Former NXT UK Superstar Flash Morgan Webster reveals he denied contract extension before his WWE release
Flash Morgan Webster was part of the wave of NXT UK talent released on August 18, marking the end of his four-year stint with the company. The release came after the announcement that the brand would be defunct after Worlds Collide on September 4. He has now opened up about his departure from WWE on Twitter.
A former NXT UK Tag Team Champion alongside with Mark Andrews, Webster was out injured at the time of his release. He wrestled in his last match for the company on the October 7 tapings of the show against Rampage Brown.
In April this year, reports and rumors emerged about him turning down a contract renewal offer from WWE. Flash confirmed these reports in a recent tweet. Opening up about why he turned down the contract, he had this to say:
"There was a few reasons I turned them contracts down but one of them was that I felt like maybe I was done with stepping into a wrestling ring. That passion just wasn't there, I wasn't enjoying it, and motivation to rehab or get in any form of ring shape was the last thing I wanted to do. I'd later go in to re-sign so my family and I had security while I was injured."
Last night… https://t.co/fvEhkyEZeu
Webster further wrote about his first match in about a year. He wrestled last weekend for OTT Wrestling in the UK, where he teamed up with Mark Andrews to take on the company's tag champions Adam Maxter and Charlie Sterling.
NXT head honcho Shawn Michaels announced that NXT UK will be rebranded as NXT Europe in 2023
After reports leaked that WWE scrapped NXT UK to rebrand it as NXT Europe, Shawn Michaels confirmed the continent-wide expansion of the brand in 2023.
The Hall of Famer took over the creative responsibilities of NXT 2.0 after Triple H was sidelined from backstage duties due to his heart condition. Michaels has since been promoted and is now the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative in WWE.
On August 18, when several NXT UK wrestlers were released, WWE's PR Twitter account promoted an interview with The Heartbreak Kid about the launch of NXT Europe. In an interview with Metro UK, he had this to say about the expansion:
"It’s just a natural expansion of things because that brand, since 2016, has been fantastic. Yes, it’s been quiet and underneath the radar, but I don’t think you’ll find anybody that wouldn’t argue that it’s been a real quality product from its existence." [H/T - Metro UK]
.@WWE's Vice President of Talent Development Creative @ShawnMichaels discusses NXT Europe launch in 2023, plans for Worlds Collide and building for the future with @AlistairMcG from @MetroUK.
metro.co.uk/2022/08/18/sha…
Now that Triple H is the Creative Head of the whole company, it would be interesting to see if NXT Europe will fare better than its UK predecesor