On Tuesday, reports suggested that Friday Night SmackDown superstar Lars Sullivan was quietly released by WWE last month, well after he was last seen on the blue brand’s weekly programming. A new report, however, has since provided more information on the reason why the company parted ways with the man known on-air as “The Freak.”
As quoted by Ringside News on Wednesday morning, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter revealed on the Figure Four Weekly Online message board that WWE chairman Vince McMahon had plans to give Sullivan a big push, though this never materialized because the 330-pounder failed to show up for tapings. This corroborated Ringside News ‘ report from December, which hinted that Sullivan “[hadn’t] even been showing up” on SmackDown in the weeks prior to the article’s publication. However, the outlet added that there was “no information from the top” regarding the reasons behind the wrestler’s mysterious disappearance.
As further suggested, it wasn’t believed at that time that Sullivan’s hiatus was not related to his well-documented injury history, nor did it seem to be connected to the reports of multiple big men being asked to report to the Performance Center for additional training, as his name wasn’t on the list of performers in need of seasoning.
Sullivan, real name Dylan Miley, first signed with WWE in 2013 but only made his NXT debut four years later, as recalled by Wrestling Inc . He was one of several stars from the black-and-gold brand who were called up in January 2019, though he was soon removed from television for personal reasons. It was also revealed then that he made a number of offensive online posts when he was in his late teens and early 20s. That June, he missed close to a year and a half of action due to a serious knee injury.
Although there was much hype surrounding Sullivan’s return to the ring in October 2020, he immediately found himself in even more controversy, as he was accused of sending inappropriate messages on Instagram to a married woman who used to work as his personal trainer.
Sullivan’s last televised appearance was on the November 6 episode of SmackDown , where he sat down with announcer Michael Cole for the second in a series of sit-down interviews. His last match took place on the show’s October 23 edition, where he defeated Chad Gable.
As of now, it’s unclear what Sullivan has planned now that he’s no longer working for McMahon’s promotion. However, Wrestling Inc . noted that he has remained active on social media, where he has shared several workout videos in recent days.