As we’ve been reporting here on eWn, former 24/7 Champion R-Truth (Ron Killings) has been released by WWE.
A representative from WWE’s talent relations department informed R-Truth over the weekend that his contract with the company will not be renewed. While the exact expiration date of his contract is not known, it is approaching soon.
During a recent edition of his “My World” podcast, Jeff Jarrett discussed R-Truth’s WWE release, highlighting it as a reflection of the company’s new direction following Vince McMahon’s departure.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On R-Truth’s WWE release: “At the end of the day, it truly is a result of Vince selling the company. This is the new WWE, and it’s not going back. It’s not going to reverse, but the industry as a whole, man, there’s some opportunity, because the market is going to be, I’ll say this, flooded with talent, with a voice, with the social media following, with the promotional punch and power, it’s exciting,” he said. “Now, it’s not personally exciting. I love Truth, and I hope we get to continue to talk about him. I think there’s a full episode on him.”
“When he came in the door at TNA, yes, Truth had some comedy, but I always saw him — I mean, he was champion. When Truth wanted to cut a serious promo, good God, he could cut a very serious promo. But once I kind of saw the role he settled into, and where Vince saw him at and would have utilized him, there wasn’t ever a segment that he didn’t hit it out of the park,” he continued. “I think that more than anything, there’s a boatload of opportunity. Personally, I hate to see it for Truth, but I know him, he’s going to rebound in bigger and broader and bolder ways. I think the future is very bright for that man.”
On R-Truth’s talent: “Well, let me spin it to you this way. I don’t really look at him as a utility guy, because I think a utility guy is somebody who can do it all, but nobody can be a utility guy the way Ron Truth is—his charisma. I mean, at the end of the day, there is only one R-Truth. Give me one similar talent who’s similar to R-Truth in the industry… There’s not a comparison off the top of your head, is what I’m saying. That, to me, equates to money.”
WWE, Cody Rhodes, and Fanatics have requested a new extension to respond to a lawsuit regarding the “American Nightmare” trademark.
All parties submitted a joint motion on May 31 for additional time to consider a potential settlement, resulting in the Scheduling Conference being postponed from July 2 to August 15.
The motion states the following,
“WHEREAS, the Parties have continued discussions to resolve this matter, including Defendants’ disclosures of additional information to Plaintiff’s counsel for purposes of settlement governed by the operative protective order, and further exchanges in settlement demands and terms. Since the last extension request, Defendants have made additional disclosures to Plaintiff’s counsel pursuant to the operative protective order, and Plaintiff’s counsel has revised Plaintiff’s settlement demand. Defendants are evaluating Plaintiff’s revised demand and expect to promptly respond to it within the next week. There remains additional structuring and scope issues in a potential resolution that are being considered by the Parties that is taking additional time to due diligence. The Parties thank the Court for affording them the opportunity to focus their resources on resolving this matter.”
The lawsuit, filed by Wesley Eisold, claims trademark infringement and breach of contract. Eisold asserts that he has held the trademark for clothing, music, and entertainment since 2016. Eisold argues that merchandise sold by WWE and Rhodes lacks proper reference to Rhodes, causing market confusion. He is seeking at least $150,000 in damages, with the possibility of treble damages.
