WWE Roster Cuts, Should Be Released, and "Future Endeavored" Discussion

[Ambiguous Turd]

Looks like Tommy Dreamer has officially been granted his release and is now gone from the company.

WWE Diva Mickie James has posted the following on her Twitter account, which seems to confirm Tommy Dreamer's departure from WWE:

"Just got back from a wonderful dinner w my 2nd fam! Saying farewell 2 a man who hs been a leader & inspiration 2 me since my ecw tryout 00" Who has given me the best advice In countless situations. Whom I could never repay but will always respect and love from the bottom of my Heart. There is but 1 Tommy Dreamer aka dream machine! You've paved the way for many. We all are grateful! I love you. Thank you! Muah!"

That was a good move, as he wasn't being used except to put guys over anyway, and wasn't going anywhere. What killed him was Vince taking ECW in a new direction, as he was never going to connect with fans being a "watered-down" Tommy Dreamer.

His style does not work well in a watered-down environment like in Wakeless Watered-down Entertainment.

 

[Leafy]

I'm happy for Tommy Dreamer. He's been devoted to the buisness his entire life and his time to take a break. He was a jobber but he boosted rookie's credibility if they beat him in a hardcore match. I'm sure he has enough money to be independent now and pursue some projects so we may see a different side of Tommy Dreamer now.

Also responding to the previous post, Gabriel is in FCW I believe as Mr. FCW.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

Tommy Dreamer can now finally dream on when it comes to him leaving the WWE. He has not got any contractual obligations to fulfill and is a free man. He survived a more than filling purpose in the old ECW and did a great job being a talent enhancement (not a jobber) within the WWE.

Sure, he was never the top dog in WWECW at all and was always seen as the guy who was number two or three. I mean, even with the small roster of few veterans, the man who is the life and soul of ECW was considered third behind William Regal and Christian. I'm happy for him and I hope the road for Tommy is a good one.

 

[The Palace of Wisdom]

I doubt any one is getting released before the Royal Rumble. It just doesn't make sense. The WWE's roster is paper thin as it is. But after that, there are a number of guys who are underused and could be let go. However, I think WWE would be wise to combine the rosters again, because they are almost dangerously thin, and they run the risk of recycling storylines/feuds too often.

-Carlito

I'm a fan of the guy, but let's face it, his career in the WWE has probably peaked. They forgot to pull the trigger on him when he was red hot, and now he has grown lazy because of his lack of push. I think he could be very valuable on any show getting young guys like Kofi and Morrison over, but I doubt he wants to do that.

-Primo

He's never going to get anything substantial because he is small and has no charisma. He's a great in-ring talent, but his brother got the charisma in the family, and unless he wants to job for life, he'll get cut.

-Charlie Haas

Another good in-ring worker they are wasting. He should be used to get guys over on their way up the card, but he doesn't even make TV anymore. He would fit in great in a Tag Team with Knox, but I doubt they go that way.

-Slam Master J

They took a chance with a repackage and it didn't work.

-Kung Funaki

Does nothing.

-Jimmy Wang Yang

Does nothing.

-Curt Hawkins

He's still on Smackdown's roster but seems long gone.


-Mike Knox

I hate this one as I'm a huge mark for the guy and think he has a great look, but they aren't doing a thing with him. He seems tailor made for a feud with The Undertaker, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting on that.

-The Hurricane

Helms is an interesting case, because while he's over, I don't see him ever getting a real shot in the WWE. I would guess with Jeff and Shannon Moore in TNA, Helms would probably love to defect.

-Tyler Reks

The guy has not gotten over, and while he has the look, I just don't see him developing.

-Vladimir Kozlov

He had a nice little run, but there really isn't much the WWE can do with monsters who are only average in the ring.

-Baretta and Croft

Definition of suck.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

PWInsider.com is reporting that WWE has released former ECW star Steve "DJ Gabriel" Lewington. Gabriel debuted on the ECW brand and worked a short stint with Alicia Fox until he was sent back down to developmental.

I forgot about this guy until I came across this on the home page. While I don't think this guy could've been HUGE, I think he could've been a decent mid card guy, and maybe be put into a tag team with someone. I also think he was the victim of having a horrible character. The whole DJ thing wasn't a bad idea, but there was absolutely no depth at all to that character.

So what are your thoughts on the release of DJ Gabriel?

 

[The Doctor]

Honestly, I think it's a shame. I really liked the dancer gimmick, as it was fun and unique, and he was not bad at all in the ring. He could have been at least a midcarder on ECW or Smackdown. I was hoping they were going to repackage him and throw him in a tag team, but oh well.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

This is a shame as Lewington spent a LONG time in OVW training. When he debuted, I liked the gimmick, as well. Did you hear that? "Gimmick". Something we don't see too much of anymore, which is refreshing to see.

WWE may want to blame Lewington for his ring work. I blame Creative for not featuring the guy on television enough and doing anything with him. That is all their decision, not the decision of the wrestler. There was absolutely nothing wrong with his ringwork to the average fan, and there have been zero complaints about his attitude behind the scenes, either.

 

[shafe_41]

I never thought I'd say this but I totally agree with Sidious. Gabriel had a cool fun gimmick. I was personally a fan of his music. It made me want to get up and cut a rug in my own living room. I also didn't mind watching Alicia Fox shake her sexy ass every week on ECW. She was daaaayyyymmmmmmnnnnnn sexy with her hair straight and her rack pushed up all nice and perky. It's a shame some guys don't even get a chance to let the crowd decide if they like him or not.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

This comes from the Observer:

- Recent WWE developmental departures that are now confirmed include Chris "The Bambikiller" Raaber (Christoph Herzog), DJ Gabriel (Steve Lewington), Sweet Papi Sanchez (José Torres), Dino Carter (Rashard Goff), Lennox McEnroe (Byron Wilcott), Leroy Morgan (Max McGuirk) and Lift Sawyer (Aaron Reed). Morgan is the son of former WWE announcer Mike McGuirk and the grandson of legendary wrestling promoter Leroy McGuirk.

Just wanted to give an update for who the recent departures were.

One of the things I was not aware of was that Mike McGuirk's son was in Developmental. I personally liked Mike McGuirk as a ring announcer and it would have been great to have someone connected to her still in the business to keep the McGuirk name alive in the business. But it is what it is.

As we discussed with Lewington, it was only a matter of time, and he knew it, as he has said as much. So that is no surprise there since we haven't seen him on TV in probably 6 months.

You have to figure that Curt Hawkins is sweating it out right now. But Funaki gets to stay, apparently. Someone told me he is some sort of Assistant to Stephanie McMahon which I never heard before, but I guess that could be one reason why he gets to stay.

Can't help but think that WWE looks at this people with far too critical an eye when it comes to wrestling skills as compared to other skills such as mic skills. Someone with fantastic mic skills will always outdraw the best technical wrestler. I can't help but wonder whether WWE has eliminated another Rock from emerging in the WWE because they are so obsessed with 5 star ring skills.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

the DJ Gabriel one is odd to me. The guy had a GREAT look I dont think its his fault that they gave him one of the most absolute shit gimmicks ever. I mean fuck, could he REALLY not just be put in a tag match with Chris Masters, and have them be called "HGH" or something stupid like that? I dont get that one, the guy couldve had SOMETHING done with him on look alone.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I don't think anybody is going to truly mourn the loss of of some development wrestlers, who's really heard of most of them. The ones that say they have are probably the ones who think that Joe Henning should come in and become a world champion straight away. Yeah, maybe if he didn't look like somebody who would've been given a workman gimmick in the mid 90's.

On the subject of Gabriel, Alicia Fox has got the best arse in wrestling.

 

[Cappie]

"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."

Can't really say that I'm shocked about this especially since the guy was in development for close to four years. So what are your thoughts about this? Do you think they could have done anything after the Vickie storyline to get him over?

I mean I think they tried to make him a main eventer after pairing him up with Vickie, but he still couldn't get over. Whenever he would cut a promo after they're break up the crowd still wouldn't have cheered for him so obviously he wasn't going to last that long. Besides the guy didn't look like he had any talent, or anything to make him stand out compared to the other wrestlers.

 

[Rzarectah]

As all of you know by now, WWE has released Eric Escobar from his contract. I didn't really know much about him besides the fact that WWE was trying to push him, but didn't really do a good job. Someone please tell me what the point of hiring him and working him up through the FCW system (unless he didn't) and then releasing him. Shouldn't they have just put him in FCW and repackaged him and took another shot at it? I thought he had some potential, you guys tell me what you think, what was the point?

 

[Harrison101]

Well, according to the site, he has been released by the company. Funny as I was just wondering what had happened to him ever since he was being bullied by Vickie Guerrero...Oh dear.

Personally, I thought he had the potential to be similar to Eddie Guerrero, as I found him somewhat entertaining. What do you all think of this?

 

[Mitch Henessey]

The Eric Escobar release really doesn't surprise me at all. He hadn't been seen on Smackdown for weeks, and really wasn't going any where. I guess WWE did this because of the storyline he had with Vickie. The guy just wasn't able to get over as a face or a heel. I can remember countless times when I watched Smackdown, and he came out to little or no reaction at all. When you're paired with Vickie Guerrero, who is a machine when it comes to getting heel heat, and you aren't able to get over, that's just not a good sign.

At first, his face turn seemed it might be going some where, but it fizzled out pretty quickly. The only time he got a reaction from the crowd is when he would insult Vickie,and let's face it, you could give any body a mic, have them insult Vickie, and they would get a pop from a live crowd.

 

[LynchCats]

Eric Escobar was forgettable. Went to a RAW/Superstars show in October that he wrestled a Superstars match. I remember thinking, "who?", when he came out, and that was the only thought I ever had about him. To quote John Cena, "a footnote in WWE history".

 

[JJohns]

The fact that the guy was in developmental as long as he was (is there anyone left in FCW that was at one point a part of DSW outside of Hawkins and Skip Sheffield?) told me that they were trying to find something for him in WWE. In fact, most guys that are in developmental that long are bound to be cut as for some reason they couldn't find a reason to promote them.

I won't be surprised if the next guy we see going will be Tyler Reks, especially after the incident that got reported on with him and the plane. In fact, when I saw on another site the headline WWE Superstar Released, I was sure that it was going to be his name there.

 

[Blade]

Escobar was always going to be let go. He mocked Vickie Guerrero for weeks and was still getting fuck all reaction. And he wasn't booked badly, he was booked in a way that should've drawn sympathy from the crowd but it didn't do anything. He was never a big deal, John Morrison really had to work his ass off to get a good match out of him, so it's not a big deal.

Looking over the current WWE roster, I can't help thinking that Kozlov is going to go soon. When the Roundtable group was formed, it always seems like when they split, one of the monsters would get pushed and would be left behind. Zeke seems to be getting the push as he's now the number 1 contender for the ECW title. Kozlov will drift into obscurity and become a jobber. Assuming WWE lets him get that far before firing him. Which is a shame. Not cause he's a great wrestler or anything, but considering how he was pushed when he first came in, he could've become something decent.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

Eric was a weird specimen to say the least. He had a huge build with a wrestling style and persona that did not mix well together. And his run with the E was less than eventful. He gets paired up with Vickie Guerrero, she gets promoted, they split up and Eric jobs out to a few people whilst calling names at Vickie. Either way, whatever reaction he got was because of Vickie. Escobar could have done something, but the pairing between him and Vickie should have lasted longer. Then again, we have already seen that storyline before and doing the exact same would become very stale quiet quickly.

I can also see a couple more releases in the future for the WWE, considering it is coming to Wrestlemania time. They'd want to re-assess their rosters so they can free up some space to bring in any agents on the market they feel they need. Guys like Vladmir Kozlov I can see leaving because of the major lack of interest creative has put into the guy recently. It would be good, because their are too many big men/monsters on the roster as it is.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

True, Kozlov gets pretty much ZERO reaction, always did...BUT he's got more wrestling ability in his little finger than....say....DREW MCINTYRE?...If they're going to keep Kozlov face (which i don't recommend), put him with Shelton Benjamin(best pure athlete on the roster) and push them as a tag team...admittedly half their matches would be with Knox/Haas

As far as who NEEDS to go:
Hornswoggle: even the kiddies are sick of him.
Santino's comedy routines: All right, I know I'm going to get heat for that one, but I've seen him wrestle outside the Santino persona and he's right up there. Vince...LET HIM WRESTLE!
Drew McIntyre: Creative tried to heap heat on him by having him screw over John Morrison (arguably the 2nd top face on SD!) and the crowd's still dead!
R-Truth: "What's up?!"...All right...keep him but drop the damn rapping and let him wrestle
MICHAEL COLE: He's a "vintage" steaming piece of grade A monkey crap. Nuff said

Who will LIKELY get the axe in the next year:
Evan Bourne: Does anyone remember the last time he won recently? Me either. They're burying the one guy that has the high-flying ability that doesn't have chronic knee issues (Beautiful SSP by the way)
Cody Rhodes: Let's be honest about it, Ted did "The Marine 2"....Vince won't touch him. Anyone else notice how Cody usually gets the beatings? Only thing saving him right now is 1) association with Orton and 2) his talking ability
Croft and Baretta: I heard the ECW crowd recently chanting "who are you" at them....They got good wrestling skills but if they don't get over soon I got a feeling they're gone.
Jack Swagger: M-m-m-att M-m-m-organ revisit anyone? Swagger's not getting much of a reaction either. Pity really...

 

[mcflyboy]

Kozlov seems like a good bet to go soon. He hasn't done anything since the breakup, I don't think a move to smackdown or raw would do much for him and there's nothing for him to do on ECW now either. It seemed like his interview with santino on ECW was a desperate plea to get a good face reaction going for him but from what it seemed like on the program, the fans weren't really into it.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

Why not let Kozlov go out there and not TRY to be a face? I mean he's got a good look and the ability...let him do his thing...OR make him heel again and actually stick a belt on him?!

 

[SuperSteve16]

Here's the wrestlers is see getting fired in the next couple of months

Slam Master J- How many gimmacks can this guy fail?
Crimetime- not getting used hardy at all, already released in the past
Tyler Reks- Pointless Wrestler

 

[.]

Crimetime- not getting used hardy at all, already released in the past

First of all Cryme Tyme got released in the past due to a backstage fight between Trevor Murdoch & Lance Cade.
Second i hear WWE are planning on splitting these 2 & JTG will get pushed for the Intercontinental though i think Shad would go to ECW where all big men go for development which Shad needs

 

[King Blitzkonic]

First of all Cryme Tyme got released in the past due to a backstage fight between Trevor Murdoch & Lance Cade.
Second i hear WWE are planning on splitting these 2 & JTG will get pushed for the Intercontinental though i think Shad would go to ECW where all big men go for development which Shad needs

And that would be a bad move all around. Don't get me wrong I would love to see JTG get a shot at the IC title in the future but right now they should at least be vianble tag-team contenders BUT that'll only happen if Vince actually decides to listen to the fans. Let's have a rundown of the other "established" tag-teams (for purposes of this discussion, teams that have been together longer than a month):
Rhodes and Dibiase (soon to be split up), the Hart Dynasty (have the skills and mic ability but not quite ready), Croft and Baretta (who?), Jimmy Wang Yang and Slam Master J (could be a great team if WWE would stop jobbing them out!), Charlie Haas/Mike Knox (We don't see enough of Haas to give a crap), DX (long past their prime [at least HBK is] and soon to be split), Matt and Khali? (nuff said)...and MAYBE Punk/Gallows (Good idea but not likely to pan out as a title contender)

Has anyone noticed yet I haven't named any Raw teams besides DX and Legacy? That's because there ain't any to be had.