WWE Rumors on Roman Reigns' Schedule, New Day's Exit and NXT Roster Cuts
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Rumored Reason for Roman Reigns' Updated Schedule
It appears that fans who were expecting a full summer of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns will have to pump the brakes.
According to Steve Carrier of Ringside News, Reigns "has been removed from WWE's official listings for all four June episodes of Monday Night Raw, despite previously being advertised for a full stretch of shows following his WrestleMania 42 victory over CM Punk."
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reported Reigns is no longer appearing in June because he's not scheduled for the Night of Champions event in Saudi Arabia on June 27.
Reigns had previously been advertised for the Raw events on June 1 in Turin, June 8 in Paris, June 15 in Baltimore, and June 22 in London, but Carrier noted that his name has now been taken off WWE.com listings for those dates.
Reigns has long been criticized for his part-time schedule, and he addressed his availability during the WrestleMania 42 post-show last month.
"All this part-time crap? We're gonna fix that," he said at the time. "Y'all better make some room, because y'all gonna see my ass all summer."
Reigns is scheduled to defend his title against his cousin, Jacob Fatu, at the Backlash premium live event on Saturday in Tampa. It now sounds like that could be his last major moment before preparing for SummerSlam on August 1 and 2 in Minneapolis.
Rumored Reason for New Day's WWE Departure
WWE fans were left shocked on Saturday when reports surfaced that Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were leaving the company.
While many are wondering what's next for the members of the famed New Day stable, Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline provided a potential reason for their exit, revealing that Kingston and Woods were not pleased with how recent contract discussions played out.
"We can also confirm that in the case of New Day, it was their decision to leave based on what TKO was offering for a new deal. To be specific, New Day's deals were not up," Alvarez stated (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News). "They were asked to restructure to TKO deals, they didn't like the deals, so they were then granted their release."
Kingston, Woods and Big E formed New Day in 2014, eventually developing into one of the most beloved groups of the modern era. The 12-time tag team champions set a then-record with a 483-day reign between 2015 and 2016. Big E, who suffered a neck injury in 2022, has retired from in-ring competition and remains with WWE as a broadcaster.
As for what's next for Kingston and Woods, PWInsider reported that there is "a lot of excitement in AEW circles about the potential of The New Day coming into the company." (h/t Derek Holloway of Ringside News)
A match between New Day and AEW's The Young Bucks has been teased for years, and it sounds like it's finally a possibility. The report clarified that New Day's WWE departure "doesn't mean the team is coming in, but there are some who are excited about the idea of that match finally happening."
While nothing is confirmed, it surely will be exciting to see what Kingston and Woods can do outside of WWE.
Rumored Reason for NXT Roster Cuts
The recent round of NXT roster cuts reportedly wasn't caused by the usual catalyst.
Fans have grown accustomed to the routine rounds of roster cuts that WWE claims are due to budgetary reasons. However, Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline reported that the latest batch of Superstars released from NXT wasn't a monetary decision.
"The NXT cuts are said to be more talent evaluation cuts as opposed to anything budgetary," Alvarez reported (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News). "This happens pretty frequently."
The NXT Superstars recently released included Tyra Mae Steele, Carlee Bright, Sirena Linton, Tyson DuPont, Tyriek Igwe, Chris Island, Malik Blade, Trill London, Andre Chase and Luca Crucifino. All of them are under 30-day non-compete clauses that will expire on May 24.
As WWE's developmental brand, NXT is meant to create Superstars who can lead the company into the future. However, the company won't hesitate to cut ties with those who fail to meet expectations.
Meltzer highlighted Steele, who is Olympic gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock and the winner of the first season of WWE LFG, and pointed to her performance as the reason for her release.
"Steele (Tamyra Mensah-Stock, a 2021 Olympic wrestling gold medalist) had won LFG and was pushed as going to the NXT roster after winning the series, but then only used for a few weeks before being forgotten about," Meltzer stated, per Carrier. "In truth, she did not impress."
Bright and Linton were actively featured in this season of WWE LFG, which also raised questions about the timing of their releases.
"Bright and Linton are both on the current season of LFG, meaning they were cut the day before the season started, where they were battling for an NXT television push," Meltzer reported. "Bright also just started airing on a commercial for The General Insurance with Rhea Ripley."
