Earlier this week, Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles addressed rumours surrounding his move from RAW to SmackDown, and the fact that Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were released by WWE. Indicating that he was unhappy with Paul Heyman for what happened to his fellow members of The Club, Styles also refuted claims he was "bullied" while part of the Monday night show.
Now, Dave Meltzer has weighed in on the release of Gallows and Anderson, and explains that the cuts made in April were Vince McMahon's decision and not names which were suggested to him.
"These cuts were all Vince. In the end, all cuts are, but these were not cuts asked for and rubber stamped by Vince, these were Vince cuts who then came to others after and told them," he said on the Wrestling Observer forums. "Nobody even got names until after Vince made the decisions. Perhaps Paul & Bruce could have argued, and perhaps they did and perhaps they didn’t because you have to be very careful picking your spots. But when it comes to guys Vince had buyers remorse on the size of the deal, they weren’t changing his mind."
Apparently, Gallows and Anderson were among those Vince had "buyers remorse" over because they weren't used particularly much on RAW and had contracts believed to be in the $750,000 range...each. Of course, the fact Heyman didn't do much with them as the show's Executive Director could be why Styles blames him for their eventual release.
We'll keep you guys updated.