Fightful Select has provided more information on the releases of Jinder Mahal and Xia Li. Both superstars were released by WWE on Friday evening.
According to Fightful Select, when they asked around about the WWE releases that took place Friday, they were told by WWE higher ups it was a combination of not appearing on television due to creative not having anything for them. Furthermore, it also had to do with trajectory based on progression and how long they’d been with the company.
Fighful Select also notes that several wrestlers at SmackDown found out about the releases as the news came out.
The report further notes that Jinder Mahal was at a recent episode of NXT and that he was very helpful and willing give advice to anyone that wanted it. Fightfu’s Sean Ross Sapp said that Mahal’s departure was a release, as opposed to him quitting, as he indicated on X.
Xia Li worked directly with Shawn Michaels on her storyline with Lyra Valkyria, and was actually advertised for this Monday’s women’s battle royal on Raw. When Fightful asked about Li, they were told that the graphics team was not made aware of her release.
At the time of this writing, WWE has not announced who will replace Li in the women’s battle royal. The winner will be crowned the new Women’s World Champion.