While they were initially misclassified as “releases” when instead their contracts expired and WWE declined to offer them new ones, the fact remains that WWE opted to part ways with a pair of high profile names from their NXT brand/developmental system in early May.
Gable Steveson was a huge signing for the company in 2021 coming off his gold medal win at the Summer Olympics, but WWE didn’t seem confident putting him on-sceen despite the hype — and when they did he failed to connect with audiences in the way they hoped. Drew Gulak never reached that level of acclaim, but was said to be a reliable hand on-screen and behind-the-scenes. He was also the frontman for a stable NXT was pushing when Ronda Rousey shared a story about him grabbing the drawstring on her sweatpants without her consent as evidence of WWE’s toxic culture under Vince McMahon (Steveson was accused of sexual assault while in college, but it’s unclear how well known that fact is — and it certainly hasn’t limited his career options).
There’s still interest in WWE’s decision in both cases, even months after the fact. Enough that the man in charge of NXT, Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels, was asked about them during a media call today (July 3) promoting Sunday’s Heatwave premium live event.
Michaels said:
“From my understanding, nothing on anyone’s part other than contracts being up. Certainly in the case of Drew Gulak, from a company standpoint, there not being anything from a main roster standpoint that they were going to be using him in.
“In NXT, over the last year-and-a-half to two years, we’ve been trying to get into the process of keeping it fluid. It’s all about getting to the main roster when everything is said and done. In 2-3 years. If that doesn’t happen, we bring other people in or see if we’re ready to move on.
“As far as Gable is concerned, he’s an incredibly talented guy. It’s amazing some of the things he can do. He’s a dude who lands on his feet. I wish him luck, and excited to see how that [the NFL] works out.
“At NXT, we use people to the best of their ability, but from a main roster standpoint, if they feel there is not a place for them, and their contracts are up, from a business standpoint, they choose to move on.”
While its hard to imagine other issues weren’t considered in the decision, Michaels answer does line up with what we’ve heard about WWE’s approach to their developmental program over the past few years.
Let us know what you make of Shawn’s answer here, Cagesiders.
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