WWE releases Ricardo Rodriguez; TNA severs ties with Vince Russo

by Vaughn Johnson

Published Jul. 30, 2014, 6:55 p.m. ET

WWE announcer/wrestler Ricardo Rodriguez has been released from his contract, the company announced on its website Wednesday.

Rodriguez spent time on the independent circuit as a wrestler before beginning his WWE career in 2010 as the personal ring announcer for Alberto Del Rio.

After years of running side-by-side with Del Rio, Rodriguez was moved into the booth as the color commentator for the WWE's Spanish broadcasts. He still occasionally jumped back into the ring as the masked wrestler El Local.

Rodriguez addressed fans about his departure on Twitter.

I have come to terms with WWE on my release. I want to thank them for a great 4 years. But I miss wrestling

Vince Russo fired from TNA Wrestling

After months of speculation that Vince Russo was working on the creative team for TNA Wrestling, it was mistakenly confirmed that he was indeed working as a consultant with the promotion via an email that was sent to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com.

However, with TNA Wrestling negotiating a new television contract with Spike TV, the promotion has decided to severe ties with the sometimes-controversial Russo, according to a report from PWInsider.com.

According to the report, Russo working for the promotion may adversely affect its chances of landing a new deal once the current one expires in October.