mobanmarketsource: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
— What lead to Sylvain Grenier’s release from WWE was apparently a backstage argument with a road agent. They tried him out with Maryse for a few weeks at house shows and dark matches. When he was brought to a SmackDown taping a few weeks ago, he was without Maryse and was going to be used as a sqaush victim for Kane. Grenier saw the writing on the wall and that lead to an argument that ultimately got him fired. Although, it was described that nobody saw headline potential in him anyway and they’d rather give the roster spot to someone new who could develop into a star instead of giving another chance to a retread. Grenier’s main supporter was Pat Patterson, but he’s not on the road all that much these days. Nobody else spoke up for him.
Furthermore, Sports Illustrated listed Grenier as being a client of the busted Signature Pharmacy firm. They said that he received somatropin, nandrolone, genotropin and stanozolol, starting in February 2005 through July 2006. Had he not been released, he’d probably be facing a suspension right now.
— Regarding the release of Dan Rodman, basically what it comes down to is that he wasn’t patient enough. He thought he’d be a big WWE star within mere months. Even Johnny Ace told him that he’d be called up in “a few months,” which at one point was the plan. Stephanie wanted to make him the next “Diesel” by making him the third member of Team Rated-RKO. However, he only had a few weeks of beginning wrestling training under his belt, and never even worked one match before he was signed, so it was completely unrealistic to think that he’s be ready for TV within that time. When those “few months” turned into 13 months and counting, Rodman let it be known that he wanted out. Figuring his progress was slower than hoped for, because he was nowhere near ready for a push on TV, they evidently didn’t work hard on talking him out of quitting and just let him go.
A lot of the important people in WWE management liked Rodman. Vince liked him from day one. Stephanie wanted to make him a main eventer and pushed him hard as a future superstar in creative meetings. Johnny Ace treated him like he was his great “find.” Kevin Dunn liked him because they could credit his show, Tough Enough, for finding him. The wrestler in developmental the McMahons and other higher-ups talked the most about was Rodman — even before he had signed a contract.
— Eugene’s profile was promptly removed from the SmackDown section after WWE.com made the announcement regarding his release.
Click here for details on why Eugene was fired; ESCORTED OUT OF BUILDING! (>>)