WWE Talent Cuts September 21st 2023 MegaThread - Ali, Dashwood,Boogs

[Deezy]

Boogz doesn't get it. Of course most of the "corporate guys" saw the potential in him. The potential to get some more meme and Social Media money out of him as an act. Not that he couldn't be something good, but let's be honest, Vince and some others of the higher ups probably got some Fandango-Flashbacks, when they came across Rick and decided to sign him and give him a spot, because they hoped to get something similar out of him.

Social Media virality and click numbers are important as fuck for WWE and Boogz was an act that could deliver those right from the get go. He does have the charisma and he has some good basics, but Vince leaving didn't "kill his career" (which is also a pretty shit thing to say, honestly, because fuck man, go onto the indie circuit and craft your skills), Vince losing interest in the Boogz act and having other guys with better in-ring skills and even more social media drawing power to their names, passing Boogz as such an act... that killed his WWE run. For now.

They signed him because he was a freak collegiate athlete who still holds lifting records in the PC combine......him being charismatic af was icing on top.

 

[Storm Trooper]

I think if Vince was in charge he might not have been cut but he was also injured for ages and that probs did the most damage. Also weird thing to publicly stat you lost your career once an alleged sexual predator lost power.

This is so wrong to me. He never said that. Boogs didn't lie about Vince using him better than HHH did. I think it's fair to say that's an indisputable fact. Of course part of that was the injury which really killed all his momentum.

Also, I will never fault anyone for being upset and passionately making bold claims right after they were unceremoniously laid off without notice, and I wouldn't take what they say in said rants as their gospel as emotions are incredibly high.


At the end of the day Boogs is a Viral Superstar. He did shit that went viral which is awesome. However the shelf life of Viral Superstars is very short, and once the clicks slow down you it's time to go away and learn a new hold. As someone else said he'd kill it in Impact. And I would not at all be shocked if he's back in WWE at some point.

 

[Sabretooth]

I think if Vince was in charge he might not have been cut but he was also injured for ages and that probs did the most damage. Also weird thing to publicly stat you lost your career once an alleged sexual predator lost power.

What does that have anything to do with Vince being a fan of Boogs

 

[Dale]

Requested her release, guess that's why hers felt a little bit of an odd one.​

 

[Chris]

Makes sense why Valentina was kept then, hopefully she can find some more TV time

 

[BSE]

It's obvious to me that Vince was a fan of certain people that HHH wasn't a fan of. Boogs is one of those guys. Idk why it's controversial for Boogs to say that.

 

[Roy Mustang]

What does that have anything to do with Vince being a fan of Boogs

Sorry but someone basically blaming the loss of their career on Vince getting what he deserved will feel gross to me (I'd say the injury had way more to do with it).

 

[Sabretooth]

Sorry but someone basically blaming the loss of their career on Vince getting what he deserved will feel gross to me (I'd say the injury had way more to do with it).

He’s not saying Vince didn’t deserve to be thrown out. He’s only saying his career went down because Vince was thrown out. He didn’t specifically say that Vince didn’t deserve it lol.

If I had a boss who was giving me an extra $1000 a week because he liked me and then one day he gets arrested on murder charges. I then say “I’m making less money because my boss is gone”. I’m just stating a fact. I’m not saying I don’t think he deserves to get arrested for murder

 

[John McHenry]

He’s not saying Vince didn’t deserve to be thrown out. He’s only saying his career went down because Vince was thrown out. He didn’t specifically say that Vince didn’t deserve it lol.

If I had a boss who was giving me an extra $1000 a week because he liked me and then one day he gets arrested on murder charges. I then say “I’m making less money because my boss is gone”. I’m just stating a fact. I’m not saying I don’t think he deserves to get arrested for murder

But in a way he's also saying per your scenario, Man if they hadn't arrested the murderer I'd have the same amount of money.

 

[Death By Looch]

It's obvious to me that Vince was a fan of certain people that HHH wasn't a fan of. Boogs is one of those guys. Idk why it's controversial for Boogs to say that.

It's what he said and the way he wrote it, that makes it look pretty bad overall. The way he talks about those people from corporate and the comment that it "killed his career" are red flags that show that he's completely blind to the business and saw himself already as a future mega star in the business... or at least he thought he was on the fast track to become one.

Overall he'd be right, if he'd just claimed that his push got halted when Vince was gone, but the stuff he tweeted there is just crap of someone who has his head up his own ass a bit too far.

 

[John McHenry]

I'm not saying he's a bad guy it's the heat of the moment he was on his way "he thought" Vince left. He stopped cold and then got fired. I'd be pissed too, he just should have thought about what he was saying a little more carefully before xing it.

 

[Vegeta]

 

[Dale]

WWE releases unfortunately unfolded.

There was some frustration among members of the roster we spoke to that WWE announced a $1.4B Smackdown deal and then cut talent. One top star said that most of the list barely had a chance considering they weren't booked, and called it a circle that couldn't be escaped.

Another brought up that the company released Emma just after the WWE Elimination Chamber show announcement in her home country.

The line of thinking from many on the roster is that WWE aligned these cuts with the announcement of Elimination Chamber and Smackdown rights fee deal in order to minimize the negative impact on the company.

Most of the deals have 90-day non competes attached to them.

Several talent that we spoke to had even thought the days of mass cuts were behind them, and deals would simply be allowed to expire. That had appeared to be the method of late.

Among them is Dolph Ziggler, who actually was ready to leave WWE years ago, but got talked into staying with the company. Those that we spoke to this week said that originally, his WWE deal was set to extend into next Summer.

Aaliyah was a name that many in WWE expected to be on the list. She'd been signed with the company since 2015, and was drafted to Smackdown in 2021, but barely used. She did become a Tag Team Champion, but had not wrestled on or off television once in over a year since losing the titles. We were told that she was rarely if ever brought to TV, and was not factored in creatively.

Aliyah had been factored out of creative for over a year, and any time we'd ask for an update on her, we'd simply be told that she wasn't injured, and wasn't being considered for anything at that point.

Mustafa Ali had asked for his WWE release back in 2021, but it was quickly rejected and he was taken off of TV. We're told that as things stood, his WWE deal was up in the Spring/Summer of 2024. Those that we spoke to in NXT had no knowledge that he was going to be released, and noted that he'd even worked through an injury to make his NXT run happen.


Elias has not been on TV in quite some, but we're told that he has not been injured of late. In fact, we'd learned that he'd been pitching ideas up until a month ago. Fightful had been asking about his contract status for quite some time.

Riddick Moss had been a favorite of Paul Heyman when he was running the show, and was someone that Heyman felt that they could get to the main event level. Unfortunately, many others in the company didn't share that sentiment and he struggled to get booked.

Shanky was another name that was never brought up in a creative sense once Triple H took over creative. The company did want him to perform in India recently, but there were no plans for him to return other than that. It was another situation of the company feeling as if the progression in the ring wasn't there. He wasn't considered as a part of the new Indus Sher, and never planned for anything extended in creative. Those that we spoke to said that he was liked backstage.

Quincy Elliott was one name said to have not been a surprised. WWE coaches didn't feel like Quincy was improving in the ring, and between some social media controversies, caused a number of headaches for the company.

Matt Riddle wasn’t around backstage in WWE, even before his release.

Fightful Select has confirmed that contrary to rumors last week, former Tag Team Champion Matt Riddle was never planned for the September 18 WWE Raw show. One source that we spoke to said that the rumor likely emerged from outdated information, and that he was never in the creative plans for the show.

Riddle had been off the road from WWE since alleging that an officer at JFK airport sexually assaulted him, leading to an internal investigation by the Port Authority. Riddle was removed from the September 11 Raw, and taken off the road from WWE. He was never planned for a return.

Those we’ve spoken to claimed that since then, Riddle was not factored into immediate creative plans. He was doing some grappling training per usual this week, and was said to be in good spirits before his release. However, one WWE higher up said that he burned through too many chances while in WWE.

Details Behind Recent WWE Releases | Fightful News

Unfortunate news regarding WWE releases

www.fightful.com

 

[King Kota]

Heyman a Riddick guy say it ain't so

 

[Death By Looch]

Several talent that we spoke to had even thought the days of mass cuts were behind them, and deals would simply be allowed to expire. That had appeared to be the method of late.

Honestly, whoever thought like that probably forgot which company they're working for.