On their Talk N’ Shop: Countdown To F#ckTown podcast, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson were in full shoot mode, and spent time talking about their release from WWE. Despite recently having signed new contracts with WWE after prodding from Triple H, the duo was still part of the mass cuts WWE made on April 15th. It was believed this was due to buyer’s remorse from Vince McMahon, who was paying the duo $1.5 million a year combined, however now it’s been revealed Paul Heyman was the initiator.
The story goes that once they were released, they asked an unnamed contact they have within the company who was behind their release and were told it was Paul Heyman. Gallows and Anderson asked AJ Styles to find out more information, and after checking his own backstage contact, he went to Paul Heyman, who denied any involvement. Styles then went directly to Vince McMahon and was told that Gallows and Anderson were not originally on his list to be released, and it was a “Heyman thing.” This explains why Styles recently called Heyman “a bold-faced liar” on his Mixer stream, and his request to move to SmackDown to be away from Heyman.
So while Vince McMahon made the final decision, if Paul Heyman hadn’t suggested their release, it is likely they’d still be with WWE.
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