WWE roster member Mike Kanellis has explained the reasoning behind WWE refusing to grant him a release following his request to leave the company.
Kanellis made his WWE debut at Money In the Bank in 2017 but requested to be let go last month following a spell of limited use.
The 34-year-old Massachusetts native was a recent guest on the Smarks and Stripes podcast and would discuss why he doesn't want to stick around. Kanellis claims he has a good relationship with the promotion and has no gripes with anyone there, but he just wants to work.
"Since the minute I got to WWE, they treated me great," he said. "They’ve treated my wife great, they’ve treated my daughter great, they’ve treated me great. You know, when I came out and said I had an addiction, there was no negativity from anybody, just constant support. And so, or me personally, having been almost two and a half years sober, it got to the point where I started reflecting on my past and what I did. And it became very hard for me to almost sit and reflect on the fact that I blew four years of my life doing drugs.
"And now, I felt like my mind was clear, my head was clear, and I just wanted to work. I just want to wrestle, I just want to work. Like, I feel like I could do and have my best matches right now. And it’s extremely difficult when there are so many people on the roster, and you just don’t get that opportunity."
Kanellis says he understands why WWE's hesitant to let him go and accepts that things just work a certain way in sports and in wrestling.
“As far as not giving me my release, I think it’s like anywhere. Like, the Patriots aren’t going to trade or release a player that they think the Jets are going to pick up," he explained. "And I think we have to think of it like that. It’s not a negative, it’s just how it works. It works in sports, it works in wrestling.”
At Least He's Got The Right Attitude
Kanellis may yet get that release he wants somewhere down the road but, for the time being, he's still contracted to WWE and the company's under no obligation to let him go.
He seems to be very understanding of the situation, which is pretty cool. And, who knows? It just might work in his favor too.
Source: Smarks and Stripes podcast (h/t 411Mania)