After Friday’s round of WWE talent cuts, WWE Hall of Famer and current AEW broadcaster Mark Henry detailed his reaction to the news, noting WWE releases have become so frequent that it’s almost funny.
“I just saw, somebody said, ‘NXT has just been released by the WWE.’ And I giggled a little bit. It wasn’t a laugh, it was a [giggles]. That shouldn’t be a thing, man,” Henry told Busted Open Radio. “I shouldn’t giggle at that, but the point about it is that there have been so many releases that people are starting to look at, ‘Damn man, the writing’s on the wall. I could be out of here at any time. Maybe I need to focus on job security. Maybe I need to go ahead and take a preemptive strike and not re-sign, and go somewhere else.’”
Fortunately for the released talent, the pro wrestling scene is thriving. Henry pointed to a number of promotions that have their doors open, and highlighted the opportunity these established names have to elevate younger companies.
“Japan, Impact, AEW, ROH, MLW. Like, there’s places to go work,” Henry stated. “Do you want to be a part of something that’s already well-established, or do you want to go somewhere and help make a company better?”
While high-profile main roster names have received pink slips this year, the yellow brand has been most prone to large quantities of cuts.
“It depends on the talent, but it looks like from an NXT standpoint, nobody’s safe,” Henry said. “That’s what it looks like to me after last night.”
Beyond all else, Henry was shocked to see the releases happen in the middle of a WWE broadcast.
“Getting that news, and man, I’m just sitting here still perplexed about the fact [that] it happened during the show, right in the middle of it,” Henry said. “Like, ‘Hey guys, I’m going to just throw this grenade in the room and see what happens.’ What did they think was going to be the reaction from fans?”
