Credit: Ryan Clark
Regarding the recent release of Paul London, he had been in the dog house for quite some time, ever since he smiled during the live shot right before Vince McMahon’s explosion angle in June 2007.
London also had a reputation for having no instincts as a performer, as far as how his character should be doing promos, even though everyone knew he has the wrestling ability. After losing the WWE Cruiserweight Championship on the August 4, 2005 edition of Velocity to Nunzio, London was told to deliver a heartfelt promo regarding his title loss. Instead, he did a goofy comedy promo encouraging fans to protest his title loss, which officials frowned upon. It was said that London didn’t like SmackDown writer David Lagana’s idea, but by not doing what he was told, and doing a bad promo, it really hurt his standing with the company. London soon went on a losing streak before returning as a face and teaming with the newly rehired Brian Kendrick. London also had a rep of being a complainer, which obviously didn’t help matters.
London asked for time off from the road on a few occasions. After asking for time off one time, London said he wasn’t sure he wanted to commit his life to professional wrestling. He was given the time off and came back looking invigorated, but a mere month later, people felt the same issues were coming back up and that nothing had changed regarding him.
Sometime back, WWE had plans to give London & Kendrick a huge push, but the duo performed poorly in the pre-taped promos given to them, to the point that most of them never made the air.
London also had a relationship with former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro, which was seen as negative by most in the company with one person saying it ruined his standing in the company. London had heat in the locker room as a result of his relationship with Massaro. Approximately two years ago, WWE had plans to do an angle on Kendrick having a crush on Massaro, but it was dropped. They also had plans to do a big break-up angle between London & Kendrick, but those plans were dropped as well. London had a reputation of being a headache to work with among WWE’s creative staff. That helps explain why his obvious talents didn’t go as far as they could have.
Regarding his future in wrestling, London’s continuing his wrestling career as he’s currently accepting bookings through an agent. The AAA promotion out of Mexico is said to be interested in his services, and he speaks Spanish, which helps a lot but they are currently on a hiring freeze. This also may not be the right time because a number of the top wrestlers in AAA are pressuring officials to keep foreigners from taking their spots.
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