On Sunday, Ron “The Truth” Killings announced via social media that he was let go by the company. R-Truth as he was known in WWE had been with the company since 2008.
R-Truth’s last match was against John Cena on Saturday Night’s Main Event on May 31st. One might infer, that the high-profile match for a mid-card comedian like R-Truth was a nice way to honor him on his way out. Of course, Cena defeated R-Truth.
The outpouring of heartbreak and sympathy for Killings announcements underscores his popularity as a person outside of the ring. While Killings has been used by WWE as mid-card humor, the fans gravitated to him and he was ‘over’ with the crowd no matter the gimmick or scenario.
Payout Perspective:
Killings’ departure is one of multiple releases made by the company in recent weeks. Despite the fact that TKO has praised the WWE for its outstanding revenues, the company is attempting to widen those profit margins. Note, TKO’s decision to scale back on ‘house’ (non-televised) shows while ramping up the number of sponsor activations in the ring and during broadcasts. Its likely Killings was commanding a hefty salary due to his veteran status. But since he is not in any top storylines and was mainly used as enhancement entertainment (read: he loses), he was expendable. We could see more of these releases as TKO attempts to run a business model focused on making as much money as it can.
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