More information has surfaced regarding WWE’s latest wave of roster cuts and the role TKO Group Holdings played in the process.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained that WWE and TKO viewed this year’s releases as partially making up for the lack of major cuts in 2025 after TKO officially took control of WWE operations.
WWE and TKO roster cuts explained
According to Meltzer, TKO intentionally avoided aggressive roster reductions during its first full year overseeing WWE because the company was still adjusting to the transition period following the merger.
“Last year, because they had basically just taken over the company and they were trying to be good guys and all that, they didn’t order a lot of cuts last year. They kind of held back. So it’s kind of like a catch-up,” Meltzer said.
Meltzer stated that TKO later approached WWE creative with specific instructions related to balancing the roster, especially after recent NXT call-ups and changes to weekly television scheduling.
He explained that WWE creative was asked to identify talent not expected to be regularly used moving forward.
“The main roster cuts, essentially, it was two things. Number one, all the people who were brought up from NXT that got spots, essentially, they wanted to remove a similar amount of people. They went to creative. It was creative that made the call as to who. They said, ‘Who on the roster are you not planning on using? Give us X number of names,’ which would be that number, the number that were brought up, and additional names from SmackDown.”
Meltzer also pointed to WWE SmackDown returning to a two-hour format as another major factor behind the releases.
With one less hour of weekly television time available, WWE reportedly believes there is less need for as many active roster members on the SmackDown side.
“SmackDown is going to two hours. So therefore, there is an hour less time of television. So therefore, there is less time to put as many people on. So therefore, there would be additional cuts on the SmackDown side,” Meltzer said.
The latest wave of roster moves has already included several notable departures, including The New Day members Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, whose exits were described as mutual decisions following reported pay cut discussions.
Meltzer additionally noted that all talents scheduled to be released during this latest round of cuts have already been informed internally, although not every name has become public yet.
That detail has fueled ongoing speculation that additional releases could still emerge in the coming days or weeks.
The latest cuts come during a period where WWE and TKO continue reporting record revenues and major financial growth through media rights deals, international events, and corporate partnerships.
WA on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wrestlingattitude/
WA on Facebook (Women's Wrestling) - https://www.facebook.com/WrestlingDivas/
WA on X/Twitter - https://x.com/wa_wrestling
WA on Instagram (Women's Wrestling) - https://www.instagram.com/wa_wrestlingattitude/
WA on Google News - https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMJf3owsw2oG8Aw
WA on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/wrestlingattitude.bsky.social
