WWE Releases, NXT's Aging Roster and More from the Convalescent Mailbag

WWE talent is being cast off to the wayside quicker than the Foot Soldiers in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc.com), nine talents in total have been released over the past week, including Wade Barrett and Damien Sandow.

In addition to the slew of releases, Adam Rose—who was suspended indefinitely, per WWE.com—and Ryback currently lie dormant, all while WWE also struggles with a handful of injuries. One more departure, and WWE might have to start flying in talent from EVOLVE.

In a recent earnings call, Vince McMahon vowed that WWE will soon boast more talent than ever on its roster. With so many openings, it'll be interesting to see how it fills these voids through potential call-ups and additional signees.

Despite the combination of injuries, releases and suspensions, WWE has moved forward rather smoothly in the early days of the New Era. Awkward Stephanie and Shane McMahon exchanges aside, WWE's main event picture is thriving.

It's Reigning Styles?

Roman Reigns and AJ Styles have created magic together. They've already shown the capability of having great matches, but "the club" subplot and the lingering Extreme Rules stipulation will make a very good feud even better.

Dueling chants between Reigns and Styles rang out during their segment this past week, as Reigns supporters have (predictably) shrugged off the basic Internet rhetoric and decided to think for themselves.

Great feuds not only pit personal conflicts against one another but also ideals that are bigger than the feud itself. Reigns vs. Styles is mainstream vs. indy; box office vs. hipster; casual fan vs. Twitter timeline.

And it's brilliant.

The Extreme Rules stipulation is guaranteed to invite more outside interference from the Club and the Family. This could mandate a third and final match between Reigns and Styles inside either a steel cage or Hell in a Cell, and if recent trends are an indicator, fans will continue to eat it up.

Raw's ratings have not been pretty as of late, per ShowBuzzDaily.com (h/t WrestlingInc.com), but that's more of a sign of the times than declining viewership overall.

Reigns-Styles segments have dominated viewership as the most viewed videos from both Raw and SmackDown, per YouTube (h/t WrestlingInc.com). With so many different ways to consume WWE programming, television ratings are bound to take a hit. It's fine. Let old, out-of-touch bloggers worry about that. WWE isn't going anywhere.

With WWE announcing strong first-quarter 2016 figures, there are many indicators that the company is doing just fine as it soldiers on into the New Era.

A New Paige in the Women's Division?

"

@ThisIsNasty since Paige pinned Charlotte last Monday on RAW, should she be given a title shot at extreme rules?

— Victor Balderas (@VictorBaldera20) May 12, 2016"

It's par for the course for WWE champions to be pinned on TV. To me, it does nothing but bring the entire division down a notch. If it's that easy for a champion to lose a match, who cares if the champion get its win back? Part of being a champion is dominance. Cleaning out a division. Being a benchmark of success.

But with Charlotte, The Miz and The New Day all losing Monday night, what does it really mean to be champion in WWE?

Paige's win was nice, and it would be even nicer to see her more involved in the women's division. But in the grand scheme of things, just about everything in WWE is kept even, and an otherwise meaningful victory will be forgotten by the end of this sentence.

Question of the Week: NXT Man Veteran Up?

To call NXT a "developmental" territory is a stretch at this point. Top NXT talent Finn Balor is currently being trumpeted as a next-generation star. Balor is a 16-year veteran who turns 35 this year. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc.com) recently reported he is dealing with shoulder issues in addition to a recent ankle injury that sidelined him for multiple weeks. To consider Balor a prospect who will lead WWE into a new generation is a scary thought.

And it only gets scarier.

Current NXT champion Samoa Joe is 37 years old with 17 years of wrestling to his name. Shinsuke Nakamura—36 years of age, 14-year veteran—is arguably the biggest star in NXT.

NXT isn't a developmental territory as much as it is an IWC convalescent home.

Where are the true up-and-comers? Enzo Amore, Colin Cassady and Baron Corbin were examples of young, homegrown talent cultivated in NXT and sent up to the main roster. Now that they're gone, NXT hasn't developed in place of them but rather reloaded with stopgaps.

Austin Aries (38 years old), Eric Young (36 years old) and Bobby Roode (39 years old) all make fun headlines on dirt sheets for half a day, but will they be a significant part of WWE's business come WrestleMania 40?

How many player-coaches does WWE need?

Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.