Alberto Del Rio released by WWE for 'unprofessional conduct, altercation with employee'

In news that broke just a short time ago, Alberto Del Rio has been released by WWE effective immediately. According to a statement on the company website:

WWE announced the release of Alberto Del Rio due to unprofessional conduct and an altercation with an employee.

When contacted for a statement, WWE declined to go further into the situation, so it's unclear exactly what happened at this time. Del Rio hasn't been active on social media, meaning there's been no word on his end either.

As stated here, this does not appear to be a cost cutting move but rather a disciplinary measure. An "altercation with an employee" could mean any number of things, so we'll update as soon as details become clear.

If you'll remember, there were reports earlier this year that WWE was concerned Del Rio would be leaving once his contract expired, possibly due to unhappiness with the creative direction of his character. As noted in that article, his WWE career has been marked with big pushes that never quite did the big business all involved were hoping it would. Throughout this year, however, he's been used as an enhancement talent more than a main event level player.

Now, he's gone from the company.

Again, we'll update as soon as more details come out.