WWE News: Veteran Superstar Says He’s Taking An ‘Indefinite Leave Of Absence’ From Wrestling
Brian Kendrick, a longtime mainstay of WWE‘s cruiserweight division on 205 Live, announced on social media this week that he will be going on what could be a long hiatus from in-ring competition.
On Friday, Kendrick took to Twitter to share a photo that was geotagged in Poipu, Hawaii, accompanying it with the image of a sunset along with a reminder to his fans that it had been three years since he was last given a chance to fight for the Cruiserweight Championship. He then lamented that “nobody” in WWE or on 205 Live seems to understand or respect his contributions to the cruiserweight division, hence his decision to go on an “indefinite leave of absence from the ring.”
As pointed out by Wrestling Inc., it’s unclear at this point whether Kendrick’s announcement is part of a storyline. He was, however, involved in an angle last month where he expressed unhappiness with his status in 205 Live, complaining about the show’s general manager, Drake Maverick, and how he has made it so easy for newer wrestlers to sign contracts. According to the publication, the storyline also saw Kendrick complaining about how nobody seems to “[call] on him to help” anymore.
On the other side of things, WrestlingNews.co acknowledged the possibility that Kendrick’s hiatus might lead to further onscreen developments on 205 Live, but also noted that there have been many wrestlers who have recently admitted to being unhappy with their lack of direction or exposure in WWE. This could make it possible that the 40-year-old veteran is in the same boat as Sin Cara, Mike Kanellis, and Luke Harper, all of whom also went on social media this year to announce that they had asked the company to release them from their contracts.
Prior to his participation in 2016’s Cruiserweight Classic tournament and his subsequent addition to the 205 Live roster that same year, Kendrick had competed on-and-off for WWE from 2000 to 2008, initially signing a developmental contract and enjoying two multi-year stints with the promotion. The high point in Kendrick’s current WWE run came when he won the Cruiserweight Championship from TJ Perkins in October 2016. He would, however, lose the title to Rich Swann just 30 days later, failing to regain the belt in two subsequent rematches.
Kendrick’s most recent match took place last week, where he lost to Mansoor at a 205 Live taping. His last pay-per-view appearance came last month when he was one of the competitors in the 20-man battle royal at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.
