Over the past month, there’s been a lot of speculation about which WWE superstars might leave or want to leave the company. Dean Ambrose and Hideo Itami both surprisingly gave notice and several other wrestlers have been the subject of rumors. As of an announcement he made on Twitter on the evening of Tuesday, February 19, Tye Dillinger is the next performer we know has requested his release from WWE.
Here’s the full statement the 38-year-old Dillinger gave about this development:
Before rumors being to spread, let me set things straight ahead of time:
This evening, I requested my release from WWE. In the past 5 and a half years with them, I have seen and done some wonderful things. Things that I am very proud of and will never forget. I have met and have worked with unquestionably, some of the greatest talent on this earth and the pleasure has been all mine.
I feel at this time this decision, as extremely difficult as it was, is what is best for myself and WWE. I wish to continue to grow as a performer and offer those paying hard earned money to watch a show I’m performing on, a little more of myself.
To the male and female locker rooms, coaches and producers, to the production/ring crew, all the way up to the very top of WWE and most of all the fans… I wish you all the very best and thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything.
Though Dillinger has been working regularly on house shows, most recently with EC3 and Shelton Benjamin, the Perfect Ten hasn’t appeared on his home brand of Smackdown Live since September 25, 2018, when his United States Championship match against Shinsuke Nakamura ended with a No Contest. Whether he ends up freelancing on the indies or signs with another promotion, it seems like fans of Dillinger will be able to see a lot more of him once his time is up with WWE.
