Report: WWE Releases Lars Sullivan

Lars Sullivan's time in WWE has come to an end, according to PWInsider's Mike Johnson. 

The SmackDown Superstar was reportedly quietly released by WWE in January and the company confirmed to PWInsider that Sullivan had been let go earlier today. He last appeared on WWE TV on the November 6, 2020, episode of SmackDown.

Sullivan signed with WWE in 2013 but he wouldn't debut in NXT until April 2017. He went on to have high profile matches against the likes of Keith Lee, Kassius Ohno and Aleister Black before debuting on the main roster in April 2019. 

He found himself on the shelf only a couple of months later, though, following a severe knee injury which would keep him out of action for over a year. Sullivan returned on the October 9, 2020, edition of SmackDown but he would only make a few more appearances on TV before his release. 

The SmackDown Superstar often found himself at the centre of controversy during his main roster run. It emerged in May 2019 that he had made multiple homophobic, racist and misogynistic posts on a bodybuilding forum before he signed with WWE. The company subsequently fined him $100,000 and Sullivan apologised for his comments. Further controversy arose only days after his October 2020 return, though, as he was accused of sending inappropriate Instagram messages to a female.