NXT Morale Described As 'Bottom Of The Barrel' Amid Latest WWE Releases

Morale within NXT has reportedly dropped significantly amid the latest round of WWE releases, which included former NXT Champion Samoa Joe, on-screen general manager William Regal and several of the developmental brand's top backstage officials and former in-ring competitors.

Wrestling Observer Live's Bryan Alvarez described morale within NXT as being at the "bottom of the barrel" on Thursday (January 6).

PWInsider's Mike Johnson also reported on morale throughout the company being low.

“In speaking to a lot...of current and former NXT talents and staff last night, it became more and more heartbreaking as they all knew it was the end of the place and the era that helped build their careers,” Johnson said.

“I can tell you firsthand there were people in [WWE] who rarely have empathy for others as they are out for themselves who were greatly shaken by what went down,” he added.

Johnson also noted that WWE President Nick Khan received much of the blame as the company has released on-screen talent from its RAW, SmackDown and/or NXT during nine of Khan's first 10 months on the job.

“I spoke to a few people who work within Titan Tower last night and this morning and many of them are befuddled, to say the least," Johnson said. "Some admitted are angry...A lot of the long-time employees are gone and a lot of people who have migrated over are Nick Khan knights. No one I spoke to yesterday and today were happy. Many were sad. Many were frustrated. Some don’t even know how to guess what might be next.”

WWE's latest round of releases were announced on Wednesday (January 6) and Thursday (January 7) and included Samoa Joe, who was initially released in 2021, but was re-hired weeks later to work exclusively with the NXT brand at the request of WWE legend and current executive Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, who was reportedly "not happy" about his initial release and "snatched him back" as soon as possible.

Regal took over as NXT's on-screen general manager in 2014 after a decorated in-ring career, while also working backstage as WWE Director of Talent Development and Head of Global Recruiting, having been responsible for bringing in and mentoring many current and past NXT stars.

WWE Hall of Famer Brian 'Road Dogg' James, who had been working backstage as an NXT producer and trainer, and his real-life brother, Scott Armstrong (Scott James), who had worked as a referee for WWE since 2006 and returned from an April 2020 furlough in October, were also both included in the latest round of releases.

Former NXT tag team champion Danny Burch, Diamond Mine member Hachiman (Hideki Suzuki) and Timothy Thatcher were among the in-ring competitors released this week.

NXT backstage employees released this week included, per Comicbook.com:

• Ace Steel (Chris Guy)- Performance Center coach
• Allison Danger(Cathy Corino)- Performance Center coach
• Sarah Cummins- Senior Vice President, Consumer Products
• Ranjin Singh (Dave Kapoor)- former manager of The Great Khali and former Senior Vice President, Creative
• Ryan Katz- Creative Producer
• George Carroll- NXT writer
• Gabe Sapolsky- Consultant