…
I may be down but never OUT…
Bent but not DESTROYED…The GRIND continues. #BUILTFORTHIS
I didn’t come this far .. JUST TO COME THIS FAR.
Until next time.
Thank you all.
Love you all.
I’ll be back.
— Ezra Judge (@Ezra_Judge) May 19, 2021
The WWE also released Drake Wuertz, who was once the head NXT official.