Bizarre Reasons WWE Stars Were Fired

From body slams in the ring to backstage politics to controversies and feuds both in and out of the squared circle, WWE is not your normal working environment or a low-key nine-to-five. Over the years, hundreds of talents have passed through the company's doors and contributed to different eras of wrestling, like the beloved Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Eras, but not all of them have stuck around for long for one reason or another.

Throughout the years, there have been instances of stars being fired for many different reasons. With that many stars working under the same roof, traveling long hours, and being away from their loved ones for the majority of the year, tensions can often run high in the WWE, leading to violent outbursts or even attacks that can get a star canned. Other times, talents are quietly let go due to budget cuts or just not being a right fit for where WWE is at the time. 

Sometimes, the reason is barely believable and even wildly bizarre, like a star forgetting to tuck in his shirt or even smiling at the wrong time. From the Plane Ride from Hell to exploding limousine segments, to tasteless jokes, to those backstage attacks, many wrestlers in WWE have been fired outright for bizarre reasons.

While Matt Hardy wasn't directly fired due to the love triangle between himself, Lita, and Edge, he was fired (then very quickly re-hired) as a result of how he publicly responded to the infidelity. Hardy and Lita began dating in 1999 when the real-life Amy Dumas started managing The Hardy Boyz in storyline, but when Hardy was off the road with a serious knee injury in 2004, Lita began traveling with Edge, a close friend of the couple who was married at the time. The pair ended up having an affair while Hardy was on the shelf. When Hardy found out, he took to the internet to air the couple's dirty laundry.

Hardy was released by then-WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis for unprofessional conduct following his internet rant, despite being the victim in the situation. Edge responded to Hardy's posts, which were made on his personal website, and expressed his ire over Hardy telling the masses about their situation. He said it should have been handled in an adult way, and he never wanted Hardy to be fired and even offered to fly to his home in North Carolina to sort things out privately.

The real-life drama led to fans chanting "We Want Matt!" and "You Screwed Matt" when he was removed from television, leading to WWE rehiring the star to start a program with Edge. The pair had three matches, including a street fight, but Edge and Lita still gained the upper hand in the feud as the dastardly heels. 

Before he was AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson on his last full-time run in the wrestling world, he was known as Daniel Bryan in WWE. However, his initial run on the main roster was cut short due to a bizarre reason. Bryan was originally called up to "WWE Raw" alongside the Nexus stable led by Wade Barrett, in an invasion of the red brand during a match that pit John Cena against CM Punk. Bryan and his fellow members of that season of "WWE NXT" attacked security guards, the commentary team, and anyone in their way, as Vince McMahon himself had instructed the young stars to make the attack look as real and vicious as possible. 

When Bryan attempted to make things look as real as he could, he stepped things up a very violent notch, attacking ring announcer Justin Roberts, choking him with his own neck tie. The former "NXT" competitor wasn't aware that WWE had a strict no-choking policy, and he was fired to appease sponsors and the Nexus moved on without him.

Bryan is another example of WWE stars getting a second shot after being bizarrely fired, however. Bryan worked outside of WWE in independent promotions like Evolve and Dragon Gate USA for around two months before he was re-hired by WWE. He came back in a big way, appearing as a mystery partner alongside Team WWE versus Team Nexus at SummerSlam that year. 

Attacking your boss is certainly a reason to be fired, but it's not something that's often seen in workplaces other than the WWE. Former WWF talent Nailz did just that and suffered the consequences in 1992. He and Vince McMahon had an alleged confrontation backstage in McMahon's office over a pay issue. Nailz believed he deserved more money after a match against Virgil at SummerSlam that year. Nailz allegedly knocked McMahon out of his chair and started choking him. However in 2020, backstage official Bruce Prichard said he believed no punches were thrown due to everyone crowding around McMahon's office after hearing the altercation begin. Nailz himself called the police, but when officers got the full story of what happened backstage, he was charged on the spot.

Even with Nailz out of the company, the legal battles between the pair continued for quite some time. The wrestler accused McMahon of sexually assaulting him, with the then-WWF taking Nailz to court over allegations of extortion. Charges in both instances were dropped.

Nailz attempted another shot at McMahon during the infamous steroid trial in 1993. He was the only person who testified that McMahon made him take steroids during his time with the company. His testimony was questioned and then throw out, however, due to his previous issues with McMahon, though Nailz stated in court he had no animosity toward McMahon.

WWE fans may be more familiar with "The Plane Ride From Hell" these days after various shows like "Dark Side of the Ring" have highlighted the chaos. One of the causalities from the plane ride, in the sense of losing his job, almost caused actual causalities when he got into a fight with "The Beast Incarnate" and slammed into the emergency exit. Curt Hennig, better known as "Mr. Perfect," brawled with Brock Lesnar on the flight, and it led to his firing once the plane touched down.

The story goes that Hennig played a prank on Lesnar, one of his real-life friends, and put shaving cream on his head. The pair also argued over who was the better amateur wrestler between the two, leading to the in-flight scrap. The pair got very close to the plane's emergency exit door, while the flight was 30,000 feet in the air, and almost opened it. Fit Finlay, Triple H, and Paul Heyman had to pull the men apart before things got even more dangerous for everyone.

Hennig was released from his WWE contract following the flight on May 8, 2002. While many wrestlers on the plane were drinking, acting inappropriate and causing chaos, Hennig and Lesnar were the only two to put everyone's lives in danger. As for Lesnar, he said he doesn't remember details of the flight, because he was "drunk and high" and only remembered getting reprimanded once after the fact.

Earl Hebner is one of the most recognizable veteran referees in the wrestling world, but he was released by WWE in a pretty bizarre situation before continuing his career in TNA and AEW. Back in 2005, Hebner was controversially fired for allegedly selling WWE merchandise without permission from the company after working there for over 15 years. The referee was a part-owner of a St. Louis-based shirt shop, where the company alleged he sold the merchandise.

Hebner finally responded to the allegations in 2019 and called it all a "big lie." He said he would never risk his high-paying job just to sell t-shirts. He explained that the store he was part-owner of was buying things from the same people that Vince McMahon was buying from.

The veteran said he was called by WWE three months later about going back to the company, and he refused. He claimed that McMahon told him if he came back, he'd go into the WWE Hall of Fame, to which Hebner said he could "shove it up his f****** a**." At the time, Hebner was fine with just being in the TNA Hall of Fame. He said he didn't want anything to do with McMahon. The legend was hired by AEW in May 2019.

Perhaps one of the more bizarre reasons for a firing, though it ended up being a rumor, in WWE happened to Paul London, after what was supposed to be one of the most serious segments in WWE at that time, set the previous summer. In June 2007, Vince McMahon was walking through the backstage area, to a limousine that was supposed to explode with him inside it to end the show. A seemingly mentally broken McMahon solemnly walked the hallways, with WWE stars strewn about, staring at him in confusion. London no-sold the angle, however, and was seen watching McMahon walk past with a noticeable big, goofy grin on his face.

London has gone on to explain in interviews that the smile wasn't the real reason he was fired the following year, but he did have heat backstage after the fact. He said someone else pointed the grin out to McMahon, who sauntered over to London and asked why he was smiling. London told his boss he had no idea what was going on, and McMahon walked off upset.

The talent was released 17 months later, in November 2008, and moved on to the independent scene. The explosion was supposed to kick off a "Who Killed Vince McMahon?" angle, prior to the Benoit family murder-suicide that dominated headlines, which was promptly dropped.

Before any other major controversy surrounded Alberto Del Rio, there was a backstage incident that led to his firing in 2014 after he slapped a member of WWE's social media team over an alleged racist comment. Shortly after, it was revealed that Del Rio was let go from the company due to "unprofessional conduct." Dave Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter at the time that the third-generation Mexican star slapped the employee after he joked that cleaning plates backstage in catering was "Del Rio's job." Meltzer wrote that the employee smiled at Del Rio and didn't apologize, so the wrestler slapped him. WWE confirmed the altercation in a statement, but kept quiet on specifics.

Del Rio, who had been champion multiple times prior to his firing in 2014, was brought back to the company for a short stint in 2015. He was released a second time after first violating the WWE wellness policy, then using an opt-out clause in his contract in August 2016 to ask for his release, which he was granted that September.

David "Fit" Finlay is another wrestling legend who was let go from the company after a bizarre booking decision, one of his own doing. Finlay was working as a producer and road agent for WWE at the time after retiring from in-ring action. He was let go after an angle during a house show in 2011 where he sent The Miz out to the ring to interrupt a recording of the national anthem, all in the name of cheap heat. Representatives for the United States National Guard, a major sponsor of WWE programming at the time, were furious at the angle and interruption. Finlay, being the producer in charge of the show, was fired to appease them.

Finley responded to his firing in the Fighting Spirit Magazine and confirmed he made the call that "caused a storm" and he paid for it. He explained he was trying to get as much heat as possible on The Miz before WrestleMania and he made a spur-of-the-moment call and hit Miz's music halfway through "The Star Spangled Banner." Finlay explained he didn't mean to offend anyone, especially anyone with the National Guard.

Like many within the wrestling world, it didn't take long for him to get his job with the company back. He returned to WWE as a backstage producer in 2012, was furloughed during the pandemic budget cuts, but re-hired as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. He's also been known to work closely with the women's division within WWE.

One of the craziest instances of a WWE star being fired, even though they were super over with the crowd, was when Gangrel was reportedly fired for not having his shirt tucked in to his wrestling tights during a match, exposing his stomach. Following the vampire-esque character's super popular storyline with the Brood, he went off on his own in a singles career, and struggled with weight issues. The issues with his weight came at a time where WWE, and Vince McMahon, specifically, were not body-positive. During a match in 2001, Gangrel forgot to tuck in his puffy pirate-like shirt, revealing his stomach, which enraged McMahon.

Gangrel was basically used a mid-carder following the Brood storyline, when Edge and Christian broke off from the cult of vampires to do their own successful thing. WWE brought in his real-life wife Luna Vachon as Gangrel's manager, until she was fired before her husband. Gangrel was taken off the main roster in November 2000, and was released in June 2001. Despite his firing, he would make a few appearance in WWE throughout the years, including a reunion with Viscera in 2004 and as a hired goon of John Bradshaw Layfield's to take on The Undertaker. His last in-ring appearance with the company came in 2007 during a battle royal.

Good ol' Jim Ross was fired and rehired by WWE multiple times throughout his career, but none for a more bizarre reason than what happened at a "WWE 2K14" event in the summer of 2013. The event for the upcoming video game was held during SummerSlam weekend and Ross was the host of a panel of wrestlers of both present-day stars and legends, including Ric Flair.

Flair was noticeably intoxicated at the event and continued to talk and dominate the panel, and it was rumored Ross was intoxicated himself, joking about the drink next to him on stage, though he would later state it was a flare-up of Bell's Palsy. Flair continued on a tirade, interrupting the other stars and telling stories that weren't relevant to the conversation. He even suggested that John Cena, the company's top star, was also a big drinker, which wasn't the best look at the time for the company. He continued to bring up darker events, like his son's death, at what was supposed to be a light-hearted event promoting the game. It seemed like Ross had just completely given up on the panel, at one point comparing it to reality television.

Not long after the disastrous event, WWE chose not to renew Ross' contract. Dave Meltzer claimed at the time in an issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Ross was let go after a meeting with Vince McMahon, but was let to announce he had retired to let him leave the company with dignity.

The firing of Abraham Washington from WWE was justified, but it's the reason why he had to be let go that's bizarre. Washington thought it would be a good idea to make a televised joke about Kobe Bryant's rape case back in 2012 while he was managing the Prime Time Players. The manager was mic'ed up at ringside, watching the match when he made the quip. Commentator Michael Cole apologized for the comment after the broadcast came back from commercial, but numerous media outlets picked up on the tasteless joke.

Washington wasn't done, however, and took to Twitter (now known as X) to blast WWE for what he perceived as "double standards" and said he felt like he was a causality of Linda McMahon's campaign for a Senate seat. He even gave examples of others within the company who didn't get in trouble for things they said, like Big Show making a similar remark, McMahon making fun of Jim Ross' Bell's Palsy, McMahon using a racial slur on TV, and more unsavory events both on-air and online.

Washington's contract was terminated for what a WWE official said was due to his continued use of offensive and inappropriate comments on both TV and social media. In December 2019, Washington told WINC he apologized to WWE and put things behind him, but at the time, he was shocked and hurt he was released.