Major Update – Del Rio’s WWE Firing & What He Was Told

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

UPDATE x 2: Here are some additional details on Alberto Del Rio’s WWE release. A source reports that Del Rio was, as has been heavily reported, fired after slapping a WWE social media employee. That employee is Cody Barbierri, the WWE’s Manager of Social Media Live Events, and the incident occurred last week on the night of the Smackdown tapings (August 5th). The source notes that Barbierri did in fact make a racist joke about Del Rio’s job being to clean plates. One performer for the company notes that the firing wasn’t as much about the slap but how hard it was, enough to knock Barbierri to the ground and causing a major scene.

Del Rio was told after the incident that he would be suspended until just past SummerSlam, but the belief is that Barbierri threatened to sue the company and that forced the company’s hands for legal reasons. Triple H called Del Rio on August 7th to let him know and Del Rio was reportedly furious.

According to sources, Barbierri isn’t well-liked backstage because he frequently talks down to the talent, but he is a high-ranking person in the company and has the support of the McMahon family.

UPDATE: The following photos of are from the official Twitter account of WWE social media manager Cody Barbierri. This is the guy that Alberto Del Rio slapped at last Tuesday night’s WWE SmackDown TV tapings.

ORIGINAL: Here is the latest in the situation regarding Alberto Del Rio and his release from WWE.

As previously reported, Del Rio was fired after slapping WWE social media manager Cody Barbierri in the face. Barbierri allegedly made a racist comment regarding Del Rio, Del Rio found out and Barbierri refused to apologies for it. At this time, Barbierri is still employed by WWE.

Many backstage were upset to see Del Rio be released, but in the past many have been critical of Del Rio due to him having a cocky and negative attitude. He’s also been involved in several backstage fights including a well publicized one with the original Sin Cara.

Over the last year, Del Rio has stated in several interviews that he was looking to leave WWE once his deal is up. At this time, there is a lot of speculation as to where Del Rio will end up. Many feel that he can and will team again with Ricardo Rodriguez and make appearances, possibly for AAA. AAA launches their US brand in October on the El Rey Network.

We also know that TNA is very interested in him and have already reached out.

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