What's the story?
It appears as if Tom Phillips may well have been punished for the sexting controversy that was revealed over social media last week. Phillips was removed from his usual position in the kick-off social media lounge, with one of WWE's newest reporters Charly Caruso taking his place.
In case you didn't know...
Tom Phillips, who has been with the WWE for a few years now, has been embroiled in a scandal over the last week or so with details being revealed about his personal life. Essentially, a woman on Instagram uploaded screenshots of a crude conversation between herself and Phillips, claiming that she had no idea the reporter was engaged to be married.
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
The heart of the matter
On the WWE Fastlane kick-off show, Caruso was present in the social media lounge, which is a spot usually reserved for Phillips.
Bizarrely enough Booker T actually pointed out the change in leadership so to speak, referring to Phillips as a "dirty bird" which led many fans to debate whether or not WWE would actually be going forward with a severe punishment for Phillips.
What's next?
It seems as if over the next few weeks leading into WrestleMania 33 we'll get a much clearer picture of where Tom Phillips stands in the company. He's always been a solid reporter but if the WWE feels the media storm surrounding the issue is too much, then it's possible he could be cut from the company.
Sportskeeda's take
We obviously don't condone what Phillips has done if the reports are indeed true. However, we aren't 100% sure of the validity of claims that this is being done as a way of punishing Phillips. It seems much more likely that they chose to put Caruso in the social media lounge as Phillips is pretty much a SmackDown Live exclusive commentator now.
Plus, it was a smart way for Caruso to still be involved whilst also not being needed to host Raw Talk which always seems to go much more smoothly with Renee Young at the helm. When you add in the fact that Tom was on SD Live this past week, it seems that all may well be forgiven.
send us news tips at [email protected]