Likely reason for recent NXT roster cuts revealed - Reports

2021 has certainly seen an overhaul of the WWE and NXT rosters. During Friday's SmackDown, several names were reportedly released from NXT. Superstars like Bronson Reed, Bobby Fish, Mercedes Martinez, and Tyler Rust were all let go from their NXT contracts.

PWInsider.com reported that one of the reasons for this wave of releases was an upcoming "overhaul" of the NXT product.

As Dave Scherer and I discussed on the We Don't Need No Name Show this week, there has been lots of talk internally of major changes for the NXT brand including a new logo, new lighting, a focus on younger talents and a different format to the TV shows. This housecleaning tonight appears to be part of those changes.

The entire list of stars released on Friday included a range of names, including veterans like Mercedes Martinez and Fish. It also included recently signed stars like Ari Sterling and Asher Hale.

In all, WWE released-Bobby Fish-Bronson Reed-Jake Atlas-Ari Sterling-Kona Reeves -Leon Ruff-Stephon Smith-Tyler Rust-Zechariah Smith-Asher Hale-Giant Zanjeer-Mercedes Martinez.

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) August 7, 2021

Fish had a match as recently as Tuesday, falling to Roderick Strong of the Diamond Mine. Rust was a member of the Diamond Mine and his release leaves Strong as the lone active wrestler of the faction.

What does the future hold for NXT?

Some of the stars released from NXT were regulars, like Fish, Martinez, Jake Atlas, and Bronson Reed. Reed had recently lost the NXT North American Championship to Isaiah "Swerve" Scott. It was thought that this loss was to set up a main-roster promotion for the Colossal One.

One of the reasons for the cuts mentioned by PWInsider.com was that NXT was looking to "get younger" with talent. It also mentioned a new logo and presentation. While that is true of both Fish and Martinez, who are both near 40, stars like Reed (32) and Atlas (26), were still in their primes.

With the wave of roster cuts throughout WWE this year, it does make some sense to rebrand NXT. It's still a developmental brand in WWE but is often just as or even more entertaining than RAW or SmackDown.

NXT will rebound from these roster cuts, even if some big names were released. Time will tell if the rebrand is in fact happening in the near future.