How Vince McMahon Reportedly Reacted To Bronson Reed's WWE Main Roster Matches

WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon reportedly was not impressed with Bronson Reed's recent main roster matches, which was one of the factors that led to his release from the company.

As noted, several WWE NXT talents were released last Friday night – Reed, Desmond Troy, Tyler Rust, Bobby Fish, Leon Ruff, Mercedes Martinez, Jake Atlas, Ari Sterling, Asher Hale, Zechariah Smith, Giant Zanjeer, Kona Reeves, and referee Stephon Smith. You can click here for a new backstage update on why the releases were made, including news on when NXT bosses Triple H and Shawn Michaels found out about the cuts, and plans for the future of NXT.

In an update, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that when Reed had his main roster tryout matches earlier this summer, that is when McMahon decided against using him. Vince reportedly felt that if Reed was not going to be used on the main roster, then there was no point in keeping him in the company.

This mentality also applied when it came to some of the other cuts, including Fish, Martinez, and Rust, who were involved in current storylines. A similar thinking applied to Atlas and Sterling, who were highly regarded by others in the company.

Reed first worked a main roster match at the June 18 SmackDown, defeating Robert Roode in a dark match. He was then brought to RAW the next week to work the WWE Main Event taping, in a win over Drew Gulak that aired on the June 24 episode. These matches were held so that officials could get a better look at Reed, and word now is that they were not impressed.

We noted earlier this week how Reed apparently took a shot at NXT during this week's USA Network broadcast. You can click here for that report. Reed was said to be well-liked by others in the locker room, and his release came as a surprise to many, especially because of his main roster dark matches. It's been reported that many of the recently released NXT talents were under 30-day non-compete clauses, but not all. If Reed is under a 30-day non-compete, he would become a free agent after Sunday, September 5.

Reed signed with WWE in January 2019. He won the NXT North American Title back on May 18, but dropped it to Isaiah "Swerve" Scott on June 29. Reed's last match came on the July 21 NXT show, a main event loss to Adam Cole. You can click here for Reed's statement from right after his release was revealed, and you can click here for a recent video statement he put out.

Stay tuned for more.