WWE Stars in Danger of Being Cut in Next Round of Layoffs

In 2020 and 2021, WWE released dozens of Superstars at an alarming rate.

These culls had many surprises, giving off an impression only a select few were safe from a potential pink slip.

Thankfully, this process of "budget cuts" has slowed down considerably and there hasn't been a major swathe of releases since April.

But you can never feel too confident that another round of releases isn't around the corner, particularly with SummerSlam acting as another divider in the wrestling season.

The following is not a list of people who should be let go and is based on opinion considering on how they have been used recently, their overall perceived spots on the roster and any other factors which may point to their departure from WWE.

Let's look at some names who may be on the chopping block.

Any Number of NXT Superstars

NXT 2.0 is very different to its previous black-and-gold era, including how WWE approaches the talent at the Performance Center.

It used to be that wrestlers would be given many months to train before making an appearance on a house show, let alone television.

These days, it seems each signing comes with a relatively short window to prove their worth. If they don't show enough progress, they're probably gone.

It is almost impossible to judge who could be released, though. Previously, WWE has released talent such as Persia Pirotta and Dexter Lumis in the middle of big storylines, so no one is safe.

However, a few standouts are the following:

• Boa hasn't been seen in months and had several start-stop pushes with the Tian Sha angle.
  
• Dante Chen has been on NXT TV a handful of times but only won once. Everything else has been a loss or a match on Level Up, which doesn't mean much.
  
• Erica Yan had a few appearances on 205 Live and Level Up, but not since May. She also has a 0-9 record.
  
• Guru Raaj had a prominent spot at Superstar Spectacle in January 2021 against Finn Balor but has since settled into a role as an enhancement talent who only appears around once a month.
  
• Ru Feng has a 0-8 record, only two appearances on NXT TV and has wrestled only once on Level Up.
  

These Superstars have been in the system long enough that WWE will likely make a judgment call soon enough, but it isn't looking good for them.

Roderick Strong

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Michael Perry of Ringside News), Roderick Strong has wanted out of NXT for some time.

The former Undisputed Era member, who is married to Marina Shafir of All Elite Wrestling, is "beaten down" with his status in WWE and isn't being released. Instead, he remains the leader of Diamond Mine.

WWE doesn't seem interested in allowing him to reach a new ceiling. If this is it for the 38-year-old, why keep him? It makes no sense that he's too good to let him leave for another company but not good enough for WWE to treat better.

Rather than drag out Strong's tenure, the company should just move on from him.

Commander Azeez

Commander Azeez has had a rough go in WWE. His role as the giant on the roster was overtaken by Omos and his tag team with Apollo Crews quickly led nowhere for him.

The 34-year-old has barely wrestled in recent months. When he does, it is only on Main Event, which WWE barely mentions on its own website.

Since Crews went to NXT and ditched his previous gimmick, Azeez has disappeared. Either he is being sidelined for a future repackaging or WWE Creative has nothing for him.

Given how little progress he's made in six years with the company, his time is likely running out.

Reginald Thomas (Reggie)

For a few months, Reggie was the focal point of the 24/7 Championship, showing off his athleticism in skits with R-Truth and Akira Tozawa and evading his pursuers.

Eventually, that spun into a romance angle revolving around Dana Brooke and Tamina, which was one of the worst storylines of 2022.

Thankfully, it was dropped, but Reggie hasn't made a notable appearance on Raw since then.

The 29-year-old was one of the many filler stars in the Last Chance Money in the Bank Qualifying Battle Royal a few weeks back. Other than that, though, he's just been losing every few weeks on Main Event or house shows.

Clearly, his role right now is as somebody who can be hurled around the ring and used to put someone over. Eventually, WWE swaps out those Superstars with others who can do the same job.

Reggie's peak has likely passed, and he's someone to watch for if WWE has a clear-out in the near future.

Robert Roode

Credit: WWE.com

The thing with budget cuts is that there is a sliding scale. The more money someone makes compared to how highly they're valued can be the determining factor in whether they're viewed as worth the investment.

In 2016, Robert Roode joined NXT as a big name who had won several world titles in TNA. He moved up to the main roster a year later and would likely have secured a sizable salary increase as a result.

The 46-year-old has been a tag team guy for several years, and not even one of the top in that division on a regular basis. Most recently, he was seen possibly gearing up for a face turn alongside Dolph Ziggler to feud with Omos, but that seems to have been dropped.

Since then, Ziggler has started a feud with Theory, while Roode is nowhere to be seen. That means their tag team has been dissolved or The Dirty Dawgs have been put on hold for the moment. But neither is good news for The Glorious One.

Perhaps he wants to leave, as he'd more than fit in AEW. Maybe WWE wants him to renegotiate his contract for a smaller price point? Whatever the case, the longer Roode is off television, the less surprising it would be to find out about his release.

Xia Li

It is frustrating to see how poorly Xia Li has been booked over the past year.

The 33-year-old was gaining momentum when her character was refreshed with the Tian Sha faction. Then, before they had chance to fully succeed, she was moved to SmackDown and given a new gimmick as a babyface protector.

Unfortunately, most of that was weeks of WWE not doing anything with her. She made a few saves, wrestled once or twice, and promptly disappeared.

Out of nowhere one week, Li announced she was no longer protecting others and would be a heel now. Since then, her only notable moment was losing a women's Money in the Bank qualifying match to Lacey Evans.

It seems WWE is unsure what to do with her and hesitant to utilize her, even though she could be useful as an opponent built up to fight Liv Morgan or Bianca Belair to keep things fresh.

All too often in the past, Superstars have been held back and are unable to build a fanbase.

Li could well be the next in that line of names who never stood a chance to succeed.

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Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, Spotify and everywhere you find podcasts. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.