John Morrison Released by John Laurinaitis After Raw

A recent report from TWNPnews.com notes that John Morrison was given the "future endeavors" treatment from WWE.  A video was posted on WWE.com featuring interim Raw GM John Laurinaitis in an interview after Raw.  Laurinaitis said to Morrison:

“I truly wish you the best.  Your contract was coming up in the next couple weeks anyway, and, looking at your win/loss record, I really wasn’t going to sign you anyway. That being said, it’s kind of a win/win for WWE and John Morrison. I hope you take some time to get your mind and body in order. Get well soon."

Monday's episode of Raw saw John Morrison get destroyed by The Miz in a "Falls Count Anywhere" match.  The start of the contest saw Miz attack Morrison's leg with a pipe.  The ending of the match saw Miz smash Morrison face first into part of the WWE set on stage, before hitting the Skullcrushing Finale up on the hard stage floor.  There was no pinfall, just the ref calling the match over due to Morrison being comatose.  Morrison was taken away on a stretcher, and probably won't be back with WWE for quite a while.  This comes not long after John Morrison was featured as part of the Survivor Series Pay-Per-View, going up against Dolph Ziggler for the United States Championship, yet coming up short.

This seems quite similar to Jeff Hardy's departure, although Morrison wasn't in the sort of outside trouble Hardy was.  Remember back to CM Punk destroying Jeff Hardy up on stage as his final send-off from WWE.  It's strange how guys are written off this show in this way, rather than some other way, like a big win.  However, a big win would be part of momentum, and a push, something that Morrison should've had.  He was in the title pictures several times and held the Intercontinental and tag titles.  Unfortunately, he never quite got there in terms of the major championships.

JMo is one talented wrestler and can certainly entertain crowds with his high-flying acrobatics in and out of the ring.  His mic and promo skills may need some work still.  For now, he gets to leave the WWE, which also released his girlfriend, diva Melina some time ago.  Hopefully for the sake of the WWE Universe, Morrison will make a return, and then capture the bigger championship he deserves.

Story source: TWNPnews.com

WWE Releases Helms, Burchill & Maria

Earlier on Friday, WWE announced the release of three of its superstars. Former ECW wrestlers Gregory "Hurricane" Helms and Paul "The Ripper" Burchill were let go in addition to Smackdown diva Maria Kanellis. While Helms and Burchill hadn't been seen for several weeks on the air, Maria was recently seen as part of a small storyline on Smackdown involving Matt Hardy. She fought in several mixed gender tag matches along with Hardy and The Great Khali against the Hart Dynasty on both Smackdown and Superstars.

Each of the superstars' release notices on WWE.com followed the usual format:

"WWE has come to terms on the release of _____ as of today February 26, 2010. We wish _____ the best in all future endeavors."

Gregory Helms was with WWE since 2001, after appearing in WCW from 99-01. His Hurricane character was a popular superhero, which also incorporated Molly Holly, Rosey and Stacey Keibler at various times. Hurricane held the tag titles twice, once with Kane, once with Rosey, as well as holding the WWE Cruiserweight title twice, European title once and Hardcore title also one time. Helms was last seen in the ring doing an interview of Ezekiel Jackson. The interview came just a day or so after news of Helms' arrest during a drunken taxi ride with Chris Jericho and Matt Hardy. William Regal who was in the ring during the spot, commented about Helms' recent trouble. Helms noted during the interview he was going to put the incident behind him and move on. He ended up getting slammed to the mat by Jackson to end the segment. Helms wasn't seen in any matches after that.

Paul Burchill came to WWE in 2005 and played a pirate character early on. He eventually moved on from that and started appearing with his on-air sister, Katie Lea. Burchill and Helms had been involved in a rivalry on the now-removed ECW show on SyFy. It involved Burchill trying to unmask The Hurricane and expose that he was really Gregory Helms. They even had a match in which Helms retired Burchill from the show. Not long after, Burchill re-appeared as a masked villain type character named "The Ripper". The Ripper was unmasked by Hurricane and Burchill was forced to leave again. Soon after that, Katie Lea Burchill appeared as a new diva on Raw. There's no news of Katie Lea being released as of yet. It appears that with the closing down of ECW, Helms and Burchill had nowhere else to go with WWE.

The most shocking of the three releases might be that of Maria Kanellis, who was recently promoted as part of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" by Donald Trump. She's been with WWE since back in 2004-05 as a losing contestant in the diva search, then a backstage interviewer, and eventually a girlfriend/valet of several wrestlers including Santino Marella, Dolph Ziggler and Matt Hardy. She's been a member of the Raw and Smackdown rosters during her career which also included posing for the 2008 Playboy cover and spread. On Smackdown, Maria was introduced by Matt Hardy as his recent Valentine, and the two were considered a couple. After a loss in the ring on Smackdown, Maria blamed herself for the loss. Hardy consoled her, but Maria didn't seem happy and ended up pushing past fellow divas Michelle McCool and Layla backstage. According to her wiki entry, Mara's got a debut album called "Sevin Sins" releasing on April 13th, so that may explain her being let go to work on the music career.

With the release of these three, it seems that once again WWE's loss is TNA's gain. It won't be surprising to see one or all three of these re-surface on TNA's show in the near future.

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!

Smackdown's Ricky Ortiz Released by WWE

There will be no more "Big O" or ralley towel waving in the ring from superstar Ricky Ortiz. In what many people feel was a surprise move, World Wrestling Entertainment released wrestler Ricky Ortiz on Saturday. Ortiz was originally part of the "ECW Superstar Initiative" and after decent performances there, was eventually moved to Smackdown. WWE gave him the standard release statement that we have commonly seen given to other superstars and divas in the past:

WWE has come to terms on the release of SmackDown Superstar Ricky Ortiz as of today, Aug. 8, 2009. We wish Ricky the best in all future endeavors

When Ortiz first started with WWE on the ECW program, he started out on a major hot, undefeated streak, until he and Jack Swagger had a memorable first match. Swagger got the win to further propel his standing, and Ortiz sort of faded a bit after this. He was moved to Smackdown's brand in April 09' as part of the WWE draft. On Smackdown, his last match ever was a squash effort by Great Khali in under a minute. Strangely enough, The Brian Kendrick, also recently released, lost his last match in just a few seconds after the bell rang to Kofi Kingston on Raw.

According to reports from various wrestling news sites, the move to release Ortiz was a business decision rather than a cost-cutting one. The WWE has recently been trimming the rosters down by eliminating any talent they feel are not good investments. Best wishes to Ricky Ortiz, and again WWE's loss may become their competition's gain...

WWE releases The Brian Kendrick

Former tag team champion and Raw superstar, The Brian Kendrick was released by the WWE several days ago. The 30 year old Kendrick first started out as a character named "Spanky" on SmackDown back in 2003, and started campaigning for a job on the show with Stephanie McMahon. He even feuded with John Cena as both superstars used a rap gimmick. Kendrick left WWE as of 2004, but made his way back in the summer of 2005 after wrestling in independent gigs.

WWE issued the following standard statement regarding the release on WWE.com:

World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of Raw Superstar Brian Kendrick as of today, July 30, 2009. WWE wishes Brian the best in all future endeavors.

It was a tough past several months for Kendrick since arriving to Raw, in fact he was almost ridiculed weekly, being made as a jobber for Hornswoggle, Jerry Lawler, Festus and countless others. Just a week ago, he was on the receiving end of a loss to Kofi Kingston, in less than a few seconds after the bell rang. What a way to go out huh? The Brian Kendrick had started a gimmick of looking for the best tag team partner he could find on Raw, only to end up getting into it with the ones he chose.

He did have a good bit of success on Smackdown, first with his former partner Paul London. The duo carried the tag team belts for a long period of time and were hailed as one of the top tag teams in all of WWE. Upon London and Kendrick's split up, Kendrick was re-introduced as "The Brian Kendrick", a flamboyant and cocky rockstar like wrestler who came to the ring with his bodyguard Ezekiel Jackson. At one time (probably due to the injury situation), Kendrick was even thrust into the World Heavyweight Title Scramble match last year with other top competitors. That surprised tons of fans but maybe made many fans take notice as well. Unfortunately, upon his arrival to Raw, Kendrick had no true direction for his character, and now is out of work. Best wishes to Kendrick on his future career plans wherever they may land him.

WWE releases Candice & Snuka

Today WWE released yet another member of its talent, but this time around it was one of its loveliest, veteran WWE Divas. On Friday June 19, 2009, WWE officially came to terms with the release of Candice Michelle, former WWE Womens Champion.

WWE's standard announcement via WWE.com:

World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of SmackDown Superstar Candice Michelle as of today, June 19, 2009. WWE wishes Candice the best in all future endeavors.

Candice hadn't seen much wrestling since sustaining an injury on WWE Raw. She was moved to the Smackdown roster during WWE's 2009 Supplemental draft, but never saw much, if any action on the show. Candice had notable feuds with the likes of Torrie Wilson and Melina, and also was one of several divas to appear nude in Playboy magazine.

Candice uses Twiter and back on June 3rd mentioned she was planning to return to the ring. Her latest update says "I'm free to grow!" which may be in reference to her release from WWE. You can follow Candice at Twitter here.

Best wishes to Candice with all of her future endeavors. Will TNA recruit yet another WWE Diva to its ranks, just like Lisa Marie Varon (Victoria)?

In other news, Sim Snuka formerly a member of Deuce and Domino was also released Friday. Snuka had also been part of the Raw storyline when Randy Orton was forming the Legacy stable, yet Snuka and Manu were ousted from the group and received a beatdown from Rhodes, Dibiase and Orton. That was about the last that was seen of Snuka. WWE.com release statement for Sim Snuka

Umaga is Released by WWE

Just recently a surprise move came when the WWE released returning superstar, Mr. Kennedy from its roster in the same week he returned to Raw. No real reason was given but gossip and rumors seemed to indicate Kennedy was in hot water with Randy Orton, and even worse with Vince McMahon.

Now the WWE has surprisingly released another if its talents, the Samoan Bulldozer, Umaga (Eddie Fatu). The WWE put the following short release statement on its website just hours ago.

World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of SmackDown Superstar Umaga as of today, June 8, 2009. WWE wishes Umaga the best in all future endeavors.

The WWE has always been bizarre but these lack of explanations not only hurt the product but the fans. Umaga was just recently in a Samoan Strap match with CM Punk at Extreme Rules, which Umaga lost. There was no serious injury and now no explanation for another superstar's release. It can always be speculated that Umaga was released for drug violations, as he was part of a massive suspension by WWE years back. He was listed in the articles by Sports Illustrated and Washington Post as one of several WWE stars to have purchased pharmaceuticals from an online pharmacy, violating the Wellness program policies.

Umaga has defintely made for one of the more entertaining and savage characters in recent WWE history, a throwback to the Wild Samoans, Kamala and the Headshrinkers. He was part of an interesting feud with CM Punk on Smackdown where he kept preventing Punk from capturing the World Heavyweight Title. Punk finally got the Bulldozer off his back so to speak, and now he really won't have to worry about Umaga standing in his way again. It's a shame to see this guy gone, and now we're most likely to see not only Mr. Kennedy but also Umaga wrestling in that six-sided ring on TNA.

Mr. Kennedy Released by WWE

Shocking news from World Wrestling Entertainment involving WWE Raw Superstar, Mr. Kennedy. According to WWE.com, Kennedy was released Friday, May 29, 2009. WWE released the following brief statement on its website:

World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of Raw Superstar Mr. Kennedy (Ken Kennedy) as of today, May, 29 2009. WWE wishes Ken the best in all future endeavors.

Kennedy had just recently made a surprise return to WWE Raw where he was the 5th mystery tag team partner in a 10 man All-Star tag match. Kennedy was on the "good guy" Lakers side along with John Cena, Batista, Jerry Lawler and MVP, and looked good in the ring. His team won as MVP scored the winning pinfall. Earlier in the night, Kennedy interrupted WWE Champ Randy Orton and threw his name into possible future title contenders.

Kennedy's a former United States Champion and winner of the 2007 Money in the Bank contest at Wrestlemania. Unfortunately he was injury-plagued since then, and never officially got the big push for a major title. It seemed Monday as if that push was right around the corner. Now it comes as quite a shock to see the release of Kennedy, a popular WWE star associated with the 'Mr Kennneeedddyyy... Kennedy' double name announcement who was famous for cutting promos with a mic that dropped down from up above.

As of now, there's no word on why Kennedy was released in less than a week after his surprise return, but speculation running rampant. He was suspended once under WWE's Wellness policy yet claimed he received an outdated prescription from a man he thought was a doctor. He's also been in hot water with WWE for discussing how he felt the Policy was too severe when it came to preventing steroid use. The injury bug may be the ultimate reason for Kennedy's release. He was out for nine months with a dislocated shoulder, and apparently suffered a wrist injury this past Monday on Raw. Expect WWE's main competitor, TNA, to snatch up this highly marketable and entertaining wrestling superstar.

Goldman & Braddock Released

The latest WWE superstar to come and go is Scotty Goldman (real name: Scott Colton) who'd been appearing on Smackdown for some months now with quirky promo videos and no big victories. His last appearance was this past Friday on Smackdown as he was put into a match against Umaga, and promptly squashed by a hip splash and Samoan Spike.

Several days ago, WWE.com posted the standard send-off note it does for most of its released superstars:

World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of SmackDown Superstar Scotty Goldman (Scott Colton) as of February 20, 2009. WWE wishes Scott the best in all future endeavors.

Smackdown had been a colorful character and posted several blog entries over at the WWE Universe. However now his profile and blog both read:

Whoops!

This site has been disabled due to violations of our Terms of Service.
If you are the owner of the site you may contact technical support in order to resolve the situation.

Goldman's Smackdown profile has also been pulled in conjunction with his release. Interestingly enough Smackdown superstar Ryan Braddock (Brad Bradley) was released just a day after Goldman yet still has a WWE profile viewable here and Superstar bio here. Braddock's last notable match was back in September of 2008 when he defeated Festus by disqualification. Braddock was wrapped in packaging material by the Jesse & Festus Smackdown moving company and shipped out. Squashed by Umaga or shipped out in bubble wrap, you decide...