"Punished" top WWE Superstar who allegedly has backstage heat should be released from contract if creative has nothing for her, says Stevie Richards

Wrestling veteran Stevie Richards recently urged WWE to release Nikki Cross if creative has no plans for her.

Cross spent two years in NXT after joining the Stamford-based company in 2016. Five years ago, the 34-year-old made her main roster debut and has since won the RAW Women's Championship, Women's Tag Team Title, 24/7 Championship, and the 2021 Women's Money in the Bank ladder match. However, she has not been used in any significant storyline for nearly a year. She last competed in a Premium Live Event in February.

Speaking on The Brand podcast, Richards addressed claims Cross was being punished for voicing her displeasure at her booking. He urged the company to release her from her contract if creative, led by Triple H, had no plans for her.

"You know what's funny? They're not exclusive to doing that. Every wrestling company throughout history has done this. There's some weird thing with wrestling when you wanna participate, when you wanna earn your money, when you wanna be booked, when you wanna give them a return on the investment, somehow you get heat for that and you get punished. Just release her."

He continued:

"If you have nothing for her or she goes to college, 'Oh, you think you're so smart.' You can see them saying that, 'You think you're so great outside? We're gonna make it to where everybody thinks you're a joke with no credibility," he said. [0:34 - 1:10]

42-year-old WWE Superstar claims he would have a 'weird' time with Nikki Cross. Check out the details here.

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Vince Russo commented on WWE allegedly punishing Nikki Cross

During the same episode of The Brand podcast, former head writer Vince Russo commented on WWE's booking of Nikki Cross.

The wrestling veteran claimed WWE having the former RAW Women's Champion walk around like a zombie is "one of the biggest ribs in the history of professional wrestling."

"This is getting up there I think to one of the biggest ribs in the history of professional wrestling, Nikki Cross. Bro, you know Nikki was complaining about not being on TV, not doing anything with my character, said something to the wrong person. So, now Stevie they fly her to every freaking RAW to just walk around like a zombie and nobody paying attention. This has to be the biggest rib in history," he said.

Alexa Bliss sent a message to Nikki Cross. Check it out here.

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Please credit Vince Russo's The Brand and give an H/T to Sportskeeda if you use the above transcription.