It is being reported by PWInsider that Jay Lethal has been released from TNA. Lethal, a former X Division and Tag Team Champion, had recently competed in the X Division Xscape Match at Lockdown but hadn’t been used much on television as of late.
Lethal came in to TNA in the end of 2005 and made a name for himself in the summer of 2006 by challenging Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World Championship. In the spring of 2007, Lethal began using his Randy Savage influenced Black Machismo persona, which would last throughout most of his time with the company.
Lethal would drop the Machismo gimmick in the summer of 2010 and it looked like he was in line for a big singles push. Lethal picked up victories over the likes of AJ Styles, Desmond Wolfe, and even Ric Flair by making him tap out to the figure four leg lock. He then feuded with Robbie E. in a series of matches for the X Division Championship.
At Genesis, Lethal lost the X Division Championship for the sixth and final time in a match against Kazarian. Since then, Lethal had been used on television sparingly, a far cry from where he was standing in the pecking order a few months earlier.
I was surprised to hear that Lethal had been released from TNA. He seemed to be over with the crowd, could perform well with anyone, and seemed to be more than willing to do whatever was asked. I’d find it hard to believe that TNA creative couldn’t find anything for this young and talented performer to do on a regular basis.
I have no doubt that Lethal will be able to land on his feet and find another promotion to wrestle with, be it WWE, ROH or some other promotion. I also doubt that Lethal has wrestled his last match in TNA. I wish him the best of luck and hope to see him again sometime down the road.
