NXT Higher Ups Were Not Happy About Several NXT Releases

The news on WWE releases doesn’t stop coming in.

Needless to say, there were several people unhappy with Mustafa Ali’s release from WWE. Ali had been effectively moved to NXT, where he was gaining steam on the brand. Sources that Fightful spoke to were frustrated with the lack of communication between WWE and NXT.

Specifically, we were told that some of the frustration emanated from the fact that there’s been a renewed effort to stack NXT with familiar names. In addition to losing one of those names, a planned match with two main roster talent in Mustafa Ali and Dominik Mysterio is now off the table. Those that we heard from said there was no indication as of Tuesday that Mustafa Ali was going to be cut, and even no indication cuts would happen to anyone with a main roster contract.

For those noting that Mustafa Ali asked for his release, he did, though that was over two years ago.

Shawn Michaels spoke on Ali on NXT’s media call and admitted it did change plans on the brand, and that he liked Mustafa and enjoyed working with him. In an update, we’ve learned that Shawn Michaels had plans for Mustafa Ali well into March of 2024, and he was set to be a long term part of the brand.

We asked Michaels about other releases that affected NXT’s immediate plans, and he said Dana Brooke. Dana had often pushed to be more active in the ring, and we were told separate of Michaels’ comments, that NXT was happy to have her there, and she was well liked by those on the roster, and willing to help.

This article first appeared on our premium service, Fightful Select and was republished here on Fightful. If you complain about it being “old news,” you have to pay for SRS’ weed. Subscribe to get exclusive news every day, and a half-dozen weekly podcasts.

To directly support us and our continuing breaking news, interviews, and the like, subscribe to FightfulSelect.com. You’ll get exclusive news sent to you directly before anyone else, and dozens of podcasts monthly including Alex Pawlowski’s Sour Graps, Sean Ross Sapp’s Q&A, Retro Reviews and more