Smackdown Superstar released 1/17/10

On Sunday afternoon it was announced that the WWE has released Smackdown brand wrestler, Eric Escobar. He made his debut back in October of 2009. Escobar was originally a heel when he stepped into his Smackdown role, as the boyfriend of Vickie Guerrero. They were together for several weeks, until Vickie chastised him for losing an Intercontinental title match. From there, Escobar made a change to face wrestler, and Vickie tormented him week after week by booking him in impossible handicap matches (versus The Hart Dynasty, JeriShow, etc).

WWE gave its standard farewell message via WWE.com:

"WWE has come to terms on the release of Smackdown superstar Eric Escobar as of Jan. 17, 2010. WWE wishes Eric all the best in his future endeavors."

Escobar, real name Eric Perez, was originally planned to be one of the five members of Team Smackdown for Bragging Rights PPV which also featured Cryme Tyme, Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler. They were eventually replaced by Matt Hardy, R-Truth, Finlay and the Hart Dynasty due to a decision by WWE creative staff based on Mr. McMahon not liking how the original team looked during a Raw segment.

Best wishes to Escobar in the future with whicever directions he choosed to go!