As reported earlier this week, WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson, former WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJP, Tye Dillinger, and Hideo Itami were all released from WWE.
On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer went into detail about what has transpired backstage over the past couple of weeks as these releases have been taking place.
In the case of Anderson, he was reportedly fired from the company after continued conflicts with Vince McMahon. Details are scarce but something transpired at a WWE house show that evidently wasn’t handled to Vince’s liking. Anderson took full blame for the incident and was ultimately terminated from his role as a backstage producer.
Arn and Vince were said to not be on the best of terms prior to Anderson’s release. There were numerous situations over recent years where the two apparently weren’t seeing eye to eye on the different happenings within the company. Nevertheless, Arn is liked by key individuals backstage, including Triple H and John Cena. Some believe had Cena been around in a more prominent WWE role like before, perhaps it wouldn’t have escalated to the point where Anderson was released. Cena’s fondness for Anderson is shared with many other superstars that have competed in WWE over the years.
Meltzer added that he sometimes caught wind of performers speaking out about what they believed was a poorly made creative decision, and Anderson would actually support the talent’s objection, possibly causing conflict.
He also mentioned that some people feel like Anderson may flourish as a producer over in AEW. From the side of AEW, there have only been positive things said about Anderson’s work, and Arn is reportedly not too broken up about being let go from WWE.
Overall, WWE is making it a point not to fire anyone, so it apparently surprised a lot of people backstage when Anderson and TJP were let go from the company. TJP’s release in particular is said to be for disciplinary reasons, and WWE felt like parting ways with TJP is something that was needed to be done. A lack of creative ideas for TJP wasn’t a deciding factor in his departure because even the WWE superstars that haven’t been given much creative material as of late are being held to their contractual obligations.
The obvious exceptions come in the form of Tye Dillinger and Hideo Itami, who were also confirmed as being released from WWE earlier this week. We noted back in late January that Itami had asked for his release from WWE as a result of his frustration with how he was being used in the company.
We also noted on Tuesday night that Dillinger took to Twitter after the SmackDown tapings in New Orleans to reveal that he had requested his release from the company.
Along with the releases, Bruce Prichard, Steve Corino, “Hurricane” Shane Helms, Sonjay Dutt, Shawn Daivari, Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer “Abyss” Chris Parks and WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett have all started as backstage producers for the company.
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