The Dec. 3 Raw was a rough one for former SmackDown Tag champs Heath Slater & Rhyno. Forced by the power-mad “General Manager elect” to wrestle each other for their jobs, Baron Corbin ended up telling the defeated Rhyno he was fired and handing the victorious Slater a striped shirt.
The Beauty & The Man-Beast team hasn’t been much of a factor on Monday nights, and this looked like it could be a logical exit for the ECW World champ’s character. A report from Wrestling Inc said Rhyno delivered an in-ring retirement speech to the Houston crown while Raw won on a commerical break, and fueled speculation this was the end of the line for not just the gimmick, but Terry Gerin the performer.
But this online exclusive video from WWE featured Dasha Fuentes trying to get Rhyno to comment on his exit pushed another aspect of the storyline with Corbin - that he’d been given an opportunity to quit on his own terms rather than risk being fired:
And PWInsider is saying he’s still booked for WWE’s tour of South America over the rest of this week, so if this goodbye, it’s not effective immediately.
Rhyno was never a top tier guy in WWE. But if he is getting ready to wrap up his in-ring career at age 43, hopefully the company will run more than a one-night angle as a send-off. The man’s worked steadily & reliably for major promotions over the last couple of decades, including two stints in Vince McMahon’s employ which featured numerous secondary title runs.
Here’s hoping we haven’t seen our last Gore on WWE television just yet. And if we have, thanks for the memories, Mr. Gerin.