(source: www.f4wonline.com)

As announced yesterday, Carlito — real name Carlos Colón — was released from his WWE contract due to his first violation of the company’s Wellness Program and subsequent refusal to enter a rehabilitation facility.

Company sources indicate Colón did not actually fail a drug test. Rather, management felt he was unfit to perform after arriving to the Air Canada Centre on Monday for the evening’s Raw taping. He was told he needed to go to rehab, but refused, resulting in his termination from the company.

As the story goes, Carlito denied he had a problem, forcing WWE to pull the trigger on his release.

Colón, who had been under contract to WWE since 2004, developed a reputation of being a talented performer whose lack of motivation prevented him from rising above mid-card status. For years, he was rumored to have been on the verge of leaving the company due to frustration over the direction of his character.

The Puerto Rican native was most recently used as a mentor to NXT Rookie Michael Tarver, who was ousted in the first round of eliminations. He had also teamed up once again with brother Primo, helping Ted DiBiase beat-down R-Truth on last week’s Raw.