Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that WWE and Rey Mysterio reached a deal in either November or December to release him this February. The stipulation was that if the news leaked prior to February, the company wouldn’t honor the agreement and he would be held until the full extent of his contract had expired.
There seems to be a deal in place where neither side will disparage the other, as Mysterio has kept quiet about his release over the last week and WWE didn’t make a big deal on 2/26 when moving his page to the alumni section of WWE.com.
There were many reasons it took Rey almost a year longer than anticipated to leave the company. He had a handshake agreement with Triple H in 2014 that he would leave the promotion, but Vince McMahon renewed his deal for a year to compensate for numerous injuries. WWE wanted him to work one last program between Survivor Series and WrestleMania 31 to send him off, but it fell through for some reason; it’s being reported that Mysterio had no design to perform.
Other factors included potential legal issues with the “Rey Mysterio” name and appearances at Lucha Underground and AAA that upset WWE. While the two sides easily could have wound up in court, there’s a lot of potential “dirty laundry” for both parties – including the controversial release of Alberto del Rio – that resulted in a quiet departure.
