Ex-WWE star apologizes for "negativity" caused backstage following reports of being a "headache"
WWE Superstars are released often, but not every cut involves backstage behavior. Almost a year after their release from the company, an ex-WWE star apologized for the negativity caused backstage.
The superstar in question is former NXT star Quincy Elliott - who was in hot water following reports of issues caused backstage. There were various accusations against them saying not-very-PG things in forming a group chat with "stans" or other wrestling fans and misusing that platform. When they got on Twitter Spaces to apologize, their boss, Shawn Michaels, was seen tuning in to hear their side of the story. It was reported that Quincy Elliott caused major headaches backstage.
In a detailed interview with Developmentally Speaking, Quincy Elliott opened up about their WWE release following some "Twitter drama."
“At the time, I was dealing with some Twitter drama that got to the company. A lot of narratives that were put out there that just necessarily weren’t true or taken out of context. The company already had backlash for this character, so any negativity towards it was already gonna make them scratch their heads a little bit, but they tried to let me get my head right, keep working, keep training hard and give me opportunities here and there, but ultimately I feel like NXT started shifting towards, I guess you’d say energy and the way they showcase people was less character-driven."
Elliott admitted that they saw it coming from a mile away:
"A lot of people that were on TV wasn’t on TV anymore. It was just all over the place, really, but I kept working, kept doing the live events. I started pitching new ideas. They were running with me as a heel on the live events and stuff. It was just kind of stagnant, just trying to wait for something to happen from January til September, when I was released," Quincy said. [H/T Fightful]
They followed this up with more details, as it was at the same time as stars like Dolph Ziggler and Mustafa Ali were getting released.
Elliott apologized to anyone affected by their actions and didn't deny being an issue backstage. They also said they cherished their brief time in WWE.
WWE firing Quincy Elliott was inevitable, according to reports
Elliott's standing wasn't helped by their position, and little progress was seen. This was in the thick of when NXT was trying to find its identity again when moving to and away from the 2.0 era.
Sean Ross Sapp on The Fightful Select Live Stream stated that Quincy Elliott being on the chopping block was inevitable:
“Quincy Elliott was trouble. Quincy Elliott caused all kinds of issues for the staff in WWE. It was somebody that was always going to be up next on the chopping block. No other way to put it. Quincy Elliott was gonna get cut.”
It will be interesting to see what lies next for them after this huge opportunity has passed.