Partial Source: Pwinsder.com
Grizzly Redwood has given notice with ROH and was scheduled to finish up over the weekend. He is taking a job outside of the business and has shaved off his bead. ROH “unbooked” him for the final weekend. Redwood helped start the issues that led to Charlie Haas being fired/quitting and retiring in North Carolina. He grabbed Haas’ hat and threw it to the ground, starting a fight between the two. They have been feuding ever since a TV taping where Haas beat him and didn’t let Redwood get any competitive spots in. Since he was finishing up, the thought is that he wanted to get him back, which cost him his final matches in the company.
Charlie Haas has also taken a job outside of the business in the medical field. This is not why he retired, as he still was scheduled for several ROH dates.
Here are our preview updates regarding the situation;
UPDATE x 2: As noted over the weekend, Charlie Haas is no longer a member of the ROH roster after a backstage altercation with Grizzly Redwood this past Saturday night at ROH’s house show in North Carolina. Sources say that tension had been building between the lower-card talent and Haas for a long period of time as they had considered Haas a bully. It was said that Haas was used to the WWE way of doing things backstage and tried to bring that WWE philosophy to the ROH locker room. The ROH locker room thrives on all of the guys helping and motivating each other.
Haas was said to not be himself on Saturday, and appeared intoxicated backstage. Sources say that Haas and Redwood had gotten into an argument several weeks ago, and then got into another altercation on Saturday during the intermission. ROH booker Hunter Johnson (Delirious) yelled at both guys and Haas went crazy. Kevin Kelly tried to calm things down, but indications are that Haas turned on him as well. Management did not want Haas to wrestle, but they felt they could not stop him from going to the ring.
Live reports from the event state that they could hear the commotion going on backstage right before Haas was set to come out and wrestle Jeff Neal after intermission. Haas came out for his match and announced his retirement. According to sources, management turned off his mic, but Haas could still be heard taking shots at Johnson and Kelly during his promo. Haas was the one that changed the finish for his match and put over Neal. Haas was also said to be crying during the match.
Haas tried to cut another promo after the match, but management would not give him a mic, so he then shouted that his iPPV match with Shelton Benjamin was off and then took shots at Kelly and Delirious before leaving the ring.
Sources say that many of the wrestlers are disappointed in Haas’s actions. Redwood is a popular figure backstage and it was said to have made Haas look bad for allegedly bullying someone much smaller than him. We’re told Haas punched Redwood during the altercation. It has also been said that Haas was actually fired before the match, and went out and did the retirement speech as a way to save face.
UPDATE: As noted earlier, Charlie Haas retired last night at an ROH live event. The details can be found below in our original report. Here are some of the latest updates we have on the situation.
* Haas appeared to be intoxicated at the event.
* There was a loud argument that took place backstage during the final match before intermission.
* Haas was heard screaming at ROH booker Delirious and ROH announcer Kevin Kelly. This is part of the reason he took shots at them during his promo.
* Following his match, he refused to leave the ring as the crowd cheered.
* Haas asked for a microphone following the match and ROH officials refused to give him one. He then told the crowd to be quiet and cut the promo without a mic.
* The Haas promo was said to be “rambling” in nature and didn’t seem to make sense at times. This was likely due to his intoxicated state.
* A member of the ROH staff waved at him to come to the back twice. Haas responded both times by flipping them off.
* The situation was addressed in a post-show meeting with the locker room.
* Following his match and promos, Haas immediately left the building without saying goodbye. He was clearly agitated.
ORIGINAL: On January 5, 2013, we exclusively reported that ROH officials were growing increasingly frustrated with Charlie Haas. As that time, Haas thought that he should have been going for the title instead of BJ Whitmer and also said he wanted a Tag Team Gauntlet Match to be postponed until Shelton Benjamin came back.
As previously reported, Shelton Benjamin asked for and received his release from Ring of Honor in December. While he asked for the release, he did not sign a WWE deal and was expected to return to ROH in the near future.
During the ROH Final Battle iPPV last year, ROH played up an injury angle, saying it was “recommended that Shelton take time off from the ring.” ROH left the door open to use Benjamin on a pay per appearance basis in the future but also allowed Benjamin to seek a possible return with WWE. That never happened.
Fast forward to last night with Charlie Haas.
Haas came to the ring and announced that he was retiring during Ring of Honor’s house show before his match with Jeff Louis Neal. Haas came out to the ring and cut a long promo about his time in wrestling, saying that he had done enough in the industry. Haas worked the match and then after it was done he cut another promo without a microphone, yelling it to the crowd while someone from the ROH staff tried to get him to come to the back and got flipped off for their efforts. We’re told ROH officials refused to give him a microphone following the match so he cut a promo on his own.
Haas took shots at ROH booker Delirious and Kevin Kelly during the promos “for all the things they say” about him and called Kelly a “fat piece of shit.” As noted earlier, he was reportedly shaking and cried during the match as well as later in the locker room. We’re told following the match, Haas changed and left quickly after he was done. He did not say goodbye to anyone and was legitimately pissed off. There were also people concerned about his well being.
Haas later tweeted:
Officially retired. No match against [Shelton Benjamin] next week NYC. Time to be a full time dad and husband. I’ve turned my spandex in for scrubs. Thanks to all the fans throughout the years. I love you all. Stay safe and God bless. WGTT will always be a top Tag Team, forever.
We can now confirm that this is NOT a work. It appears as if things finally boiled over last night and he went to the ring and performed a live “shoot”. This is part of the reason ROH officials refused to give him a microphone following his match. Instead, he refused to leave the ring and cut a promo without a microphone.
