Bronson Reed has an idea of why WWE decided to cut ties with him.
Reed was among the slew of NXT talent releases made back in August. Reed joined the likes of Bobby Fish and Mercedes Martinez in the list of names that had been let go. For many, Reed’s name was the most surprising as he appeared to be primed for a main roster debut.
During an episode of his JONAHDROME podcast, Reed discussed what he was told by WWE management after he wrestled a dark match prior to a WWE TV taping.
“We waited for Vince, Raw is going on, he’s a very busy man. He said, ‘Good work,’ and that was it. I thought I did a pretty good job. I didn’t get told anything. Never got told that my work wasn’t good. All it was, was, ‘you need to smile more.'”
He also recalled John Laurinaitis telling him that he might have to cover up his tattoo, which he didn’t really understand.
Reed never got a definitive answer about why he was let go. However, he thinks it was probably related to his physical appearance or the company’s new initiative to avoid hiring independent wrestlers.
“I have no clue why they would release me other than it has something to do with look. I 100% think it has to do with body image or the fact that I was an indie wrestler and had been wrestling for fourteen years and they are going in this new direction of hiring young talent that are athletes outside of wrestling.”
You can watch Bronson Reed’s JONAHDROME series on his official YouTube channel.
