Following word breaking last night, more details have emerged regarding Serena‘s shocking release from WWE.
According to PWTorch‘s James Caldwell, Serena was let go for ‘not living out’ her Straight Edge gimmick, offering few other details. Meanwhile, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio state that she had ‘more than one rough night’.
While details at this time from both sources are sketchy, it’s evident that Serena’s release was a disciplinary measure. Conjecture on my part, but it seems management was unhappy with Serena enjoying nights out and/or drinking in public.
Many, including the Observer, have likened the situation to Mickie James’ supposed ‘excessive partying’ during the European tour in April, which was said to be the last straw before she was released.
WWE has yet to acknowledge Serena’s release, but will likely make an officials statement following this Friday’s SmackDown which was taped last week and includes Serena in her final on-screen appearance.
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103 Comments
I hope she’s able to clarify at some point. It’s possible they left it vague as such to protect her but not specifying exactly what about her behavior wasn’t appreciated makes it seem more insidious than it most likely is.
You have to feel for this girl because she wanted it so bad. She had multiple plastic surgeries just to try and squeeze into the Diva mold. She shaved her head, thus endangering her future with the company by breaking the Diva mold. And now the dream is over. The only way she can possibly get back in is if she were to go to another national company and become a star like Gail did, and that’s extremely unlikely at this point given that the only other national company’s at one point universally acclaimed women’s division has gone all to hell. She did well for herself in this short time, though. Even though she was only recently seeing ring action, she still ended up with a much better push than most new women get, being linked to one of the company’s hottest acts. That’s something.
A couple of things….first big High 5 to RedHotVixen who I think made a great point. There seems to be a real disparity between how the men and Divas are treated. How many times did Jeff Hardy and violate the substance abuse policy before he was finally released. Matt violated it at least once himself anf he’s still with the company. The fact that Rey Misterio was punished, then brought back and almost immediately given the title back ilustrates the disparity even further.
Second, what all this says is that WWE simply DOES NOT care very much about the Divas division. Releasing proven talent (Katie Lea, Mickie, Serena), talent with great potenial (Savannah), and while not the bes worker in the ring, a recently voted WWE Diva of the year and totally over with the fans Maria. I still don’t want to think that the fact that all these ladies AREN’T blonde had something to do with their release, but it’s one hell of a coincidence.
It is clear looks over talent is the way they want to go. That’s sad because if you revert back to bleached blonde, implanted Barbie’s with minimal wrestlin skills, that’s all the male 18-35 fans (WWE’s core demographic), will care about and won’t EXPECT a decent match. Before long we’ll be back to the days of….”WE WANT PUPPIES!!!”:…chants……ughhhhhhhh. I really feel very bad for Gail Kim because its painfully obvious she’s never going to get a serious push and Jillian is a career jobber for them. I wonder how long it will be before AJ Lee dyes her hair and pumps up to a 38DD???
However like most have said, I will wait till WWE makes an official announcement, but even though Dave Meltzer isn’t the God of wrestling news, it’s clear he has inside contacts at WWE, and where there’s smoke there’s often fire. Sad..sad..sad.
Hmmm, they do?….brb
If this is true, I think it’s funny that the WWE would ask for such dedication from its roster when majority of which cannot even expect the same level of effort from the company. I’m very sad to see Serena go. She had real promise. She was good in the ring and her character was interesting. Besides, not everyone can pull off a Sinead O’Conner and get away with it like she did.
If this is true… good luck to you in the future Serena.
:O
Vickie got released?! When did this happen? Did i fall asleep for a whole day and missed the news?!!!
If she did -parties-
Maryse isn’t under a straight edge character and neither are the Bellas. Kelly’s pictures were before WWE at least the ones you are talking about are. Plus, if you are going to say they should fire Kelly for that then I guess they should have fired Mickie James, Maryse, and Tiffany when they turned PG since they all have old nudes out there. Hmm..logic fail
Hmm good point, but I’ll counter your logic fail bashing with another one. Why is it as documented here on Diva Dirt no less, that Johnny Laurentis only wants to hire women that are Playboy Material. If you’re hiring someone that is Playboy Material, then wouldn’t you want to see them IN Playboy. Although you can’t do that now because WWE is all PG now, and naked women is not PG. Now before you even say it, yes I know Maryse, Tiffany, and Mickie James have all posed naked but as you say that was BEFORE they were in WWE.
Perhaps you need to do some more research before you have logic fail moments yourself.
We need to get the wwe mangment to rehabe.
“Hmm good point, but I’ll counter your logic fail bashing with another one. Why is it as documented here on Diva Dirt no less, that Johnny Laurentis only wants to hire women that are Playboy Material. If you’re hiring someone that is Playboy Material, then wouldn’t you want to see them IN Playboy. Although you can’t do that now because WWE is all PG now, and naked women is not PG. Now before you even say it, yes I know Maryse, Tiffany, and Mickie James have all posed naked but as you say that was BEFORE they were in WWE.”
Three things wrong with your rebuttal.
1. Johnny Ace said that they need to be pretty enough to be in playboy. That’s just a comparison its not saying that they are going to put them in playboy.
2. This whole Playboy thing is just an internet report in the first place and I take all of those with a grain of salt as should you. The same people said that there was heat between HBK and Vince saying Vince didn’t want HBK or any likeness of him appearing on WWE TV right before they had a WM special about the HBK-Taker match and the whole Summerslam moment where HBK was also shown many times.
3. What does this rebuttal even have to do with my statement in the first place? The point of this whole thing is that Serena broke character and that you tried to compare it to other divas who are doing the same things but its not against their character so they aren’t breaking character.
Read Serena’s tweet. She didn’t say that she was released but it looked like it.
I usually don’t tweet to WWE to insult them. In fact I usually don’t tweet to any corporation. The last time I did it, was during the Kong/BTLS problems, but this time I really had to do it.
I mean, one thing is to release models who don’t know how to wrestle, but women like Mickie, Katie and Serena is just stupid.
@ Ana_Nattie_rules
AMEN! I agree with you 110%.
always blaming it on hair colour is pathetic. there’s only three active blondes in the wwe and only one of them is a big-boobed american and she’s never pushed.
at the end of the day, serena did something wrong and that’s her own fault. is it disheartening that the guys don’t seem to have as harsh rules as the women? sure, but considering serena’s put a lot on the line just to be hired by wwe, you’d think she’d try harder to be the perfect employee.
” there’s only three active blondes in the wwe ”
make that *four, kelly is easily forgettable.
Yeah Ana nattie Rules i bet you ruffled their feathers ROFL lol
First off, I’m very disappointed Serena was released. I’ve been waiting for what seems like an eon for her to actually wrestle on Smackdown. So I’m sad. :(
Second, the comments make me chuckle. I see some commenters complaining that Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton get away with it (they didn’t get fired after more serious offences) well here’s a news flash; maybe it’s because they’re worth more to the WWE than Serena or any diva for that matter. Hell, Mysterio is probably worth more than the all the divas combined.
Money talks, get over it.
Hmm Because she didn’t live out her straight edge character. when she’s not on screen she has a personal life if she wants to drink then so be it. character vs reality. WWE
@ Isgh…that was my point that by employing blatant double standards it’s clear that WWE doesn’t care about the divas, which in my opinion is sad. WWE is a corporation and sure they can do whatever they want. My point was to hold some employees to one standard and others to a lesser one is just wrong, but hey that’s just me, and to WWE I’m nobody. I will say this, what if your job fired you for making a mistake, but a co-worker just got a verbal warning for the same or even a greater mistake?? I hope you’d be able to employ the feelings in your comment to that situation as well.
Wrong Trevon WWE’s policy is that the use of alcohol at any time twelve hours prior to any scheduled performance is prohibited.
@t-dogg ok i didn’t know that, but even if it won’t a 12 hour period it could’ve been the same thing i mean this is wwe we’re talking about. Where girls get fired for messing up a line.
They had unfollowed her and now they are following her back. Weird.
@LaceyVonErichFan
LOL, Vickie wasn’t released. I was talking about how this year several Divas were released compared to last year. Vickie left last year (briefly) on her own terms, not cuz she was fired.
@Ana_Nattie_Rules
I think Serena’s tweet subtly confirms her release. Why can’t WWE admit that they did released her? It’s all over the web, so they might as well confirm it… unless they actually meant she was suspended and not released (.01% chance of that being the case). Speaking of suspensions, they never mentioned Tiffany’s.
Serena definitely wasn’t released because of her looks. WWE were the ones who hired her (not to mention, Johnny Ace never said a word about her) and made her shave her head. I just find it terrible how her plastic surgeries and haircut were done in vain, thanks to the ‘E. On the brighter side, it’s probably safe for her to remove the implants because [IMO] they look strange on her.
i dont know, what to think, there is no need of bashin WWE, cause we cant do nothin about it, but also, WWE has not made an offical statement on it, so we will have to wait and see, but i do see kaledrina point, she was just a complex storyline, and when your a heel like that you need to be a heel outside, and where she was straight edge, she should have been straight edge out side,
i think her boob job was before her actual WWE run she wasn’t signed to WWE when she was with OVW,
Ok to clear up something the Pic of Kelly was before she was hired by WWE which means it was taken 4 to 5 yrs ago.
wwe say the e (entertainment) is more important than the second w (wrestling) btw thw second w in the entertainment and its not a mackstage segment with the bellas
The hell? Some days I wish I never bothered to read any news.
Also, I always wondered why female employees never sued WWE. It seems to be a very discriminatory organization, in my opinion.
@Wobbafat
The only Diva to sue WWE was Sable for sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions. Sable claimed that she never wanted to expose her boobs on TV (remember the bikini contest where she wore pasties as a top?) and wear revealing clothing. Also, the reason why she was stripped of the title was because she refused to do the Evening Gown match (because the rules changed that the WINNER is the one who gets the dress removed, not the loser). There is also a pending lawsuit from Nicole Bass for the same reason.
why would they sue? no one makes them stay and work there,
yeah but anytime brings an lawsuit like harassment to the wwe get dis-credited and not trying to be mean who the fuck would want to harass Nicole Bass?
Drinking is one thing, but you gotta represent the company positively too. If she constantly does shit like that, it’s easy to see why they’d let her go. Yea, the fact that she portrays a “straight-edge” person on the show probably didn’t help things, but if she gets all “stupid drunk”all the time, and she won’t change, she becomes a liability. She did it to herself I don’t feel sorry for her at all.
and it has also been reported that she had been told lots of times that she had to straighten up, and act different when she was out and that her job was at risk, and the segemnt a few months ago with her at the bar was, WWE telling her, that she needs to smarten up,
So, i have no sympathy for her, if she knew she was hurting her job, and after she worked so hard to get there, and then she ruined it like that, she deserved to be released, i am sorry, and the sad thing is she wias in line for a push :(
@Cyndi
You’re kinda right about the whole Nicole Bass thing. She actually filed the lawsuit twice because the first time was dismissed due to lack of evidence… And personally I think Sable could’ve avoided suing WWE by simply saying “no” or just getting released while still holding onto dignity.
Newest Serena rumor today: That she’s a scapegoat for Chris Nowinski’s comments about the WWE. Apparently, they wanted to prove him about about the unsafe environment by releasing her and her drunkenness. This report smells like BS.
Serena’s WWE journey:
nose job: tick
boob job: tick
shaved head: tick
temper drinking: sorry no can do
she did the nose job, and boob job before WWE
Right, harassment is one thing…. but if you were fired for something other employees carried out all the time (sometimes worse) with less severe punishment, wouldn’t you feel that you were treated unfairly?
I guess the whole story isn’t out yet…. but it is a mess.
@FCW Divas Yes I know she did it to get into WWE as both would finally get her noticed. Hence why I called it Serena’s WWE journey.
its weird that wwe never mention that she was released… because when mickie james was released , wwe mention her release 4-5? days before showing her pre taped last match.
ps.. maybe wwe just suspended her? like tiffany?
no, on Wrestlicious facebook page, it says they confirmed it that Serena has been released,
the only thing that is getting me about this release, is the storyline, if they are reporting that she had been released last week, and its just getting out now, so we will say she was released on friday, so obviously at the tapings on Wednesday and Tuesday, they must have pretty much knew, they were gonna release her. So why countine developing her storyline, by havin her WIN a match, that her membership as a SES member was on the line, if she was gonna be released then have her lose in a singles match, which would explain her depature, However, what i want to know how are they gonna write this into storylines, especially, after they kept praising Serena in her match and i will assume to continue on Friday, So this is very confusing and poor time to release her, but her release came about fair play as well, so i dont know,
I personally wouldnt be surprised to see the gallows/big show match cut from sd. i also wouldnt be surprised to see them announce her release this weekend. Remember how we knew ashley was gone a few days before they announced it?
There’s really not that much of a double standard as people think there is. Serena is portraying a straight-edged character on TV, thus, Serena should be portraying a straight-edged character in real life. WWE got pissed when the Undertaker/McCool wedding pictures surfaced because it ruined his image of being in a vegetative state as per the storyline. And no member of the Nexus is allowed to sign autographs, take pictures with fans or look anywhere near approachable. And they have to wear their arm bands at all times. No double standard at all.
If she was willing to shave her hair to be on the main roster, she should have been willing and able to adhere to some specific guidelines regarding her character, or at least stick to drinking in her hotel room.
If that were the case then heels and faces wouldnt be aloud to travel together.
i agree, with @Manda, and tthey gave her lots of warnings, it was her own choice to disrespect there demands
What I think is ironically stupid is how WWE admits that their matches, storylines are scripted (entertainment), yet still tries to uphold the whole kayfabe thing (that pro wrestling is real and the characters act like that in real life). Other than maybe the youngest fans, is there any teenage-adult fan who actually believes that???
so she can’t have a life outside of who she is on tv? i mean i understand if she repeatedly got drunk or whatever when they weren’t supposed to but to not be happy about her drinking in public when they acknowledge storylines are just STORIES? again wtf?
this is bullshit she can wrestle yet kelly cant even hit a dropkick LOL…wwe where the f**k is ur head at?????
i hope this is a torrie wilson firing false rumor from way back…..
I dont know why people are jumping to conclusions and attacking WWE here. Why are they automaticly the bad guys here?
i agree, t-dogg, there is obviously more to the story but WWE is always in the wrong and as far as saying they missed out, WWE went on before Serena, and will go on after Serena
that disrespect right there, when you drunk infront of the fans that watch you every week on TV, and they now you as a SES memeber that doesnt drink or do drugs, sham shame shame, and its sad because the WWE officals were very very high on her
Now there are 2 ways this can go:
1. Serena had been released for not abiding by the SES gimmick as stated by the article
Case #! is HIGHLY unlikely. Firing someone from a job (believe it or not) has laws that protect employees from random releases. I’m no lawyer, but ‘Not Staying in Character’ is a NOT legal excuse to fire an employee no matter what the current storyline is. Especially not now, since Linda is running for political office, and her opponent is trying to dig up as much dirt as possible. The fact that her company released an employee illegally and wrongfully would be finding that diamond in the rough. I do not think that this release was done for being out of character. As a matter of fact, all of these recent releases must have some form of justification,
Case #2: Serena was warned about drinking in public and continued to do it and shows up hungover/drunk at work.
Unfortunately this is the most likely scenario if her release is not a rumor. If this was true, it is NOT the WWE’s fault, they are simply following employee protocol, and Serena would be the one at fault. Although we might deem this as “not like her personality”, we don’t know her personally, and I don’t think that it is fair to make the call that “Serena would never do something like this”. Her boob job, nose job, and shaving her head were all done before she actually debuted on Smackdown, which has roughly been 8 months, which is plenty of time for someone’s opinion to change.