Dakota Kai, Malcolm Bivens, Dexter Lumis among ten WWE NXT releases
Eight wrestlers, a manager, and a referee have been released by WWE as part of a set of NXT roster cuts.
Dakota Kai, Malcolm Bivens, and Dexter Lumis are among those who were released by WWE today. The 10 releases are listed below:
- Dakota Kai (real name Cheree Crowley)
- Malcolm Bivens (the former Stokely Hathaway)
- Harland (Parker Boudreaux)
- Dexter Lumis (Samuel Shaw)
- Persia Pirotta (Stephanie De Landre)
- Draco Anthony (Reginald Chase Crews)
- Referee Blair Baldwin (Paige Prinzivalli)
- Vish Kanya (Sanjana George)
- Mila Milani (Kellie Morga)
- Raelyn Divine (Jaylen Williams)
The releases were first reported by Fightful.
Fightful reports that WWE asked Bivens to re-sign with the company this February, but Bivens made it clear that he didn’t want to do so. Bivens was the manager of NXT’s Diamond Mine faction.
On Twitter, Bivens posted a video joking about his release:
— Big Stoke (@StokelyHathaway) April 29, 2022
Kai was a two-time NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion, holding the titles with Raquel Gonzalez both times. Kai worked several WWE dark matches in 2021 and one dark match this January, but she was never called up to the main roster. Kai also wrestled one match on Main Event last year.
Harland was an offensive lineman for the University of Central Florida before signing with WWE. He made his NXT debut last October and was paired with Joe Gacy. Over the past couple of weeks, Harland didn’t appear on television and was no longer part of Gacy’s act.
Anthony had recently feuded with Gacy and Harland.
In storyline, Lumis was Indi Hartwell’s husband in NXT. Hartwell & Lumis and Pirotta & Duke Hudson were involved in a storyline where Hartwell and Pirotta debated who the hottest couple in NXT was.
Kanya, Milani, and Divine had yet to be featured on NXT TV.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.