WWE Shakes Up the Future With Huge Roster Cuts

At least once or twice a year, news breaks of major roster cuts in WWE. It’s an inevitable moment, as superstars who are being underutilized are let go. It’s a stressful time for talent, who wait to see if they are next to get a phone call. It also creates a lot of talk among fans, who share both their frustration that a favorite wrestler has been fired and hope that they will find success elsewhere. On Friday, September 4, a whopping 10 more releases were reported, and although none were main roster stars, the cuts signify a shake up in WWE’s future.

10 WWE NXT and Evolve Names Were Released

• 10 WWE NXT and Evolve stars were released on September 4.
• The news was broken by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select.
• Evolve is where new stars ready themselves for NXT or fight to get back to the show.

After SmackDown went off the air on Friday night, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select broke the news of 10 WWE roster releases. Many of them were names you probably haven’t heard of.

Zena Sterling performed at NXT live shows and appeared on WWE LFG and Evolve. Anya Rune wrestled in Evolve as well. Braxton Cole wrestled for Evolve and WWE NXT, and was shown in the third season of WWE LFG. PJ Vasa made his wrestling debut with Evolve in 2025. Ellen Akesson is a powerlifter who trained at the WWE Performance Center but had yet to debut in the ring on TV. The same goes for bodybuilder Marcus Brown. And Gary Wilson was a referee for both SmackDown and NXT.

Then there were three names that NXT fans will be more familiar with. Adriana Rizzo was with NXT for three years, where she was part of the D’Angelo Family, before working with Evolve as an interviewer. Wendy Choo found some success in developmental with her silly gimmick of a wrestler who’d rather sleep than do anything else, before undergoing a change as the Evolve Women’s Champion. Lastly was Jasper Troy, who won the inaugural men’s LFG and was later a WWE Speed Champion.

For those unaware of the name, Evolve has become the minor league brand below NXT. If a wrestler isn’t working on Tuesday nights, they have another opportunity to grow and shine on the once indie promotion now owned by WWE. Airing on Wednesday nights on Tubi, Evolve is now the home of known names working their way back up such as Cutler James, Brooks Jensen, and Thea Hail.

WWE NXT Remains the Path to Main Roster Stardom

• Wendy Choo and Jasper Troy were the most prominent and surprising names.
• WWE’s main roster is depending heavily on older veterans.
• As names like Oba Femi and Trick Williams move up, new stars take over NXT.

WWE letting go of Wendy Choo and Jasper Troy is the most surprising. Choo had the talent and was able to work with anything she was given. How many other wrestlers could pull off wearing pajamas in the wrestling ring? As for Troy, he broke out during a stunning promo he cut on CM Punk in LFG. He impressed so much that the judges voted him the first season winner, and he had a lot of momentum in NXT for a while. He may have been green in the ring, but Troy’s size and look made him appear to be the ideal WWE superstar and one worth taking time to build up.

These roster cuts won’t seriously alter the on-screen product, but their loss will still be felt. NXT is the developmental stage which readies wrestlers new to the sport or coming over from other promotions. Recently, before they took over Raw and SmackDown, the likes of Oba Femi, Trick Williams, and Je’Von Evans were tearing it up on NXT. None of those names entered developmental as a known name certain to make it. They could have easily ended up just like the new round of releases.

WWE is on the brink of a new era. The older main event veterans like CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and Roman Reigns can’t be depended on for too many more years. The youth movement of Femi, Williams, Evans, and Bron Breakker is about to take over. As more are called up from NXT, up-and-comers ready for an opportunity are taking their place. It’s a unfortunate part of the business, but many of them won’t make it. Some, we’ll never hear from again. Others, however, will keep fighting, hoping to earn their way back. Let’s hope that at least a few of these names reappear in WWE or elsewhere in the near future.