Tegan Nox Goes Off on WWE After Wave of Releases

WWE’s latest round of roster cuts sent shockwaves across both the main roster and NXT, and now one former Superstar is calling the company out in brutal fashion.

Tegan Nox—now using her pre-WWE ring name Nixon Newell—took to Twitter after the news broke and didn’t hold back. Reacting to the list of names released, she wrote, “Imagine releasing talent like that!… place is fcking insane!”* She followed up on Instagram with a similar sentiment, stating, “Imagine releasing talent like that! That place is fcked.”*

Newell’s frustration hits close to home. She herself was released by WWE in November 2021, just months after being drafted to Monday Night RAW. Despite a strong run in NXT and forming a tag team with Shotzi on SmackDown, Newell never got a real shot on the red brand before the company abruptly cut her. She was one of several talents released at the time with no storyline explanation or proper sendoff.

This week’s cuts affected both main roster and NXT talent, but not all of them will be sitting on the sidelines for long. While Shayna Baszler, Braun Strowman, Dakota Kai, Katana Chance, and Kayden Carter are expected to serve 90-day non-compete clauses, several NXT names—including Gigi Dolin, Cora Jade, Gallus, Jakara Jackson, Eddy Thorpe, Javier Bernal, Oro Mensah, and Riley Osborne—are under 30-day non-competes.

That means many of those released could be back in the ring by early June, just in time for summer bookings. It’s already created a ripple effect across social media, where fans are calling out WWE for letting go of performers who still had major potential.

With former stars like Nixon Newell speaking out, it’s clear these decisions are not sitting well with wrestlers—past or present.