Behavioral issues and a budding romance were large factors in Zach Gowen’s exit from WWE in February of 2004.
Speaking on a recent edition of “The False Finish” podcast, Gowen recalled the end of his career and speaking with Jim Ross at the time. He said,
“It was just a culmination of my behavior and my inability to be a professional, and to handle the responsibility of a WWE Superstar. It’s really that simple — my behavior, actions, and attitude led me to being released.
“During this time, I met a girl. I fall in love, man, like, just stupid head-over-heels in love, in Detroit. They [WWE] want me to move to Louisville, to go through the OVW system, and to pay my dues WWE style and gain the respect of the locker room. That was their plan for me — and it was a beautiful plan. The problem was I fell in love with a girl, and I called John Laurinaitis and said, ‘Listen, I appreciate that you want me to move to Louisville, but I’m going to stay in Detroit. I am fully healthy, I will continue to train at my local wrestling school … you guys give me a call whenever you want me back on TV.’
“What I remember from that was how gracious and sincere Jim Ross was. He let me know, ‘It’s not a talent issue, it’s a maturity issue’… It was almost fatherly the way he sat me down and told me I’m getting fired. I’ll always remember that and thank Jim Ross for that.”
In the same interview, Gowen spoke about working with Brock Lesnar and called their match one of the most violent encounters in WWE history.
