According to Fightful, on April 29, WWE fired two longtime members of the NXT roster.
Dakota Kai (real name Cheree Georgina Crowley, who worked as Evie on the independent and international scene) signed with WWE in 2016. She competed in the first Mae Young Classic and reached the semifinals. A feud with Shayna Baszler ensued, cementing her babyface character, and she rose even further when she turned heel at WarGames in 2019. The 33-year-old New Zealander twice won the NXT Women’s Tag titles with Raquel González – now Rodriguez – including for a short run earlier this month. Her last match with the company was on April 12 when she unsuccessfully challenged Mandy Rose for the NXT Women’s Championship. In a paywall update, Fightful says that Kai “saw the release coming and also informed WWE that she had no plans to renew her WWE contract.”
Malcolm Bivens (working under his real name Stokely Hathway in India) joined the company in 2019. After more than a year of sporadic appearances, his managerial role became a regular television presence in late 2020. He recently worked with Diamond on My Stable and serves as the voice for rising stars like The Creeds and Ivy Nile. His case is said to be slightly different as Fightful reports that he was asked to sign a new contract in February and declined.
Also notable on the cut list are Harland (Parker Boudreaux) and Persia Pirotta (Stephanie De Landre). Harland had been dating Joe Gacy until recently and was once hyped as a “Brock Lesnar clone”. Pirotta was introduced to television around the time of the 2.0 rebrand and was on a high profile show with Duke Hudson, Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis. Lumis, who signed as Sam Shaw in 2019 after appearances in Impact & Others, was also released.
Others released today are:
- Sanjana George (Vish Kanya)
- Draco Anthony (Reginald Chase Crews)
- Mila MalaniKellie Morga
- Raelyn DivineJaylen Williams
- Blair Baldwin Paige Prinzivalli
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