Rob Gronkowski reportedly released from WWE

Rob Gronkowski, the longest-reigning 24/7 Champion in WWE history, finally showed up on the most recent episode of RAW and dropped the title to R-Truth.

As you may have expected, WWE may have booked the RAW segment to write Gronkowski off TV as he has reportedly been granted his release after he exercised his release clause. The report of Gronkowski's release was first reported by WrestlingInc and later confirmed by Dave Meltzer.

WWE's original plan for Rob Gronkowski

Dave Meltzer revealed on the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio that the original plan for Gronkowski when he signed a WWE contract was for him to appear at WrestleMania 36 as the host. He would then work towards building up a big SummerSlam match before working the year-end PPV in Saudi Arabia.

This was the plan before he decided to end his retirement and return to football, which happened after he got traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Meltzer speculated that Gronkowski might have had a clause in his contract which allowed him to pull out of it if he had decided to return to football. He did end up choosing football, and according to Meltzer, even the Buccaneers don't want Gronk to wrestle and pursue football simultaneously.

Meltzer noted that the release was mutual and the angle on RAW may have been the blow-off.

Here's what Dave Meltzer revealed on the post-RAW edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio:

The other thing is the Gronkowski thing. So the Gronkowski thing when I watched it, I was kind of like, eh, that's it. So the deal is that when he signed with the Bucks, one of the deals was that he can't do pro wrestling, he was signed to a deal, he was going to do WrestleMania, and do what he did at WrestleMania, and it was going to lead to SummerSlam, which was the big one.

And also, he was going to do the end of the year show at Saudi Arabia; this was when he was not going to play in the NFL and was a retired football player. So that was the multi-event contract, those three events.

And, he's not doing any of them. They released him. It was a mutual release, or they asked for his release. I don't know if he had put in his contract that if he played football, if he decided to play football he could get a release, I would strongly presume he had that in his contract, and he decided to play football, so that's his release.

No NFL team is going to let a guy like him do pro wrestling matches. In the '60s of course, or even in '80s, but today, a guy like him, no way with the amount of money he's making from football. So he's done, that was his blow off I guess, He's no longer under contract to WWE.

Meltzer did add that WWE could always try and work with Gronk next year, or after he ends his latest football stint. The 3-time Super Bowl Champion does want to wrestle one match, and WWE could make it happen in the distant future if the circumstances allow it.

As for now, Gronk's short tenure with WWE has come to an end.