Ashante Thee Adonis is officially gone from WWE but the way it played out says more about company strategy than it does about his performance. While the former Hit Row member didnt get released during the last round of cuts, WWE quietly let his contract expire and now we know why.
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer revealed that WWE deliberately chose not to re-sign Adonis due to an awkward and expensive contract situation.
According to Meltzer, WWE figured it made more sense to ride out the deal than cut him and trigger a 90-day non-compete payout.
Adonis NXT stint ended as quietly as his WWE career did. His romantic storyline with Karmen Petrovic which had been teased for months was abruptly dropped in April with no follow-up, and he disappeared from TV entirely.
The decision not to renew his deal didnt surprise Meltzer, who had expected WWE to cut Adonis once the angle was dropped. Still, it was a quiet exit for a performer once positioned as part of a major act on SmackDown.
Adonis, real name Tehuti Miles, is a legit Army veteran who served in Afghanistan before playing college football at the University of Maryland. He began training in 2018 and joined WWE in 2019. He was part of the original Hit Row group with Swerve Strickland, Top Dolla, and B-Fab before the entire faction was released in 2021. Adonis returned in 2022, was placed on SmackDown, and later moved to NXT before his quiet departure this year.
Now a free agent, Adonis has yet to comment on his WWE exit but hes made it clear in the past that hes not done chasing success in pro wrestling.
Was WWE right to let Adonis walk instead of cutting him? Or did they waste a performer who never got a real shot? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
