Trying to make sense of Tyson Tomko's week with WWE

Photo courtesy of New Japan Pro Wrestling


This past week has been a bit perplexing for fans trying to piece together what exactly is going on between professional wrestler Tyson Tomko [pictured above] and World Wrestling Entertainment [WWE].

It all started this past Monday night when Tomko, who just recently signed a contract with WWE, defeated current Raw Superstar Paul Burchill in a dark match [which you can view at the end of this entry courtesy of YouTube] shortly before Raw went live, leading most fans to believe that Tomko was going to be used on television shortly.

However, things got a bit strange when on Wednesday, Slam Sports! reported that Tomko was seen at the Raw event with his arm in a sling and the details and extent of his injury were unknown.

On Friday, PWInsider.com reported that Tomko has been dealing with a torn pectoral muscle and went into his match with Burchill at the Raw event injured and kept it quiet from WWE. PWInsider.com also reported that Vince McMahon was unhappy with Tomko's match and wasn't impressed with Tomko's work in the ring, despite the fact that live reports from the show said Tomko was very over with the crowd, whom broke out a "LET'S GO TOMKO" chant.

As a result of McMahon's negative reaction to the match, rumors swirled that Tomko had already been given his release but nothing had been confirmed or announced.

On Saturday, the Wrestling Observer reported that McMahon was not only UN-impressed with Tomko's match, McMahon also blew up at John Laurinaitis, the head of talent relations, due to what McMahon perceived as Tomko being out of shape, which some felt was a result of Tomko's injury and not telling WWE he had an injury before his match with Burchill.

Then today, Ryan Clark reported that Tomko and WWE will likely be parting ways in the near future but because of his injury or McMahon's reaction to his match and conditioning. Rather, Clark's report stated Tomko feels he has worked too hard in Total Nonstop Action [TNA] wrestling and Japan as himself to suddenly undergo a name change or be saddled with a gimmick.

Apparently, when WWE informed Tomko he would wear a body suit and mask, Tomko refused and it was made clear to Tomko he was not being asked to wear the items but told to wear them. Upon hearing that, Tomko asked for his release from the company and it will be given to him in the near future. It is still unclear if and when Tomko will leave WWE but when he does, its should be noted that he left TNA on good terms and has many friends who would welcome him back with open arms.

I have no idea what to make of all this. To me, everyone appears to be in the wrong on this case. First off, Tomko has a mouth and should have used it to tell McMahon and the higher-ups in WWE that he was indeed injured before his match with Burchill instead of trying to be tough guy because it ended up biting him in the rear with his sloppy performance.

Second, McMahon should have cooled his jets and asked Tomko why he didn't seem like himself in the ring instead of blowing up at everyone without having the full story. In addition, the higher-ups in WWE should have known about Tomko's attitude and un-willingness to go along with storyline and character ideas as that was the knock on him during his first run with the company.

Lastly, one would think Tomko would have matured and grown-up in the three-years since he's been gone from WWE but it appears he has grown a giant sized ego and thinks he is the greatest thing since slice bread. I understand he feels he has worked hard as himself but his name isn't going to sell out arenas or headline pay-per-views. What does his name even mean?

Also, I would think a body suit and mask would be a good thing for him as he currently looks like a generic, tattooed mixed martial arts fighter and the long lost brother of Anthrax band member Scott Ian. Nothing stands out about him and this probably why WWE wanted him to have a gimmick so he could show a persona of his the audience may not know existed.

Personally, I say let him go if he doesn't want to be there. There are plenty of guys who would jump at the chance to work for WWE and let's see how much Tomko likes it when he realizes he can't find work overseas in Japan because of the current economies and that TNA hasn't changed one bit since he left.