After two stints that combined to 10-plus years with the WWE, Tye Dillinger was surprisingly released from the company during WrestleMania season. The Canadian professional wrestler first shared the news on his social media about requesting his release from the company and while he was very complimentary towards the WWE, many fans knew the ultimate reasoning behind Dillinger asking to be let go from the promotion.
Despite his veteran status with the WWE, Dillinger was never treated more than enhancement talent in the company. The man formerly known as Tye Dillinger himself confirms that being held back was the reasoning behind requesting his release on Edge and Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness (transcript courtesy of wrestletalk.com):
“The decision had been in my mind…it was a six-month process. I got injured in October but before that, I was going to ask for a couple weeks off to clear my head and figure out what I wanted to do. But then I got injured, so that gave me three months to think. I changed my look, I changed my gear, and I pitched half a dozen ideas.
“I (talked to Vince McMahon) and I might have put my foot in my mouth, but I needed to say what I needed to say and I stand by what I said. I did feel that when I came back, things were going to be different. They were not. I had a conversation and was told to wait and give it a few weeks. Weeks passed and it was it. It put me in a bad place because my performance was suffering. I was dreading it. I was praying that (the audience) would acknowledge that I still existed because it felt like I didn’t at the tim“When you’re not giving it your all, they could see it and it wasn’t fair to them. It was time to go. I was probably late in leaving, actually.”
The former WWE superstar made sure to keep the news to himself to most of his family and friends, and revealed why he decided to let the world know of his decision on social media:
“A month before, I had made the decision that I was going to go into television and (ask for my release) on (my birthday). It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. I didn’t ask many peoples opinion about it because I didn’t want to be influenced. It needed to be on me. My family had no idea. My mother had no idea. My wife [Peyton Royce] knew.
“As you guys know, right now is a good time for wrestling overall. I walked in and I said to talent relations, ‘I need to go.’ They said, ‘we’re about to offer you a substantial raise.’ I put my hands up. I’m not close to a millionaire but for me, it wasn’t about the money. I didn’t let him get the offer out of his mouth. I found out what it was a couple of weeks later but it wasn’t going to change anything.
“I was still going to feel the same way. They said they would run it up the ladder and I gave them the day to do so. I messaged Hunter and said, ‘Please talk to talent relations when you can.’ To Hunter’s credit, every time I’ve asked to talk to him, he’s always given me the time of day. I didn’t hear anything by the end of the day and I couldn’t let them fire me twice. That’s why I put out that statement.”