Three NXT Talents were released yesterday. If Gu Guangming only wrestled on live events, Abbey Laith and Sage Beckett participated in the Mae Young Classic Tournament. There’s no concrete reason at this time why they were released.
Standing at 6’8, Gu Guanming was among a number of Chinese recruits WWE signed in 2016 after a tryout session in Shanghai. He reported to the WWE Performance Center along with three other Chinese recruits in February 2017. He started appearing at NXT live events last year under the name Ming as an enforcer for Kona Reeves, but never made it to television.
Dear @WWENXT and @WWE ….. Thank You. Thank you for all the opportunities you gave me in the last year. Thank you for everything I was taught and I wouldn’t trade that chapter of my life for anything. Now my path may be changing, but the Crown Jewel is still very much alive??
— Kimber Lee ⓥ (@Kimber_Lee90) March 9, 2018
Abbey Laith, real named Kimberly Frankele, used Twitter to confirm her release. She was signed back in January 2017after she was introduced the month before on TV as a jobber wrestler in a losing effort against Ember Moon. Lee had a long career with CZW, SHIMMER, WSU, Chikara and SHINE, before coming to WWE.
After working live-events, Maith made her televised in-ring debut on April 12, 2017, in a match against Ruby Riot. She also participated in the #1 contender Battle Royal for the NXT Women’s Championship. On June 22, Laith was announced as one of the 32 participants competing in the Mae Young Classic Tournament. She defeated Jazzy Gabert in the first round, Rachel Evers in the second round, before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by Mercedes Martinez.
On October 25 episode of NXT, Laith participated in a Battle Royal to gain a spot at the Fatal Four-Way match for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, in which she was unsuccessful. Her last match was a loss against Vanessa Borne on March 2 in a NXT house show. She already has an indie wrestling appearance lined up next month for Beyond Wrestling in her hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I’ve given my body for 13 years, now it’s time to use my brain. ?? #thankyou
— MK (@MKGlidewell) March 8, 2018
Sage Beckett made her debut in the wrestling business in 2007, after training under Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley’s Team 3D school. She worked for many independent promotions in USA and Japan, and TNA under the name Rosie Lottalove. She took part of a WWE tryout camp in June 2015 but was signed in January 2017.
Beckett, real named MaryKate Duignan Glidewell, started with NXT at live events as the villain manager of Lana. She started to wrestle on her own a few weeks before she was announced as one of the 32 participants competing in the Mae Young Classic Tournament on July 13. She was eliminated by Bianca Belair in the first round.
She did not appear on television after the tournament but was still working the live events. Her last match was a win against Zeda on March 3 in a NXT house show.