WWE house cleaning continues with release of Zeb Colter

Continuing the 2016 wave of departures started just minutes ago with the announcement of Hornswoggle and Alex Riley's releases, WWE has added Zeb Colter's name to the list.

Curiously, WWE is updating their initial announcement with new names, rather than provide a full list of cuts all at once - or individual news items about the releases.

Regarding Colter (real name Wayne Keown), the man perhaps more famously known from the territory days as Dutch Mantel returned to WWE in 2013 to manage Jack Swagger as patriotic heels chasing babyface Mexican champ Alberto Del Rio. That pretty famously didn't work, but was a harbinger of how Zeb's run would go.

He continued to work with Swagger, and added Swiss Superstar Cesaro to his Real Americans stable. After a babyface turn largely prompted by the popularity of their "We the People" chant, Colter disappeared for a while before returning along with Del Rio as heels leading a Mexican-American unification gimmick.

That also crashed and burned, and their split was used to give Alberto and Swagger something to do for a few weeks, and then he was off television again.

Regardless of the name used, Colter should be a WWE Hall of Famer at some point, so hopefully a Legends deal or some backstage job will return him to the fold - if he wants to come back, that is.

Happy trails, Dirty Dutch.