Bruce Prichard Always Thought Classic WWE Excuse For Firing Talent Was ‘A Cheap Way To Go’

WWE has many practices, and lingo that they like to throw around. Nowadays, releases are excused as “budget cuts,” but there have been a few excuses that they have used over the years.

Bruce Prichard is the Executive Director of WWE Raw and SmackDown, and he has had an extensive and influential career within WWE. The man found himself contributing to the company in various capacities over the years. Having closely worked with numerous talents, he has witnessed many departures from the company, often accompanied by the line, “creative has nothing for you,” as the rumored reason for the releases.

As someone deeply involved in WWE’s creative process, Bruce Prichard understands the significance of open communication with the talent, and he advocates for more transparent and honest discussions when it comes to decisions like releases. The phrase, “creative has nothing for you,” has been a point of contention for Prichard, emphasizing the importance of providing clear and candid feedback to the wrestlers, especially during such critical moments in their careers.

While opening up about the subject on Something to Wrestle, Bruce Prichard admitted that he always thought that telling talent that “WWE creative has nothing for them” was a cheap way to go about firing someone. He had a very good reason for feeling that way as well.

Conrad Thompson brought up the release of Trevor Murdoch in 2008, who reportedly received the same explanation from John Laurinaitis. When asked about the reason for Murdoch’s release, Prichard admitted that he wasn’t aware of the specifics. However, he expressed a strong distaste for the line “creative has nothing for you,” as he believes it’s sometimes better to be straightforward and direct with the talents.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know. Whether something happened that just was kept from everybody, or who the hell ever really knows sometimes? Sometimes it’s budget reasons where you look at it and go, ‘Hey, we’re over so much, and here’s that number,’ and you find it that way. But I’ve always hated, from day one, always hated ‘creative has nothing for you.’ That was, in my opinion, a cheap way to have to let someone go. Sometimes, you just have to say, ‘Look, man. We’re making cuts, and unfortunately, we gotta cut you at this time. The door’s never shut, door’s always open. Things can happen.’ But I have no idea what the reason was for Trevor to be cut. No idea at all.”

John Laurinaitis is no longer with WWE, as he was fired as part of Vince McMahon’s big hush money scandal. WWE hasn’t seen Johnny Ace back in the company since, and a few of his old practices might have gone away 100% without him around as well.

We will have to see if and when WWE fires another batch of talent. Hopefully, that day is a long way away, because it can cause quite a bit of unrest across the board. This is especially true if WWE has a terrible reason for axing so many talent at once.

What’s your take on WWE releasing talent? Do you think it’s just a part of business? Sound off in the comments to let us know what you think!