Rip Fowler And Jagger Reid Granted WWE Releases – We noted earlier how Rip Fowler (aka Zack Gibson) and Jagger Reid (aka James Drake) had requested their WWE releases for unknown reasons.
In an update, now Dave Meltzer reports that the releases have been granted, and the tag team formerly known as The Grizzled Young Veterans are no longer with WWE.
For what it’s worth, Fowler and Reid remain listed as WWE NXT Superstars on the official WWE website roster as of this writing. It was noted earlier how thy were expected to go public with the release request, but they have not commented as of this writing.
It’s expected that the ring veterans will be in demand on the indie scene in the United States, and in the UK.
Fowler and Reid will have non-compete clauses with WWE, likely for at least 30 days. It was noted that there will also be a grace period following the non-compete that will delay any bookings in the United States.
The duo was put with The Schism in July 2022. They last wrestled at NXT Stand & Deliver on Saturday, teaming with Joe Gacy and Ava for a loss to Chase University’s Andre Chase, Duke Hudson, Thea Hail and Tyler Bate. The Schism would have won control of Chase U if they won. Reid took the pin from Hudson to end the match.
As noted, Reid has changed his name back to James Drake on Twitter this past weekend. He posted a photo of the team on Saturday after Stand & Deliver and wrote, “Dark match. Pre show. Main show. Different names. It doesn’t matter. We’ll always deliver. We’ll always be Grizzled.”
Fowler posted a photo of the team at SoFi Stadium for Night 1 of WrestleMania 39, also seen below.
Reid began working with WWE in January 2017, while Fowler started in April 2018. They were the inaugural NXT UK Tag Team Champions.
Rip Fowler And Jagger Reid Granted WWE Releases
