There were a lot of surprises when WWE released ten of its Superstars last week, and Dave Meltzer has now revealed more details about one of them in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Apparently, Kalisto's firing came as a result of him pushing to be separated from the rest of the Lucha House Party stable. It's said that Lince Dorado came up with the idea for the group, and that he figured it would work because the trio could make good money from merchandise sales even when they weren't being pushed on TV (he also correctly assumed Vince McMahon would be on board with it despite the fact the gimmick is something of cliché).
Meltzer notes that Gran Metalik was on board because he's fine with just being paid more than he ever has before in his wrestling career. Kalisto, on the other hand, grew increasingly frustrated and unhappy, and repeatedly asked to be removed from the group. Ultimately, WWE allowed that, but just to placate the former United States Champion and not because they had plans for him.
Thus, when the time came to make releases, it was an easy decision for WWE to release Kalisto because they no longer felt he was needed if he wasn't part of Lucha House Party.
Once upon a time, it looked like Kalisto would be the next Rey Mysterio...until the Master of the 619 returned to WWE. Now, the former WWE Superstar is billing himself as The G.L.O.A.T. (Greatest Luchador of All Time) and rebranding himself as Samuray Del Sol for future bookings.