After two stints with the promotion, a former WWE Tag Team and United States Champion has decided to say goodbye.
WWE Superstar Rhyno spoke to Chris Van Vilet and announced that he will be leaving the company on Wednesday, July 17. He also said that WWE offered him significant money to stay with the company and not wrestle.
“July 17th is my last date there. They actually offered me more than twice my downside but it wasn’t where they would have to use me because the downside is so large and it wasn’t about money it was about me wanting to be on the road work and helping the younger guys kind of like a player coach.”
“It was a mutual understanding that we were not going to figure out a number. And they’ve been great, I can’t say anything bad about them. I had a lot of fun. I was afraid that they would say yes to a larger downside than what they offered me because I was afraid that they would still sit me at home. It’s not that they don’t like me, there is a lot of talent there and they have to cycle the talent which is normal because you want to get men and women out there to work. I was afraid that I would become miserable and that’s the last thing that you want to do when you’re doing something that you love. I would rather take a step back and work for some of these companies and work the independent scene.”
Van Vilet asked Rhyno why he wouldn’t take the large contract offer, and he said it’s not about money, it’s about being in the ring, saying;
“That’s a good question and I came back and I said I want to be on the road,” he said. “I feel good, I feel very blessed that my health is there. My job is to find the next John Cena, the next Stone Cold Steve Austin, the next Rock and how can I help these guys if I’m not on the road? If I’m sitting at my marina, that’d be nice I’d be very fortunate to do that, but I can’t help those younger men and women improve. On the indies, I can do that. And with other companies whether it’s AEW, Impact, Ring of Honor or New Japan I’ve done that before in the past and that’s something I can do now in the future.”
This comes as several WWE superstars have reportedly been offered bumper deals, with AEW looming on the horizon.
Rhyno also revealed that he is not under a 90-day non-compete clause with WWE.