WWE Releases

Early Friday, Linda McMahon announced several cutbacks would be made due to the struggling economy. One would be the release of many employees which she said would save the company $8 million for the quarter. These cuts and others will be made to save World Wrestling Entertainment $20 million in the year's first three months. The first set of cuts was announced Friday afternoon. Those cuts were developmental talent Kevin Keenan, Bam Neely, and newly returned veteran D'Lo Brown. Then, later on in the evening came a shocking release. After being with the company over a decade, Val Venis, who was injured much of 2008, was fired despite years of reported loyalty and respect for the company. Many times has his name been rumored for release, but he mainly stayed with WWE because of his long run there and good work ethic. Not long after that, Kevin Fertig, the man behind Mordecai and Kevin Thorn, was let go after a long hiatus from ECW. His release was followed by the firing of young ECW referee Mike Posey and veteran ref Jimmy Korderas, ending a 22-year run with the company. The most shocking release of the bunch followed when Tim White, a very respected former referee who has been recently working as road agent, was released from his job. White began his WWE tenure by aiding Andre the Giant on the road during the '80s. His most recent fame were the ill-fated and crticized WWE.com segments entitled "Lunch-time Suicide" which featured Tim White trying to take his life out of depression of not being able to referee anymore because of a career-ending injury in 2002. The last releases came with the firings of developmental talents Mike Kruel and Gavin Spears, who has been competing on ECW. WWE wishes the best to everyone who lost their jobs this release cycle. No word if more releases are coming.