Why was Timothy Thatcher released from WWE? Possible reasons explored as former NXT star debuts on AEW
On the latest episode of AEW Dynamite, Timothy Thatcher joined the long list of former WWE stars who shifted to All Elite Wrestling.
He collided with Bryan Danielson on his debut as part of the latter's storyline with MJF. Naturally, Bryan came out on top to get some solid momentum heading into a World Title fight with Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
Thatcher comes from the stock of 'extreme' wrestling. In his youth, the 39-year-old spent time in Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW), Progress Wrestling, and Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw). His achievements in the world of pro wrestling gained widespread attention, and WWE signed him under a developmental contract shortly after his historic exploits in Evolve Wrestling.
Timothy Thatcher made his NXT debut in April 2020 as a replacement for Matt Riddle's tag team partner Pete Dunne. He soon established himself as a heel by turning on his partner and debuted the 'Thatch-as-Thatch-Can' style of training. The submission specialist gained renown in NXT for his multiple victories in Fight Pit matches.
The British Messiah's last match in the Stamford-based promotion was in August 2021, after which he transitioned to the role of a trainer. Timothy served in the promotion until January 5, last year. WWE let go of the megastar due to its grand plans for the evolution of NXT 2.0, as per its statement.
WWE parted ways with a bunch of staff personnel in 2021 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their budget. Timothy Thatcher just happened to come out on the wrong side. He was released alongside Samoa Joe and William Regal, a situation that made him happy as he went out with his favorite veteran stars.
What did AEW star Timothy Thatcher say about his WWE exit?
Timothy Thatcher continued to be a global sensation after his departure from the Stamford-based promotion. He debuted on Pro Wrestling NOAH in June 2022 as a Sugiura-gun member and almost immediately tasted success.
Thatcher won the vacant GHC Tag Team Championship with Suzuki, defeating Masa Kitamiya and Yoshiki Inamura at the NOAH Destination event.
The many faces of Timothy Thatcher. https://t.co/REtmoXa1I2
After his exploits in the Toyo-based promotion, Thatcher shed light on his release from WWE during an interview with Wrestling Inc. He believed his exit was fated to happen despite his hard work.
"Many people make many different decisions and different people see different things in pro wrestling. And there’s different things that are valuable to different companies and we don’t have control over that as wrestlers. We just go out, we do our thing, we do what we do and if it works for the current situation, then great. If it doesn’t, then it doesn’t. That’s just how it is; that’s with every company in wrestling and it’s timing and it’s situational." (H/T PostWrestling)
The Titanland of wrestling had vivid plans that didn't include the former trainer. Shawn Michaels, Robbie Brookside, and Matt Bloom are among the many trainers who are currently working in the Performance Center.