While many fans were concerned about the release (and rehiring) of WWE star R-Truth, another Superstar released was Carlito of Judgment Day, who may have pinpointed what led to his firing.

During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, Carlito revealed one possible reason for his release may have been Paul “Triple H” Levesque's views on his character. The former United States Champion explained Triple H was “not a fan” of the Carlito character.

“Those were all my ideas, 'cause I was like, I took literally [creative has] nothing for you, and I made something with it,” he explained. “I went in there, I said, ‘I’m not gonna complain. I’m not gonna whatever.' I knew I’m one of the older guys — I’m not gonna get prioritized. I’m not getting pushed.

“And Hunter’s not a fan of Carlito. I think personally he likes me, but I think he never was a big fan of the character. So what I did was like, Okay, let’s see, I’m in The Judgment Day, the hottest group here, how can I stay in this group? And I thought, Boom, this is what it’s missing,” Carlito continued.

Carlito also revealed he was not surprised by his release. However, he does wish he got to wrap up his storyline with Judgment Day.

“I wasn’t too surprised or too shocked,” said Carlito. “I signed for two years, and it actually went better than I thought it would go. The only thing is, I’m a professional. They could have told me, and I would have [said,] ‘Okay, at least let me finish up the story for the Judgment Day so they can keep on going.' I don’t know, why do something, it’s disrespect[ful] to the fans [to] drop the storylines.

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“But honestly, I felt worse for [R-]Truth. If it wasn’t a work, I felt worse for Truth…I was glad to see things work out for him,” he continued.

Carlito's WWE release

On June 1, 2025, R-Truth revealed WWE was not renewing his contract, effectively releasing him. Hours later, Carlito revealed he was in the same boat.

Carlito was in the midst of his second run in WWE. He was previously with the company from 2003-10. In 2021, he made a one-off appearance in the Royal Rumble.

Two years later, he returned again at the Backlash PLE in Puerto Rico. He joined forces with the Latino World Order (LWO) before turning on them. He then joined Judgment Day in August 2024. Carlito remained part of the group until his release.