By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

Recently released WWE wrestler Charlie Haas is continuing to talk about his personal frustrations with WWE and his perception of the work environment, saying he stayed with WWE during his second run, which ended two weeks ago, mainly to collect a check after feeling like WWE would never utilize him.

Haas said on the Monday Night Mayhem radio show earlier this week that it came to the point where he was allowing his professional frustrations to spill over to his personal life and he was glad to leave WWE.

"It was just an ongoing nightmare for me. They promise they're gonna do this with you, and they don't do it. They tell me they are gonna bring me in to feud with Shelton (Benjamin), and they don't do it. As our lives went on we had our first child & then our second child, you wanna quit, but you have to support your family. Then you'll like 'Alright if I gonna eat crap to help support my family and give my wife & kids a better life, better than I ever had, then that's what I'll do.' But eventually, you could only handle so much before you gotta walk away because you bring that misery home, and it's unhealthy," Haas said. "It's a unhealthy work environment, but then when you bring it home, you make it a unhealthy home environment for your family, and you can't do that. It just really feels good to be away from that. No one understands unless you've been there."

Haas also said he hopes his former "World's Greatest Tag Team" partner Shelton Benjamin will leave WWE when his contract comes due, but he expects Shelton to continue working for WWE, where the money is good compared to the alternatives.

"Someone at the time doesn't want him to succeed. They have who they want to push, and he's just not one of them. And it's unfortunate, because he is probably the most God-gifted athlete in sports, but they don't want to utilize that, so it's their loss," Haas said. "That's why I'm begging him not to sign back. He'll probably stay for the money, but he could utilized a lot better elsewhere I'll tell you that."

Haas's comment on Shelton from a fellow amateur wrestler's set of eyes follows what Cody Rhodes said in a live chat earlier this week that he thought Shelton was the worst wrestler in WWE - "Shelton is one of the better amateur wrestlers -- he was an All-American," Cody said. "But in the WWE, I'd say Shelton is the worst."

-- On other subjects, Haas said he just wants to work in a promotion where he can wrestle, which he believes is his strength in the wrestling business. Haas said he wants to work for Ring of Honor and eventually work for TNA.

"I know (ROH producer) Jim Cornette personally, and I just love what they're doing down there," Haas said. "Those kids could go, and they wrestle. These men wrestle, and that's what it's about. I have so much left in my tank. My body's healthy. I'm determined. I'm not gonna sit back and be upset and retire, I wanna go out and prove myself. I wanna prove myself to all the skeptics and all the creative that they didn't know what they had."

Haas continued: "I will end up at one or the other (TNA or ROH), I promise you that. I just wanna go out and wrestle. I wanna be given the opportunity I never had, and that's it. I wanna have fun: that passion is back, and I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest."

-- Haas also commented on Eddie "Umaga" Fatu's death in December. Haas and Fatu were business partners in Texas and Haas called Fatu one of his best friends in the wrestling business.

"He was my best friend and was my best friend since we started in the developmental territories together. He was with me when we found my brother dead. He was my best friend and my business partner, and his family is my family," Haas said. "It's just heartbreaking just to watch him and watch what happened, and to have to bury another one of your friends just really sucks."

Link: Listen to the complete interview on the Monday Night Mayhem radio show.

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