A longtime member of the WWE creative team has officially announced his departure from the company.
Jim Smallman, a senior writer and producer for NXT, revealed on Instagram that Dec. 19 was his final day with WWE and that he wishes to spend more time with his family. He has served as a writer for NXT UK, Level Up, and NXT.
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A stand-up comedian and radio presenter, Smallman has long been involved with professional wrestling. He co-founded UK promotion PROGRESS Wrestling in 2011 and served as ring announcer.
Smallman left PROGRESS in 2019 when he became more heavily involved with NXT UK.
Here is his full statement:
"Yesterday was my last day as part of the NXT creative team, as I resigned from my position as Senior Writer / Producer in order to move back to the UK and be a better dad to my two children."
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"This was an incredibly difficult decision as I was lucky enough to work with some of the most talented and excellent human beings on the planet, and yesterday was a very emotional day as I said goodbye - for now - to so many great friends."
"Alas, it is impossible to be a good dad from 4000 miles away, and some personal health issues last year put that into sharp focus. It's time to head home and make up for lost time."
"I wrote 216 episodes of NXT UK, 150 episodes of Level Up, worked on 190 episodes of NXT and I lost count of how many in-ring and backstage promos that I wrote and produced."
"I am forever grateful to Shawn and Hunter for giving me my chance, Johnny and the writing team for being amazing, Mr Regal for putting me forward for everything, Joe for showing me the ropes... and to every gifted talent that I've worked with in both Europe and the USA."
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"I wish I could have thanked every single person yesterday but we had a tv show to film! Thank you for tolerating a strange British idiot."
"I'm a very lucky man to have lived this life, but even luckier to be heading home now to an 8 year old who wants to play Fortnite and Hot Wheels and a 21 year old who wants to come to Japan with me."
"And this might be goodbye to the NXT creative team, but not to WWE. I hope to see all of my friends again down the line."
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