WWE allegedly released controversial star after he demanded more money
WWE allegedly didn't offer a new deal to a controversial star after he demanded more money.
Daniel Puder was the winner of the 2004-05 Tough Enough competition. He is known for shooting on Kurt Angle on an episode of SmackDown in an unscripted moment. Puder was later punished for his actions by a bunch of WWE Superstars during the 2005 Royal Rumble match.
Kurt Angle recently had a chat with Inside The Ropes and revealed the aftermath of the Royal Rumble incident. During the free-for-all, WWE Superstars Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, and Hardcore Holly showered Puder with brutal chops one after the other. He was then quickly eliminated from the match. As per Angle, Puder was later offered another deal but he demanded more money:
"Not long after that, Daniel didn't work out and they ended up letting him go, and the thing is they did offer him another deal, but this son of a [ __ ] said, 'I want more money' Okay, he didn't even do anything in WWE yet, and here he is demanding more money. So they said, 'Okay! we're going to turn you down.' And unfortunately, I think Daniel Puder would have had a pretty decent career if he would have been cool about everything. But I think because he wasn't, his career ended very quickly, and it's unfortunate because he was a talented kid." [3:04-3:41]
WWE released Daniel Puder later that year
Shortly after the Royal Rumble incident, Puder was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling. He didn't do anything notable in the developmental territory and was finally let go by the promotion in September 2005.
Puder went on to have brief stints in other promotions including NJPW. One wonders where his career would be if it hadn't been for the infamous incident with Kurt Angle on SmackDown.
Do you remember Daniel Puder? Did you think he was good enough to become a top superstar?
Please credit ITR Wrestling and give a H/T to Sportskeeda if you use Angle's quotes!