More Backstage Details on WWE’s Latest Roster Cuts

The post-WrestleMania season has thus far been dominated by WWE’s talent cuts on both the main roster and NXT.

As of May 7, 2026, more than 30 wrestlers have been released by WWE since The Show of Shows in Las Vegas. The number is way higher than last year. In the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio (WOR), Dave Meltzer claimed that TKO didn’t release so many wrestlers last year, as it was trying to be “good guys” after having just taken over the company.

This year, per Meltzer, TKO thought that it was time to “catch up.” He claimed that the main roster cuts are in line with the NXT call-ups and SmackDown’s return to the two-hour format. He also said that more cuts could be in store on the SmackDown side of things.

Here’s what Dave Meltzer said:

“Last year, because they had basically just taken over the company and they were trying to be good guys and all that, they didn’t order a lot of cuts last year. They kind of held back. So it’s kind of like a catch-up.

“The main roster cuts, essentially, it was two things. Number one, all the people who were brought up from NXT that got spots—essentially, they wanted to remove a similar amount of people. They went to creative. It was creative that made the call as to who. They said, ‘Who on the roster are you not planning on using? Give us X number of names,’ which would be that number, the number that were brought up, and additional names from SmackDown. SmackDown is going to two hours. So, therefore, there is an hour less time of television. So therefore, there is less time to put as many people on. So therefore, there would be additional cuts on the SmackDown side.”