WWE Releases 10: Dakota Kai, Dexter Lumis, Persia Pirotta, Malcolm Bivens, Harland, More

WWE released 10 people from their NXT roster today, according to Sean Ross Sapp.

• Dakota Kai – Signed in 2016.
• Malcolm Bivens – Signed in 2019.
• Dexter Lumis – Signed in 2019.
• Persia Pirotta – Signed in 2021.
• Harland – Signed in 2021. Real name Parker Boudreaux.
• Draco Anthony – Signed in 2021.
• Vish Kanya – Signed in 2021. Real name Sanjana George.
• Raelyn Divine – Signed in 2021. Real name Jaylen Williams. Sister of WWE’s “Mace.”
• Mila Malani – Signed in 2021. Real name Kellie Morga.
• Blair Baldwin – NXT referee. Signed in 2021. Real name Chloe Christmas.

WWE cited “budget cuts” as the reason for the releases. An internal email from WWE head of talent relations John Laurinaitis read, “Due to budgetary cuts, and with immediate effect as of today, 4/29/2022, we have come to the terms to release the following.”

They all have 30 day non-compete clauses.

Dakota Kai

Kai first signed with WWE in 2016. Her last match was on the April 12 NXT, where she lost an NXT Women’s Championship match to title-holder Mandy Rose.

According to Fightful, Kai “was said to have seen the release coming” and indicated to WWE that she did not plan on re-signing when her contract expired.

In August 2021, she wrestled in a series of dark matches before SmackDown, which were seen as a potential tryout for the main roster, but she stayed in NXT.

Malcolm Bivens

Bivens first signed with WWE in 2019.

According to Sean Ross Sapp, WWE asked him to re-sign in February 2022, but “he’d made it clear he didn’t want to do so.”

pic.twitter.com/EQEdjW1sqn

— MALCOLM (@Malcolmvelli) April 29, 2022

Harland

Harland, real name Parker Boudreaux, signed in 2021 with a lot of hype, but coaches and WWE officials told Fightful that “they felt like he’d not progressed in the ring quite enough for their liking.”