WWE Allegedly Didn’t Really Want To Renew SmackDown Star’s Contract

In June 2025, R-Truth announced that he had been released by WWE, ending his 17-year tenure.

What followed was a social media hailstorm that the company did not know how to deal with.

Subsequent reports suggested that both parties had entered negotiations, even forcing Nick Khan to step in. Truth made his shocking return a week later at the Money in the Bank PLE, where he attacked John Cena.

Season 2 of WWE: Unreal gave fans an update on what went down behind the scenes that led to Truth’s release.

The 54-year-old star was told by the company that it would not renew his contract, leading him to believe that he had been released.

However, Triple H claimed that the communication bridge had collapsed, ending up in confusion for everyone involved.

WWE Allegedly Did Not Want To Renew R-Truth’s Contract

Since the news about R-Truth’s departure broke in June last year, WWE’s contract negotiation tactics have become a topic of discussion among fans.

A couple of months later, unsavory details surrounding the company’s contract negotiation tactics came out after Karrion Kross and Scarlett left.

Speaking on The Coach & Bro podcast, Vince Russo suggested that WWE did not want to renew R-Truth’s contract, and they used underhanded methods, possibly hoping he would back down.

The point is, if they wanted R-Truth, it would have been a completely different contract negotiations. At his age, he’s only got so much left, and he’s only really got a value because he can’t do what he used to do. Whenever he signed that contract to currently, he can’t do what he used to do. So, of course, his contract is gonna go down in value.

But you’re talking about a guy that is a great entertainer. They’re not gonna rely on this guy to wrestle 5-star matches. This guy is a great entertainer. But it’s clear, when they go into a contract negotiation where they’re literally lowballing him and trying to get him for as little as possible, it’s clear that they don’t want him.

And of course, I think it was also clear Ron Killings wanted to stay there. It was his home. He had been there for many years. So, they knew that he wanted to stay, but then obviously, they didn’t feel the same way. So, they release him. Just like R-Truth said, the internet wrestling community went ballistic. We all know that the reverence of the internet wrestling community is very important to Triple H. So, what do they do? They brought him back, and Triple H told us it was all part of the show.