WWE Wanted Lars Sullivan Back

WWE wanted Lars Sullivan back last week after he went M.I.A. three weeks earlier.

WWE planned to use Sullivan in dark matches as a way to gradually transition him to the main roster. Sullivan was slated to work a dark match at Raw on January 7 in Orlando, Florida, but he reportedly had an anxiety attack upon arriving at the Amway Center and left the premises. WWE then rescheduled his dark match for the following night at SmackDown LIVE in Jacksonville, Florida, but he flew home to Colorado before the show. Sullivan hasn’t been at a WWE event since.

Prior to Sullivan’s no-shows, WWE planned on having Sullivan face John Cena at WrestleMania 35. Sullivan would have made his television debut two weeks ago on Raw in a pre-taped segment where he would have attacked Cena to explain Cena’s absence from the Royal Rumble. WWE planned on taping the segment at Raw on January 14 since Cena began shooting his latest movie the following week in Vancouver, British Columbia. It’s unclear whether the program has been scrapped entirely, but the longer his absence goes, the less likely it will take place.

Sullivan has been told by WWE management that when he’s ready to return, they are ready to have him back. The feeling among management is that “he’s money” and there is an understanding of the situation.

In an update on Sullivan, Dave Meltzer said Saturday night on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE was hoping to have him back last week, but he was not available. While they wanted to use him in the Men’s Royal Rumble Match, they really wanted him at Raw last week.

“The guy they wanted to make into a superstar but he was not gonna win the Rumble was Lars Sullivan,” Meltzer said. “They really wanted him back last Monday and obviously, he was not back so I don’t know what’s going on. Well, he’s not ready to be back, that’s all. I don’t anticipate him not being with the company but as each week goes by, the idea of him wrestling John Cena gets slimmer and slimmer. It may even be out the window right now, I don’t know.”

Sullivan sent out his first tweet since he went missing during last week’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Sullivan tweeted as his “social media representative” alter-ego William Christensen and wrote, “There has been a lot of speculation about Lars recently. It’s true, he went missing several weeks ago and I was just able to contact him this morning. Lars wants everyone to know he is in a good place, and is sorry to everyone he’s disappointed.” The tweet was deleted later that evening.

• Read Lars Sullivan’s letter to WWE Magazine in 2009