This week, AJ Styles addressed the rumors about his move from Raw to SmackDown and there is apparently more coming on Talk N’ Shop when Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are legally able to speak. They will be free from their contracts in a few days when their 90-day non-compete expires.
As previously noted, Styles reportedly was upset with Paul Heyman for not doing more to keep Gallows and Anderson from being fired. Styles refuted that story and he also refuted any suggestion that he was “bullied” while he was part of the Raw roster.
In regards to Heyman having any say in the release of Gallows and Anderson, Dave Meltzer says that all of the cuts that were made in April were cuts that Vince McMahon wanted and the names were not suggested to him.
In response to someone suggesting that Heyman and Bruce Prichard could have suggested names to be released, Meltzer said the following on the Wrestling Observer forum: “These cuts were all Vince. In the end, all cuts are, but these were not cuts asked for and rubber stamped by Vince, these were Vince cuts who then came to others after and told them. Nobody even got names until after Vince made the decisions. Perhaps Paul & Bruce could have argued, and perhaps they did and perhaps they didn’t because you have to be very careful picking your spots. But when it comes to guys Vince had buyers remorse on the size of the deal, they weren’t changing his mind.”
The guys McMahon would have had “buyers remorse” would have included Gallows and Anderson because they weren’t being used in a meaningful way after they signed new contracts last year and their contracts were believed to be worth somewhere in the range of $750,000 per year for each of them.
McMahon not telling Heyman and others about cuts ahead of time means that Prichard and Heyman would have had to adjust on the fly and adjust some storylines if some of the released names were going to be involved in upcoming storylines.
For those of you that missed it, click here to hear AJ Styles’ comments about Paul Heyman
