Vince McMahon Making Significant Changes to WWE NXT to Suppress AEW Momentum

On this week’s Friday night, WWE released over a dozen of wrestlers from NXT and 205 Live while SmackDown was airing on Fox. Most of the released superstars were from NXT. As usual, Vince McMahon drew most of the ire.

Even superstars who were over with the crowd like Bronson Lee and Mercedes Martinez found themselves out of the company. At first, people speculated that only Vince McMahon was the reason for these massive firings, but it was more than just the chairman.

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However, the reason for these firings is more than just ‘budget cuts’ this time around. The WWE management is seeking to gain control of the “Wednesday Night Wars” between NXT and AEW.

Vince McMahon is planning on revamping the philosophy of NXT

According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that these NXT’s recent firings are a small part to change the whole dynamics of the black and gold brand.

Meltzer also reported that along with Vince McMahon, Bruce Prichard and John Laurinaitis were also involved in these latest NXT cuts. However, he further noted that Shawn Michaels and Triple H were not the decision-making factors.

WWE did this to regain control over Wednesdays when both NXT and AEW are fighting for ratings and views. Lately, Tony Khan’s company beat NXT for four consecutive weeks in terms of viewership.

Meltzer said now the goal is to go return to the older style of developmental, bigger guys and younger guys. WWE is currently focusing on superstars who are young and have the charisma to get over with people.

He reported – “no more midgets, no one starting in their 30s. They want people that can be box office attractions and main characters.” 

Clearly, AEW is crawling under Vince McMahon’s skin and he will do just about anything to regain control of the wrestling’s viewership like he has been doing. Maybe we are bound to see some more major changes in WWE.

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