Karl Anderson didn’t see The Good Brothers’ latest WWE release coming—and the timing made the call hit even harder.
Speaking on TMZ’s Inside the Ring, Anderson revealed that he was injured when WWE cut him and Luke Gallows loose. Because of that, he assumed the company would at least let them finish out their contracts before making a decision. Anderson explained that he currently feels better physically than he did when The Good Brothers first jumped from New Japan Pro Wrestling to WWE a decade ago.
“I feel better now—in the ring, physically, everything—than I did 10 years ago. Ten years ago, we signed with WWE from New Japan, and I’m not just saying it. I really do feel better.”
The conversation then shifted to their WWE departure. Anderson made it clear that the release came as a legitimate shock because he was already sidelined with an injury.
“This past year has been one of the most beautiful years that I’ve had. I’ve been in wrestling now for 26 years, and this last year, getting released from WWE unexpectedly—because I was hurt when we did—I thought we would at least ride it out, but whatever.”
Anderson wasn’t claiming WWE released him because he was hurt. His point was that being injured made him believe the company would keep the team under contract until their deals expired. That didn’t happen.
“Being released unexpectedly and then seeing what kind of year we’ve had, it’s been amazing. It did feel a little depressing when we got that call. This second time, it was like, ‘What the fuck?’ because it surprised us.”
Instead of sitting at home and waiting for WWE, AEW or TNA to come calling, Gallows and Anderson immediately started putting their own schedule together.
“But then right away, we got out of that mode and we went to work. That’s why this year has been so cool, because we’ve seen everything. We haven’t done AEW. We haven’t done TNA. I guess we went back to WWE again. It was a quick visit. We did a quick hello. We didn’t go back to New Japan. We’ve done everything differently just to do it.”
The release may have cost them their WWE contracts, but Anderson admitted it also pulled them out of a miserable cycle. The team had grown frustrated with being paid well while barely being used on television.
“It genuinely feels like it made us enjoy the work again, because you get into a mode. We were in WWE, and we didn’t love when we weren’t getting used. You can make yourself feel negative no matter how big that contract is or whatever.”
The Good Brothers are now traveling, choosing their own bookings and wrestling because they actually want to—not because they are waiting backstage to find out whether WWE has anything for them.
“I feel like we’re out on the road, we’re working really hard again, we’re having fun and we’re getting something fulfilling out of these performances. Of course, you love to go make the money, but I’ve really enjoyed being a pro wrestler again.”
“It’s been fun to go out, do that and see the world in a different way. We are our own boss right now, too, so you can pick and choose. You can go, ‘Man, I see something cool going on over here. Let’s hit them up and go to this side of the world that we maybe haven’t been to.’”
WWE’s decision caught Gallows and Anderson off guard, but it didn’t knock them out of the business. If anything, getting released forced The Good Brothers to start moving again—and Anderson sounds happier wrestling now than he did while sitting under a WWE contract.
Do you think WWE made a mistake by releasing The Good Brothers while Karl Anderson was injured, or are Gallows and Anderson better off controlling their own careers? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
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