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WWE are reportedly no longer scouting independent talents.
Recently, reports emerged revealing that NXT would undergo a major revamp, including a new logo, new lighting, and a larger focus on younger talents, which was later confirmed by Nick Khan. The company unveiled its new NXT logo Friday evening during SmackDown.
Coming soon.@WWENXT pic.twitter.com/7jRzIHqUVb
— WWE (@WWE) August 28, 2021
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, WWE will no longer be scouting independent wrestlers, instead letting them go to AEW. ‘Several in the company have told us that the word from the top is no more independent talent as far as scouting and such and that AEW can have all the independent talent to itself,’ said Meltzer.
Meltzer noted that WWE will instead be once again scouting talents because of their looks rather than their fanbase elsewhere. WWE will also be holding more tryouts going forward, bringing in a lot more athletes.
Nick Khan confirmed during his interview with Ariel Helwani for BT Sport that WWE don’t want to continue their method of searching for their next set of talents through the independent wrestling scene. ‘We believe because a lot of the indie wrestlers have come through our system, we don’t want to keep doing that same thing. We want to look elsewhere for great young talent.’
AEW founder Tony Khan responded to the news, tweeting the following
“We don’t hire brokers here; we train new ones”
https://t.co/KWq13clzjb pic.twitter.com/VtlViqy88c
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) August 27, 2021
Earlier this week, NXT taped content for the next few weeks of television, as the Capitol Wrestling Center (location of NXT) undergoes some well-needed revamps.