WWE Releases Velveteen Dream

WWE NXT star Velveteen Dream was released today by the company, according to multiple sources.  The release happened within the last hour we are told.

Dream, real name Patrick Clark, 25, was signed to the company after being eliminated fromthe 2015  Tough Enough season where he obviously showed the most passion for pro wrestling out of any of the contestants but was still voted off the show.  After a big push from WWE Hall of Famer Lita at the time, WWE hired Clark for the developmental system, sending him to WWE NXT later that year.

Clark eventually debuted as The Velveteen Dream in 2017, a character obviously inspired in part by the late, great musician Prince and went to great lengths to remain in character as much as possible when in the public eye.  He quickly rose to prominence in NXT with a tremendous series of performances, looking every bit like a future Wrestlemania main event player.  His work in the ring, nor his flair for performing, was never in question.

That momentum sputtered, stalled and died after online allegations of Clark allegedly sending indecent images to underage boys through social media, a story that lit up after a Reddit user began posting screenshots and audio.  WWE management stated that they looked into the allegations but found no cause for action, leading to Paul Levesque being asked about the situation numerous times during media calls and anti-Velveteen Dream trends on social media whenever he did appear on television.

Clark last wrestled for WWE NXT in December 2020 and had not been seen at the WWE Performance Center for some time.  He was present several weeks back at a Raw taping, but at the time, PWInsider.com was told there were no plans to use him on the main roster.

WWE has not publicly announced Clark's release.  PWInsider.com confirmed his departure with a number of sources this afternoon, however.

source: pwinsider.com