WWE released Velveteen Dream on Thursday as part of ongoing cuts within the NXT brand.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful confirmed the move with people inside the company.
Velveteen Dream, whose real name is Patrick Clark, was discovered by WWE at age 19 as part of the Tough Enough reality show. While he did not win the show, he signed a developmental contract after the taping ended and quickly became one of the company's biggest rising stars after debuting his Prince-inspired gimmick.
Velveteen Dream won the NXT North American Championship in January 2019 and held the title for a record 231 days before dropping it to Roderick Strong. Seemingly on the rise to competing for the NXT Championship, Velveteen Dream's run in the company came to an abrupt halt amid allegations of inappropriate contact with minors on social media.
Underage girls first accused Clark of sending them nude photographs on Instagram and asking for pictures in return. While Clark denied those allegations, independent wrestler Josh Fuller later said Clark tried to get him to send nude photographs under the guise of getting him a WWE contract.
The teenagers posted screenshots of their interactions with Clark, though they were never verified or turned in to law enforcement.
Velveteen Dream made only sporadic appearances on NXT throughout 2020, with Triple H attributing his absence to injuries suffered in a car accident.
"You know, in this day today, accusations are made and you take them all very seriously," Triple H told Brent Brookhouse of CBS Sports. "You look into them the best you can, and you find out what is there and what isn't. In this situation, [Clark] was also involved in a car accident. That's what took him off TV. In the moment, all this other stuff happens and you look into it and you find that there is a situation that people bring to everyone's attention, you look into it and find that it is what it is and there's nothing there."
Despite Triple H's assertation that the accusations had no impact on Clark's standing with the company, he did not make an appearance on WWE programming in 2021 before his release.
WWE has released several NXT talents this week, including referee Drake Wuertz, who had taken criticism within the company and from fans for pushing QAnon conspiracy theories, alleging wearing masks aids child sex trafficking and berating talent who were vaccinated for COVID-19, per Fightful.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful confirmed the move with people inside the company.
Velveteen Dream, whose real name is Patrick Clark, was discovered by WWE at age 19 as part of the Tough Enough reality show. While he did not win the show, he signed a developmental contract after the taping ended and quickly became one of the company's biggest rising stars after debuting his Prince-inspired gimmick.
Velveteen Dream won the NXT North American Championship in January 2019 and held the title for a record 231 days before dropping it to Roderick Strong. Seemingly on the rise to competing for the NXT Championship, Velveteen Dream's run in the company came to an abrupt halt amid allegations of inappropriate contact with minors on social media.
Underage girls first accused Clark of sending them nude photographs on Instagram and asking for pictures in return. While Clark denied those allegations, independent wrestler Josh Fuller later said Clark tried to get him to send nude photographs under the guise of getting him a WWE contract.
The teenagers posted screenshots of their interactions with Clark, though they were never verified or turned in to law enforcement.
Velveteen Dream made only sporadic appearances on NXT throughout 2020, with Triple H attributing his absence to injuries suffered in a car accident.
"You know, in this day today, accusations are made and you take them all very seriously," Triple H told Brent Brookhouse of CBS Sports. "You look into them the best you can, and you find out what is there and what isn't. In this situation, [Clark] was also involved in a car accident. That's what took him off TV. In the moment, all this other stuff happens and you look into it and you find that there is a situation that people bring to everyone's attention, you look into it and find that it is what it is and there's nothing there."
Despite Triple H's assertation that the accusations had no impact on Clark's standing with the company, he did not make an appearance on WWE programming in 2021 before his release.
WWE has released several NXT talents this week, including referee Drake Wuertz, who had taken criticism within the company and from fans for pushing QAnon conspiracy theories, alleging wearing masks aids child sex trafficking and berating talent who were vaccinated for COVID-19, per Fightful.