The WWE release of Malcolm Bivens reportedly took NXT creative by surprise.
As we’ve noted, Bivens was let go from the company late last month as part of several names that were also handed their walking papers. Other names released included; Dakota Kai, Malcolm Bivens, Dexter Lumis, Harland, Blair Baldwin, Draco Anthony, Mila Malani, Persia Pirotta, Sanjana George, and Raelyn Divine.
According to a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the NXT creative team was caught off guard by Bivens being amongst the names that were cut. Bivens was in the midst of a storyline with his Diamond Mine stable, who had some tension with Roderick Strong.
NXT creative was working on ways to further the angle upon Bivens’ release. Bivens broke into the professional wrestling industry back in 2014 for Ring Of Honor (ROH). He worked the independent circuit for the next several years, including appearances for EVOLVE, and Major League Wrestling (MLW).
Bivens addressed his WWE exit during a recent comedy show (via POST Wrestling):
“All right, so here’s the truth: There’s a lot of rumors, a lot of speculation. Was I offered a contract in February? Yes. Did I say no to said contract? Yes. Was I offered to be with Omos? No. No one said a word to me about managing Omos. Was I told about the main roster? Yes, and people, they think I’m crazy. Like, ‘Malcolm, you threw away millions potentially, you walked away.’ Yeah, I did, because I didn’t wanna do it anymore and unfortunately, I wasn’t happy.“
In 2019, Bivens inked a WWE deal and joined the Performance Center before making his NXT TV debut soon after. Now, it will be interesting to see where Bivens lands next after departing from the company. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more about what Bivens plans to do next.
