Quincy Elliot discusses their WWE release.
Elliott signed with WWE in 2021 and memorably hosted NXT Halloween Havoc 2022 alongside Shotzi. In September 2023, Quincy Elliot confirmed that they were released.
Speaking with Bryan Asbury on Developmentally Speaking, Quincy Elliot reflected on their time with WWE and recalled being off TV after getting surgery. They referred to some "drama" that happened.
“I ended up off of TV did a while with that, and then a bunch of drama went down, and I was just all over the place, just circling, trying to get that momentum that I had back," Elliot said.
Elliot continued by reiterating that they were dealing with some Twitter drama that got to "the company", and there were narratives that weren't true, or were taken out of context. Elliot stated that NXT was also making changes, and people who were on TV were not on TV anymore.
“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. 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," Elliot said.
Elliot went on to say that the character was new, and WWE invested in them. Elliot expressed their wish that they had more of an opportunity, but they were grateful for their time in WWE. Quincy admitted that they were not the most mature, and they were dealing with a lot at the time.
"I knew at the time this character’s so new, they invested a lot of time and energy into me, so I just tried to make the most of it. I kind of feel like if I had more of an opportunity to showcase that, it would have been better. But I am grateful for what happened. I got to do way more than I envisioned that I would ever do in wrestling, but it is what it is. I tried my best. I wasn’t the most mature, and at the time, I was dealing with a lot. But I tried to make the best of the opportunity, I tried to listen, and I got to do some cool things, so I’m not too bitter about it," Elliot said.
After Elliot repeated that there was a lot of change happening behind the scenes, they were asked whether they saw their release coming. They stated that they did, and they recalled finding out about the release.
“Oh man, I saw it coming. I was at the Performance Center that day, and I was training, and someone came up to me and they’re like, ‘Yo, man, Dolph Ziggler just got released.’ As training progressed, he’s like, ‘Mustafa Ali got released.’ I’m like, Mustafa’s on the pay-per-view next month, so I’m definitely out of here if these guys are getting released [laughs]. So it was a depressing day. I was literally at the Performance Center thirty minutes before I got released. I was driving home, I’m like, it is what it is. I got the call, they called me, they informed me that I wasn’t gonna be there anymore. It’s depressing when you’ve worked your whole life for it, but at the end of the day, I feel like everything happens for a reason," Elliot said.
When asked about the drama they had referenced, Elliot stated that they were proud of how they handled it. Elliot also said that they got to live their childhood dream, and they were grateful.
"I’m honestly proud of myself because I could have crashed out and wilded out and said everything and trashed people, but I was just like, I’m gonna just be grateful for the opportunity. It’s frustrating, but not everyone can say they lived their childhood dream, and I got to live my childhood dream for two years. At the end of the day, if you would have told five-year-old me that I’d be in the room talking about creative ideas with Shawn Michaels, I would have been all over the place. It is what it is, but I’m grateful for the opportunity. I feel, in a way, I was misunderstood in certain aspects, and it’s just the world of pro wrestling. People are gonna cycle in and cycle out. I was just one of those people," Elliot said.
Later in the interview, Elliot was asked whether there was anything they wanted to say to WWE. Elliot apologized and expressed their gratitude. Elliot stated that they were sorry for any negativity that they caused.
"I guess thank you. I’m very thankful. Thank you. I’m sorry if I caused any negativity for you, sorry for the headaches or whatever. But thank you, I appreciate it, you changed my life. Even if it was just two years, that two years changed my life, I learned a lot. I learned tools about pro wrestling that I’ll never be able to explain, but I’m thankful for, and I’ll try to pass that knowledge on as much as I can and keep that knowledge with me. But just thank you. WWE is a business, and business is gonna keep moving. It’s in the past, it’s coming up on a year since I’ve been released, so I’m learning to every day trying to move on," Elliot said.
Elliot has continued since their release, but they stated that they are currently dealing with an injury.
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