As the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Slam Wrestling and the often-uncredited force behind nearly every facet of the operation, especially since our transition to an independent brand, I’ve covered the professional wrestling industry closely since our launch in 1997. With the essential support of our small but mighty team of Slammers without whom this site just wouldn’t exist and who don’t just cover wrestling but actually watch it, follow it, and live it, I thought that I’ve seen it all…or so I thought. I have never seen a situation quite like R-Truth’s predicament. It is truly not only historic in nature but sets a major precedent in the new Endeavour, TKO era of the WWE.
Now, I have never been the biggest fan of comedy wrestling so I really wasn’t into R-Truth’s involvement in the 24/7 Championship angle or the moronic Little Jimmy character. It was all very cringy to me. It is the kind of crap I don’t miss now that the McMahon era is over. However, I really did like his involvement with the Judgment Day. That was clever and fun.
To find any situations that were remotely similar though we have to go back to 2021 when Samoa Joe was released from the main roster but was rehired, reappeared a couple of months later in NXT. He would go on to win the NXT Championship shortly thereafter. The same can be said for Drake Maverick who was released in 2020 as the General Manager of 205 Live but after posting an emotional video plea was rehired by the company for a short period of time.
A better, perfect example would be when Daniel Bryan was released by WWE in 2010. Bryan took things a little too far during a Nexus attack on Raw choking ring announcer Justin Roberts with his tie. Following an avalanche of fan backlash Bryan was rehired a few months later.
So, while the R-Truth dilemma is a monumental moment in recent WWE history it is not entirely unique. In the past though, such fan outrage mostly had fallen on deaf ears. Bray Wyatt’s release in 2021 might never have occurred in the new era of WWE we find ourselves in. Under Vince McMahon we would never have seen the actual mat become an advertising platform or ladders sponsored by whisky companies either. We also never would have witnessed him reverse a decision to fire someone no matter how much the fans vented online.
WWE 2.0 though is a different animal entirely. Everyone at WWE, from the production crew assistants to the development trainees to President Nick Khan himself are answerable to the parent company: Endeavour. Endeavour bought the WWE and owns 61.72% of the stock.
While WWE management may run the daily operations it is now Endeavour who has the final say on everything and anything WWE from how much to charge for tickets to who gets hired and who gets fired. No longer can fans or the media blame the McMahon family for WWE’s missteps. As in Triple H’s case, he may be the captain of the good ship WWE along with Khan and Chris Legentil (EVP, Talent Relations and Head of Communications) but only as long as Endeavour permits him and them to be.
You can be sure that Endeavour probably had a hand in some way with R-Truth’s return. There is word that Khan was the one who brought back Truth into the fold but Endeavour probably wasn’t pleased with all the extraordinary resentment and condemnation the decision sparked across social media and the wrestling media itself.
The TKO Group after all is a publicly traded company and the brand’s reputation, business partnerships and sponsorships and investor confidence are all extremely vital to the continued success and growth of the WWE and likewise TKO and Endeavour. They spend millions upon millions of dollars a year on marketing and publicity to keep their reputations as positive as can be.
Others surely might follow the path walked by R-Truth when it comes to their own contract situations or even better, their contract negotiations. One also wonders how this will effect management and talent discussions going forward, and if they will be as transparent as they have been in some cases, in the future.
It begs the question though why wasn’t Carlito shown the same love? Sure, his return cannot be compared R-Truth’s 17 years with WWE but he did carve out quite a nice spot for himself as the comic relief in the Judgment Day. His matches were pretty decent and he was much better than a lot of talent they have now, both in the ring and on the microphone.
What about Raven? What about Carlito, I say.
It is too early to see how R-Truth’s situation will change the negotiation process in WWE but what is clear is that just like they have always done in deciding who is a heel and who isn’t, who gets over and who doesn’t, how this angle will progress and how it won’t, the voice of the fans altered R-Truth’s journey in WWE and in life. That’s the brilliance of this interactive form of entertainment: the fans matter. They always have and they always will.
