There are many reasons why Big Cass was fired by WWE, but which one was the last straw? What happened to Big Cass to force WWE to release him from his deal, despite a huge main event run and huge pay per view match in his future?
Why did WWE fire Big Cass?
Big Cass was fired by WWE on June 19th, 2018. The release was announced on WWE.com and completely shocked WWE fans. Cass had been a regular on TV in the weeks leading up to his release and was part of a high profile rivalry with former WWE Champion Daniel Bryan.
The release came out of nowhere to the fans, but behind the scene it had been brewing for a while. Big Cass‘ attitude backstage was getting worse, with his alcohol issues and depression taking a toll on his mental state.
He began to get angry more, causing more fights with his girlfriend Carmella after the pair moved into their new house together. It also affected his work, with the story of him breaking the door of a bus bathroom door during a particular tough time in his WWE career.
The last straw for Big Cass was when he directly obeyed Vince McMahon’s orders during a segment on Smackdown Live in 2018. He attacked a “little person” during a segment on Smackdown whilst he was mocking his opponent Daniel Bryan, but went way further than what was agreed by himself, the other performer and WWE management.
Big Cass’ WWE segment was mean to just have him hit his opponent with a big boot (a running kick to the head, usually used by the larger wrestlers) after mocking him with various “short” jokes, mocking Bryan’s comparative height compared to Big Cass.
However, Big Cass went off script, beating down the mock-Daniel Bryan in a much more brutal fashion than they originally agreed upon. He ended up hitting the impersonator with a flurry of fists rather than a simple big boot, which was said to angry Vince McMahon backstage and led him to eventually fire Big Cass.
In a vacuum, this would not be enough for WWE to fire Big Cass. However, it was the last in a long line of things that caused him to be sacked. Big Cass’ release from WWE was due to the straw breaking the camels back and his months of rubbing people (most importantly Vince McMahon) the wrong way for the last time.
However, it was not simply his attitude that was the issue for Big Cass. What happened to him at the end and after his time in WWE was the most shocking and life threatening…
What happened to Big Cass?
Big Cass also revealed in the video posted by DDP that he almost died due to the amount of time he spent drinking. He revealed that due to the amount that he was drinking during his darkest period, he suffered a seizure that should have killed him.
He suffered heavily with his demons during and after his WWE run. His alcohol issues and his depression caused him to lose his job with WWE and made Carmella and Big Cass break up their relationship together.
In the video posted on the DPPY Channel, Big Cass said about what happened to him;
“I am sitting here right now and telling you that I should be dead with the amount that I drank, and the seizure that I had – I shouldn’t be here. If anybody out there suffers with depression or anxiety and you’re hiding it because there’s a stigma out there that you’re weak – you’re not weak. Whatever it is, you need to go seek help. Because whether it’s medication or talk therapy or whatever it is that you need, you need to get it. Because hiding it deep down, it ain’t gonna work. And that’s what I did for a long time and eventually – pop! Everything, it’s just an explosion. Whatever you need to do to fix it, make sure you do that. Because keeping that $#!+ bottled deep down, it ain’t worth it. Trust me, from someone who lived it, seek help.”
Big Cass on almost dying from a seizure after leaving WWE
Big Cass suffered a seizure before Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore event in 2019, before the former WWE star was set to wrestle against another wrestler. He was rushed to hospital and the match was cancelled, with Tommy Dreamer revealing that the incident was not drug related.
However, Big Cass later revealed the cause of the seizures were due to alcohol withdrawals. He has since quit drinking and got help for his mental health issues and has been doing much better in his life since those dark days.
He has since been wrestling for Impact wrestling, but after leaving there Big Cass made an AEW appearance that had fans clamouring for Tony Khan to lock him in a contract to sop Big Cass WWE return.
Is Big Cass going to AEW?
Big Cass made his AEW debut on March 4th 2022, wrestling as W. Morrissey. His debut match in AEW was that night when he revealed as the mystery opponent for Wardlow, during his feud with MJF on the build up to AEW Revolution 2022.
During the match, the crowd chanted for Enzo Amore, the former partner of Big Cass in WWE. Clearly annoyed by the duelling chants of “We want Enzo” “No we don’t”, Big Cass performed Enzo’s trademark “dance”, shutting up the AEW crowd and forcing them to focus on the match.
He performed well in the match. He pushed Wardlow to the limit, forcing Mr Mayhem to wrestle a style he had never done before. Wardlow is a giant in AEW and rarely faces men bigger than him so facing the seven foot giant (and you can’t teach that!) was a huge test for his strength and ability.
Unfortunately for Big Cass, Wardlow was on his game that day and managed to pull out the win. He impressively nailed Big Cass with a huge 7-foot powerbomb before pinning him for the three count. This led to Wardlow facing MJF at AEW Double or Nothing 2022, but would be the last match for Big Cass in AEW (so far?).
W. Morrissey’s career in AEW looks to be over, a return to WWE for Big Cass could soon be on the cards for the seven footer.
WWE return?
There has been a lot of rumours lately about Big Cass returning to WWE. Since his appearance in AEW and after some great work in Impact Wrestling WWE are rumoured to be high on a Big Cass return and could be scouting him for a future signing.
Based on the amount of injuries currently ravaging WWE, adding a huge star like him to their roster would be a no brainer. You can click the link below to read more about Big Cass returning to WWE, possibly alongside Enzo Amore and reuniting their beloved tag team.