SmackDown writer Andrew Goldstein, second in command to Michael Hayes, has been fired. Goldstein was informed of his termination by WWE Human Resources, instead of by someone like Stephanie McMahon.

On SmackDown, unlike on RAW and ECW, Michael Hayes dictates what he wants on the show, and then Goldstein would take all of that and put it together in a format that can be televised.

Apparently, Goldstein was very popular backstage, always worked very hard, and was always a professional. However, considering that Michael Hayes has more of an 'old-school' state of mind, he often clashed with Goldstein. Hayes eventually got him fired and pushed him out the door. Backstage, many people are surprised and upset about this. If the replacement for Goldstein isn't someone who can take Hayes' dictations and format, then you could be seeing a dip in the show quality of SmackDown!.

As noted earlier on this very busy news day, Sylvester Terkay, Jazz, Rodney Mack, Danny Basham, Doug Basham, Tony Mamaluke, The Gymini and Gangrel have all been released. Al Snow has been released as a wrestler, but will remain with the company as a trainer in OVW.

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