Drake Maverick, one of the many WWE Superstars and staff released due to the COVID-19 budget cuts, has been "allowed" to continue working through the NXT Cruiserweight Tournament. However, in the way it has chosen to hype this tournament and its competitors, WWE has actually been profiting off of the real-life misfortune of the former six-time WWE 24/7 Champion.
While promoting the tournament, WWE featured promo videos for each of its competitors. For Drake Maverick, WWE aired his tear-filled reaction to his release, stating how important these final three matches are for him. This blatant attempt to make money off of Maverick's firing is a new low for WWE and may have larger implications for the company down the road.
As WWE moves forward with its NXT Cruiserweight Tournament, Drake Maverick is being billed as the ultimate underdog. Financially, Maverick has literally everything to lose in this tournament, but WWE is treating him like he's just a character in a storyline. After losing to Jake Atlas in his first match of the round robin tournament, Atlas consoled Drake and told him to keep his head up. In contrast, Tony Nese said he didn't care about Drake Maverick during a backstage interview. Needless to say, WWE is taking full advantage of Drake Maverick's situation, using it to promote Jake Atlas as a babyface, establish Tony Nese as a heel and garner sympathy for Drake Maverick in this tournament. While this strategy may be working, to use Drake's lay-off to further the WWE product isn't a good look for the company.
It's bad enough that many superstars have already lost their livelihood, with allegedly more cuts on the way, but Drake Maverick's storyline is not sending a good message to the WWE locker room. While the recent releases have already greatly soured the mood backstage, WWE is seemingly sending the message that these tragic firings make for good television. Clearly, this message won't help endear WWE to the remaining employees who have lost friends to these firings.
Despite the terrible look and diminishing locker room morale, one point to consider is that Drake Maverick's release and subsequent storyline may all be an elaborate work. Whether it was a work before his release or became one afterwards, it's possible WWE is now working the WWE Universe to get them behind Drake Maverick for this tournament. Despite losing his first match, it's still possible, however highly unlikely, that he could miraculously win the NXT Cruiserweight Tournament. The moment would make for the ultimate underdog story, and it's very possible that WWE recognized this.
It would be great if the whole storyline was a work -- for Drake Maverick that is -- but what about the other released superstars? Even as a work, this storyline is still incredibly tacky because the other released superstars will remain gone. Using real-life firings to elicit a response to a wrestling angle is a slap in the face to all the laid-off employees that aren't coming back. Ultimately, the consequences of this storyline are going to come back to bite WWE.
For wrestling fans and sympathizers of Drake Maverick, it's great that he gets to work a few more matches. Admittedly, the situation does create good television for this tournament as well. However, the potential damage is far greater. Using Drake as a pawn for this storyline only to release him afterwards will further anger fans and wrestlers alike. Even the sponsors may leave if WWE's image is tarnished by this kind of greed. There are still at least two more matches to see how this plays out, but if Drake Maverick is laid-off for good, WWE should at least let him "go down swinging" without trivializing his misery by profiting off of it.