Former tag team champion Simon Gotch — real name John Smith — was released from WWE just a few days after WrestleMania 33 earlier this month, and some interesting details have started to emerge on just why he was released.
Related: WWE working to keep quiet one of the biggest controversies in professional wrestling today
WWE's official statement on the matter was that the two parties agreed to mutual decision, and it looks like that decision may have progressed very quickly the day of the decision. According to the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer, Gotch — who has a history of incidents backstage — may have had another the day before he was officially released.
Per the Observer, Gotch caused a "scene" backstage in catering after apparently tripping over a chair at the April 4 episode of SmackDown Live. What makes the situation weirder than usual is that Gotch was involved in a tag team match that night, where he didn't take the fall. Often if a wrestler is on the way out, then they lose until they are gone from the company. The fact that Gotch didn't get pinned just a day before he was released seems to signal that his release may have developed quickly.
Gotch had been in the "Vaudevillians" tag team with Aiden English for several years now, with the peak of the team coming in WWE's developmental NXT brand. The team had floundered on regular WWE television, though, with Gotch reportedly being involved in several backstage altercations
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