On April 29th, several NXT Superstars were released by WWE that included names like Dakota Kai, Dexter Lumis, Harland, Malcolm Bivens, among several others. WWE official John Laurinaitis was cited as being the person behind the releases and reportedly let the performers go due to budget cuts.
According to the Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer, WWE officials are giving new talent a six months of time to improve and show progression.
“I told you this six, seven, eight months ago, that the new thing is you’re hired and every six months there’s gonna be an evaluation or whatever. And if they feel you’re not getting better, they’re gonna cut you. And there’s no warning for the most part. It’s just ‘Oh, and it’s been six months’, this guy can’t get any better, he’s out of here, she’s not getting better, out of here.’” [9:53 – 10:15]