WWE releases Lance Cade
Monday, October 20th, 2008The writing had been on the wall for a while.
First, he was separated from tag partner Trevor Murdoch, who was released by WWE. Then, after being reinvented as Chris Jericho’s protege, Lance Cade disappeared from WWE TV for a while. Last Tuesday, the hammer finally fell: WWE released Lance Cade.
While Cade never really got over with the audience, and thus this news is probably going to be about as interesting as the latest developments in acne treatments, the real item of interest here is a transparency question.
The WWE never really stated directly why Cade was released. However, Jim Ross, on his blog, dropped hints, detailing enough of the circumstances about events leading up to Cade’s release that suggest the real reason is a violation of the WWE’s Wellness Policy.
About a year ago, in the wake of the Benoit Family Tragedy, WWE made it very public that they would soon be much more transparent when employees are released for Wellness Policy violations. Now, a year later, it seems the company may be slipping back into its old method of covering over the actual circumstances.
That’s unfortunate, as it reduces public trust in WWE and allows performers to remain in denial about possible problems they may be facing in their lives.
Let’s hope that if Cade is facing certain behind-the-scenes problems, he will face them down directly and get his life back on a positive and healthy track.
