The former WWE star Ariya Daivari recently revealed that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon did not want NXT stars, many of which he later fired, in the main-roster locker room during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the onset of the pandemic back in March last year, most 205 Live tapings have taken place at NXT’s Capitol Wrestling Center (a.k.a. WWE’s Performance Center).
The only exceptions came between August 2020 and October 2020 when seven episodes of the cruiserweight show were filmed at the WWE ThunderDome.
Daivari, who was recently released by WWE in June, recently spoke to Matt Rehwoldt (f.k.a. Aiden English) on the Straight Shooting podcast. He went on to explain that his former boss had decided to change the venue for 205 Live in 2020 following a COVID-19 outbreak in NXT.
“What I was told was Vince was like, ‘No more NXT guys on the main roster during this pandemic,’” Daivari said. “Because guys were just coming up. They weren’t getting called up, they were just coming in to do 205, so he said, ‘No more NXT guys in the locker room.’”
The 32-year-old said he favored Vince’s idea of sending Daivari, Tony Nese and Brian Kendrick to NXT. Alexa Bliss & Big E ‘Private’ Video For Fans Revealed
When they said no more NXT guys, they were like, ‘Well, who’s left on 205?’” Daivari added. “It was like me, Tony and Kendrick. So they’re like, ‘Well, we’re not gonna have a show with three guys. Just send them with them.’ That’s when 205 got put with NXT and that’s why the whole thing kind of happened. But it wasn’t a bad thing. I do believe 205 was probably a better fit for NXT, just because of the style of wrestling.”
We will see what is next in store for Ariya Daivari in the world of pro-wrestling.
