32-year-old former star says he didn't see his WWE release coming 

Former WWE Superstar Jack Talos has reflected on being let go by the company after only one year. He joined the global wrestling juggernaut in January 2020 and was released the following year.

The 32-year-old star was given the ring name Zechariah Smith, although he never had an official match during his time in the company. He used to be part of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team before transitioning to professional wrestling. The 7-foot athlete currently competes in NWA and is a former NWA United States Tag Team Champion.

Speaking to Bryan Asbury of Developmentally Speaking, Jack Talos said that he didn't see his WWE release coming. John Laurinaitis told him he was let go due to budget cuts.

"You could not have told me it was coming. You could not have convinced me it was coming. Again, I won’t go into details because there are some things in my life I like to keep more private. But, I will say that every indication that I was given, every sign that I was given, we were in a good place and everything was fine. The only indication I had that something was maybe a little amidst was that conversation I had about two weeks before I got dismissed. As far as the reasonings I was given, well, shout out John Laurinaitis. Freakin’ budget cuts kids," he said. (H/T POST Wrestling)

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Jack Talos on whether he'd return to WWE if the offer was on the table

Jack Talos got a tryout after AJ Styles took notice of him during a Harlem Globetrotters game. He has never wrestled a match on TV during his one-year tenure with the company.

When asked if he'd go back to the Stamford-based company if the opportunity became available, Jack Talos stated:

"Yeah, yeah [I’d go back]… For me, a lot of my friends exist in WWE, especially my wrestling friends… I have a plethora of friends on the independents that I love and they’re a great time," he said.

It'll be interesting to see whether he'll end up getting a match in WWE somewhere in the future.