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What's the Story?
Amidst rumors of WWE superstars requesting for their release or wanting to leave the company, a WCW legend and road agent has seemingly joined the mix.
Dean Malenko, real name Dean Simon, has quit his job as a road agent with WWE according to a report by Sports Illustrated.
In case you didn't know...
Though Malenko has been working as a road agent for WWE, he was most well-known for his time in the early days of ECW and for his role in WCW's Cruiserweight Division.
Malenko jumped ship to WWE in January 2000 as a member of The Radicals alongside Perry Saturn, Chris Benoit and the late Eddie Guerrero. He had been working as a road agent since 2011.
The heart of the matter
The report by Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated contained no information on Malenko other than the news of his departure and his role backstage.
Malenko's work as a backstage agent focused on booking tag team matches, highlighting shorter superstars and his knowledge of technical wrestling.
He received several awards from the Wrestling Observer and Pro Wrestling Illustrated including ranking number one in the PWI 500 for 1997 and winning feud of the year against Eddie Guerrero and Best Technical Wrestler from 1996 to 1997 for the Observer,
Malenko only won the WWE Light Heavyweight Championship during his run with the company, but found much more success as a wrestler for ECW and WCW winning 9 championships between the two defunct promotions.
What's Next?
The reason for Malenko quitting WWE is currently unknown, but it is the latest in a series of departures and requested releases from WWE since 2019 began.
Tye Dillenger, Hideo Itami and TJP were all released from WWE prior to WrestleMania. Goldust and WWE commentator Dasha Fuentes were released by the company in April.
Former WWE Champion Dean Ambrose reached the end of his contract this past Sunday while Luke Harper confirmed the news that he requested his release from WWE. Sasha Banks and The Revival have also been rumored to request their release from WWE.
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