Dean Malenko Already Booked To Appear At Starrcast II

Somewhere in that array of a thousand holds is the ability to find gigs pretty quickly.

Less than 24 hours after news broke that

after nearly 18 years as a backstage official and trainer, the official Starrcast Twitter feed

that "The Man of 1000 Holds" would be attending Starrcast in Las Vegas.

The addition of Malenko to the event comes on the heels of both The Undertaker and Kurt Angle being pulled from Starrcast earlier this week, by WWE's orders.

Malenko will be appearing on Friday afternoon, May 24, at Caesar's Palace.

As noted, it was announced yesterday that Malenko left WWE, ending an association that began back in January 2000, when the veteran junior heavyweight jumped to WWE after acrimoniously exiting WCW alongside friends Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Perry Saturn. After retiring from the ring in August 2001, Malenko worked backstage, primarily as a producer.

Malenko's exit makes him the second longtime producer to leave the company in recent months. Arn Anderson was let go in late February, reportedly for allowing Alicia Fox to perform at a live event while intoxicated earlier that month.

These exits coincide with many recent backstage hires for WWE, including Shane Helms, Christopher "Abyss" Parks, Sonjay Dutt, and Jeff Jarrett, as well as the rehiring of Bruce Prichard.