"Paul London reflects on his 2008 WWE release, sharing raw emotions and a surprising sense of relief"
Paul London has been revisiting a moment that changed his career forever. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion shared how his 2008 release hit him harder than people might think.
At the time, he was already dealing with a back injury, which made the call from WWE even more jarring. What surprised him most was the mix of emotions that followed. There was anger, confusion, and, unexpectedly, a sense of freedom.
London spoke about it during an appearance on Cafe de Renee with Rene Dupree. He remembered John Laurinaitis telling him the company wouldn’t be renewing his contract. That phone call left him feeling embarrassed for how the situation was handled.
Yet once the initial shock settled, something shifted. He said it felt like being unchained, suddenly able to breathe and move again after years of pressure. It took time to feel normal, though. He described slowly regaining his senses, almost as if he had been living in a haze.
A Release That Sparked Reinvention
London didn’t walk away from wrestling after leaving WWE. Instead, he pushed forward. He built a strong run across the independent circuit with promotions like Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and later appeared in Impact Wrestling in 2019. His passion for performing never faded, even if the path looked different from the one he once imagined.
In the same conversation, London shared another revealing story about his relationship with Laurinaitis. Before his release, he pitched an idea that he believed could benefit the company. He wanted WWE to send him to film school so he could help behind the scenes as a writer and director.
He even suggested letting wrestlers make cameo appearances in films to help manage production costs. According to London, Laurinaitis “hated” the idea and later told him he seemed more aligned with filmmaking than wrestling.
Looking back now, London talks about that period with a calmness that only comes from distance. The release forced him to reset, rethink, and rebuild on his own terms. What once felt like a setback eventually became the moment he started to find himself again.
