Wrestling fans were shocked on Tuesday when news broke that WWE released Big Cass less than 48 hours after his loss to Daniel Bryan at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. As Cass had been regularly featured on SmackDown Live in the weeks prior, it seemed unusual that WWE would release the big man so abruptly. Many had speculated that WWE made the decision in relation to an incident last month where Cass allegedly defied orders from the company’s creative team, but new reports are now claiming that Cass might have been fired over more recent backstage issues.
Citing recent comments from veteran wrestling journalist Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Live , Sportskeeda wrote that Big Cass was “very moody” at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on Sunday. He noted that this might have been because Cass was booked to lose against Daniel Bryan for the second time in a row, allowing the much smaller Bryan to easily win his first major feud since returning to the ring after a two-year retirement. While Alvarez stressed that this was “pure speculation,” he pointed out the fact WWE’s standard statement announcing Cass’ release did not come with the usual well wishes in one’s future endeavors, hinting at an acrimonious departure for the 30-year-old wrestler.
Separately, the WrestleVotes Twitter account pointed to even more recent events — a house show that took place on Monday night where Big Cass allegedly “p*ssed someone off, bad.” The source did not have much else to say as they were “tied up at the moment,” but WrestleVotes added that the decision to fire Cass came just a few hours before news of his release was announced.
BREAKING NEWS: WWE has come to terms on the release of William Morrissey (Big Cass). https://t.co/x3E2bYYCRg
— WWE (@WWE) June 19, 2018
According to Sportskeeda , the above report tied in with Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer’s comments earlier on Tuesday, where he said that WWE chairman Vince McMahon held a private meeting hours before SmackDown Live and decided on releasing Big Cass right then and there.
Asked what happened with Cass. Source is tied up at the moment, however said “Big man pissed someone off, bad”
I also know this happened within the last few hours, not necessarily the “pissing off” but the decision. Not at the PPV as Cass worked the house show last night.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) June 19, 2018
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , rumors had been swirling about Cass having issues with management since last month, shortly after he returned from an ACL injury. The primary issue reportedly stemmed from a segment on the May 1 episode of SmackDown Live , where Cass allegedly went off-script and landed a “flurry of fists” on a little person dressed like Daniel Bryan, despite WWE’s orders for Cass to drop the impersonator with a big boot and not attack him any further.
No other reports of backstage incidents had emerged between that time and the announcement of Big Cass’ firing, but WrestlingNews.co wrote that Cass was in the “doghouse” since the alleged incident, adding that he had reportedly annoyed many of his colleagues with his “perceived attitude issues.”