WWE Reportedly Planning Major Roster Changes in the Summer

WWE is reportedly planning to shake up the roster at some point in the summer.

After WrestleMania 42, WWE released over 30 superstars from their contracts. The wave of cuts included The New Day, Zelina Vega, Aleister Black, the entire Wyatt Sicks stable, Zoey Stark, Apollo Crews, Kairi Sane and Santos Escobar.

Now, it sounds like more drastic roster moves are coming with the summer quickly approaching.

According to a report from Bodyslam+ (h/t WrestlingInc.com), WWE is expected to call up more wrestlers from the NXT developmental brand in the summer and have them join the Raw or SmackDown brands.

WWE has called up plenty of NXT talents to join the main roster this year. Their decision to bring up Oba Femi and have him defeat future Hall of Famer Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42 certainly paid off.

Former NXT Champion Ethan Page, Blake Monroe and the Fatal Influence stable are among the stars who joined the main WWE roster last month.

A Pivotal Time for WWE to Develop New Main Roster Talents

Even with Vince McMahon long gone, WWE has the same old problem: An over-reliance on part-time stars. If there were a time to start pushing new talents and faces on the main roster, it's now.

John Cena and A.J. Styles have retired. Brock Lesnar may be finished as well, though it's not exactly clear if the loss to Femi was his final match. A significant portion of tag team and mid-card performers were released after WrestleMania.

At some point, WWE has to move away from constantly building its main event picture around stars like Roman Reigns, CM Punk and Logan Paul. Developing and pushing call-ups from NXT would be a wise starting point.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 8:08 PM.