Luke Gallows And Karl Anderson Call Paul Heyman A "Liar", Reveal Why AJ Styles Moved To SmackDown

Newly signed Impact Wrestling talents, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows, took to their Talk N' Shop Podcast to vent about their experience being a part of the WWE roster. As noted, Gallows and Anderson are two of the recently released WWE stars that saw their 90 day non-compete clauses expire this past Wednesday, July 15.

Karl Anderson opened up about an interaction he had with Triple H where "The Game" appealed to his emotions in an attempt to keep the duo from signing with AEW. He questions whether or not Triple H could have done anything to keep them from being released.

"Triple H looked at me and was like, 'Dude, I look at you and I see your kids, and I think about what if AEW doesn't last? I can promise you one thing, WWE will always be here.' And it's like, we stopped being boss and employee at that point and we became – obviously not friends – but at least, for a second, we were two humans talking," Anderson said. "And I'm not saying that Triple H could have called somebody, or stopped anything, or knew anything, or even cared. But hearing that from your boss and then seeing something like [us getting released] happen, you're like, 'God d-mn, they don't give a f–k.'"

During his Mixer channel's stream, WWE Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles was documented calling Paul Heyman a "boldface liar". Anderson and Gallows delved into the tumultuous situation involving Heyman and "The O.C.".

"In trying to get to the bottom of [us being let go] – because it did feel f–king weird, so we started kinda asking around, like, 'What the f–k happened?'" Karl asked. "And then we hear, 'Well, it was Paul Heyman inspired.' And I was like, 'Really?' And so we told AJ that... So, AJ went to somebody and asked, 'Is this Paul Heyman inspired?' They said, 'Yes'. AJ went to Paul Heyman and said, 'Did you fire these guys, or did you put the word in to fire them?' And Paul said, 'No, you have my word.'"

"Scouts f–king honor, brother!" Gallows added as he flashes a text message at the screen.

"'If I would have known, then I would have gone to bat for them,'" Karl recalled Paul saying. "And AJ went, 'Okay', he went back to that [first] guy... he goes, 'Is this what happened?' and the person goes, 'Yes'. So, AJ goes in to Vince and he says, 'You've got to tell me the truth, is Paul the one that said to fire these guys?' Vince told AJ, he said, 'Listen, they weren't on my list, but yes, this was a Heyman thing.'"

"Apparently he thought we were making too much money for what we were doing, and he's a f–ing liar and he's a piece of s–t," Gallows said.

Anderson noted how, he believes, Vince McMahon could have done more to keep them on the roster.

"And at the end of the day, I still think it was a Vince thing. You know, Vince could have gone to bat for us."

Gallows mentioned how Styles never had the intention of traveling without his "Good Brothers" on the road. He explained that loneliness is often associated with being a top guy in the WWE, especially when you didn't go throughout the developmental system.

"AJ, he didn't want to be there alone," Gallows said. "When you're at the very top, you don't have a lot of friends at the very top especially if you're not a WWE bred talent, especially if you're not in developmental with these guys, and going up and down the road for years and then you get to that top level. Those guys have a lot of friends."

"[AJ] said to f–king bury Paul and tell the truth about it, and [the lies Paul told] are why he couldn't work with him and he said he needed to be moved [to SmackDown]," Gallows said.

Anderson made note of how embarrassing it was for him when neighbors were asking about his release. After everything the duo has been through, they are uncertain if they would ever consider going back to the WWE.

"That was my first thought, my neighbors see me outside playing basketball and they're like, 'Hey, oh I wonder if he's doing okay?' Every neighbor I saw, I knew they were thinking that," Karl said. "Now when I see them, they're kind of like, 'Oh, how are you doing? Are you getting out of the business?' People will ask me, 'So if they offered you, would you go back?' And I'm like, 'Man, you literally embarrassed me in front of the whole world.' If I can't find a place to make a living, I don't need to be with you. I mean, it would take a lot [to ever go back]."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Talk N' Shop Podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.