WWE Rumors: Real Reason Why 22-Year Veteran Was Released Revealed

Kassius Ohno was one of many WWE talents to be released from their contract earlier this week. Rumor had it that the former NXT star may only have been furloughed, as he is also a backstage coach. However, a new update from the Wrestling Observer Radio‘s Dave Meltzer suggests otherwise.

As quoted by Sportskeeda, Meltzer said that Ohno was “fired on Wednesday night,” even though the information wasn’t available until Saturday. According to the journalist, the superstar was highly regarded backstage and his presence was valued by many people in the company, which is perhaps why his release came as a surprise to some people.

“They were doing something with him in the NXT UK brand but he was more like, you know he was a guy who was really one of the smartest guys when it comes to wrestling and working and working multiple styles and the idea of you know different ideas from different places. I know a lot of guys like were very very high on him just because of how much he would teach them about, you know, about wrestling and about life and things like that.”

Meltzer went on to say that many wrestlers and staff looked up to Ohno and viewed him as an older sibling. Prior to joining WWE, Ohno competed in wrestling promotions all around the world and gained plenty of experience — and success — in that time. His experience would have been useful to many of the black-and-gold brand’s younger stars.

Of course, Ohno’s age and wrestling status are likely why he was a victim of WWE’s budget cuts. Meltzer also said that he was let go as WWE had no intention of pushing him. The company had no aspirations to bring the 40-year-old to the main roster, and his limited appearances in NXT suggested that there were no plans to use him prominently on the black-and-gold brand either.

It remains to be seen what the future holds for Ohno. If he has been furloughed by WWE, then chances are he’ll be brought back into the fold when NXT starts putting on live events again. However, he may also have ambitions to wrestle more often, and his reputation as a legend of the independent scene will have several companies keen on hiring him.

Ohno’s future is all just speculation at the time of this writing, however, and there probably won’t be any further news until after the pandemic.