Adam Rose Arrested for Domestic Violence; The End Has Come
The Fall and Further Decline of Adam Rose
So, it’s once again time to mourn “what could have been”, with another WWE talent that’s met an unfortunate fate.
A few months ago, it was Wade/Bad News/King Barrett. Last week, it was Damien Sandow. And now, weirdly enough, it’s Social Outcasts member/bunny wrangler Adam Rose, who you might have forgotten was Leo Kruger, back in NXT. The news of Rose’s 60-day suspension was a surprise to a lot of people, mostly because nobody could remember his first strike on the WWE Wellness Policy (due to it occurring during his time in developmental) to incur the standard 30-day suspension. However, even more misfortune has befallen the former leader of the Rosebuds; Raymond “Adam Rose” Leppan was arrested this morning by The Hillsborough, Florida Sheriff’s office at 1:30am ET. He was charged with Tampering With a Witness and Battery Domestic Violence.
This has led many fans to pre-emptively prepare for the release of Adam Rose, and make a post on Reddit about their favourite candidate to join the Social Outcasts in his place (hey, what’s Jack Swagger doing nowadays?). Unfortunately, this is but another pit-stop on the boulevard of broken dreams for one Raymond Leppan. Having had a difficult life in his native South Africa, to going through several gimmick changes and creative misdirection over the course of several years in WWE, Leppan also dealt with the unfortunate passing of his sister earlier in 2015, who died of a Heroin overdose.
In addition to his child needing 24-hour care (as seen in the E:60 “Behind the Curtain” edition of NXT), Leppan’s story reads like the classic underdog tale we’ve all come to appreciate; a man that started with nothing, and was hit with a wide variety of problems, before succeeding at his craft and earning himself a happy ending. But, alas, it seems that storybook has been closed, with the latest news serving as a reminder that not everybody can overcome their personal trauma.
Starting with the WWE’s developmental league FCW in 2010, as Leo Kruger, Leppan’s first year in the company saw him suffer a broken neck, following a match with Bo Rotundo (Dallas) in September, placing him at the commentary desk until he recovered. After winning the vacant FCW Heavyweight Championship, Kruger went on a prolific winning streak, joining main-roster talent on branded house shows, before proceeding to lose and regain the FCW Championship multiple times. When FCW rebranded into the NXT we know today in 2012, Kruger tweaked his character into becoming a twisted hunter/mercenary type, which got him over with the IWC at the time. Temporarily involved in the NXT Championship picture, chasing the champion at the time Bo Dallas, the Leo Kruger character was removed from NXT TV in early 2014.
It was at this time, to the confusion of everybody, that Leppan was repackaged into Adam Rose, the “Russell Brand-esque” leader of the Exotic Express, and the Rosebuds (containing names such as Becky Lynch, Simon Gotch, and Braun Strowman). This character made it onto TV in May of 2014, following WrestleMania, debuting to feud with Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter. Rose would continue his winning streak, tag teaming with his most popular Rosebud on the side, before suffering his first loss in September to Kane. Yeah, you read that correctly.
From this point onward, the memories should still be fresh in your mind; the feud with the Bunny, his heel turn and betrayal of the Rosebuds, his 2015 “Party Pooper” gimmick, the Rose Bush talk show, and his potential “fitness oriented” gimmick change alongside the ill-fated Brad Maddox. If you, for some reason, neglect to remember these details, perhaps that’s for the best. Either way, Adam Rose was cemented in the “jobber” status, which led to the creation of The Social Outcasts. Call it commentator bias, but I always found this group to be very entertaining, and a fresh concept in the otherwise stagnant Raw scene at the time. Joining fellow former FCW Heavyweight Champions Bo Dallas, Heath Slater, and Curtis Axel, the Social Outcasts fulfilled their purpose as the new incarnation of the “Job Squad” rather well, even managing to score several small victories over various other talents.
However, the hype train would come to a halt when Rose was suspended for 60 days, due to his second violation of the company’s wellness policy, an action which got the fans attention. Leppan would publicly address his suspension on Twitter as “not right”, saying “I did not do anything knowingly wrong and was taking prescribed medication that my [doctor] and I followed all the correct protocol on.” Leppan followed up on this, and posted a doctor’s handwritten note on his Twitter feed, indicating that he had been prescribed Adderall XR to treat ADHD; Leppan wrote that WWE had known he had the prescription for over a year. However, as of this writing, no statement has been made by the WWE in regards to Leppan’s tweets.
Some of you may be thinking; what’s the big tragedy here? A jobber has got himself fired for acting like an asshole in his private life. Nobody is exempt from this; Kevin Nash himself was suspended from his Legends contract after getting into a domestic feud with his son. A certain multi-year-deal-signing TNA talent, formerly known as Kenneth Cameron from The Ascension, was fired from WWE for similar offences we see Leppan suffering from today. Why should we be mourning over a talent that’s not as over as someone like Damien Sandow, or as well-tenured as Ryback?
Let’s set the record straight, first: if Rose has been abusing the people in his life and incurring legal charges against himself, it’s without a doubt that he should receive the proper punishment and sanctions from WWE for it – even if that does involve being fired. However, from the standpoint of a fan, it’s always a sad state of affairs to see a talent’s personal demons get the better of them, sending them into a downward spiral. Hopefully, there are greener pastures on the horizon, but from the looks of things right now, Adam Rose will be released from the company very soon. And it’s a crying shame.
The Leo Kruger character was a mainstay of the early days of NXT, and a big player in FCW before that. The Adam Rose character has stuck around for longer than it should have, perhaps, but with the help of the Social Outcasts stable, it was no longer inviting of moans and groans from disgruntled fans that long for the days of a cool heel gimmick. The aforementioned E:60 special about NXT shed some light on the personal life of Leppan, highlighting his relationship with his wife, and his young son. All of this, in conjunction with how WWE is known to treat certain talents, is a melancholic story that we would rather not see befall a man of such talent.
With this in mind, what are some of your thoughts on Adam Rose/Leo Kruger/Raymond Leppan? Leave a comment below, and it could be featured on the next episode of The Suplah. Alternatively, leave a comment on our Facebook page or tweet at us your thoughts and feelings.
Until next time, this has been the perspective of an Adam Rose fan, on the unfortunate end to our favourite party animal.
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