Triple H Made The Call To Release R-Truth & Carlito From WWE (WWE News)

Dave Meltzer said via Wrestling Observer Radio that it was specifically WWE boss Triple H who made the call to cut both R-Truth and Carlito from the active WWE roster. Meltzer said that everything boiled down to Hunter making that choice, and the Observer chief said it had to do with "numbers".

Put another way, TKO top brass were trying to slash the company budget a bit. That's when Trips looked around and thought: 'How much money do we have to cut?'. He landed on veterans like Truth and Carlito as the most plausible wrestlers ripe for release, but it hasn't gone down well with WWE's fanbase.

Many fans have taken to social media apps to vent their frustrations, and the crowd chanted "We Want Truth" on Monday's episode of Raw. The crux of those arguing against the move seems to be that WWE has oodles of cash and (in theory) doesn't need to slash any budgets. Unfortunately, that's not really how TKO will be looking at things. Obviously.

Their concern will be a bloated bottom line more than sentiment, which is why R-Truth and Carlito are on the outs so soon after being involved in recent (and major) storylines on top TV shows like Raw and SmackDown.

Both Had Varying Roles In Recent Major WWE Storylines

As the sub-heading says, both Truth and Carlito had been popping up frequently on television.

R-Truth recently waged war against John Cena amidst the reigning WWE Champion's retirement tour. Together, they had a short bout at the recent Saturday Night's Main Event special. Going in, WWE handed Truth ample screen time to cut sit-down promos with Wade Barrett and address his "childhood hero" Cena in front of live crowds in-ring.

The latter segment sagged and played before loud, "WHAT?!" chants that signify an audience's boredom. They've plagued countless workers since Steve Austin first introduced the gimmick back in the early 2000s.

Meanwhile, Carlito had been a peripheral member of the ever-changing Judgment Day faction alongside Finn Bálor, Dominik Mysterio, Liv Morgan, JD McDonagh and Raquel Rodriguez. He'd started hanging around with the group whilst top stars like Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley were still officially part of things.

Carlito was there at WrestleMania 41 when Mysterio bagged the Intercontinental Title, and again at Backlash when he retained the midcard prize. Other skits on Raw saw him hanging out playing video games and delivering comedic one-liners designed to add levity to otherwise tense stand offs involving the likes of Dominik, Finn and Liv.

Meltzer had this to say on the releases: "I don’t think they lose anything by losing Carlito. R-Truth is really funny".