You Make the Top Five (or Ten): Stupidest Firings

[SixMovesOfDoom]

Hey all,

With the news of AW being fired over the controversial joke he made on Raw not too long ago, I have been thinking about the history of stupid or seemingly pointless releases, future endeavorings, and firings in professional wrestling. Not just WWE, but also TNA.

While I do not have a list myself, ones that come to mind for me in addition to AW are Daniel Bryan over the choking incident at the debut of Nexus and Awesome Kong (Kharma) getting fired by TNA over her fight with Bubba the Love Sponge.

Rather than make a top five or top ten, I would love to see what other people, people who have been following pro-wrestling in more detail than myself, have as their top five (or ten) stupidest or most pointless firings in professional wrestling.

 

[SickJames]

The Top Ten Firings that were stupid, I'm listing groups at a single number as they make each other and were a unit:





Mickie James (firing your biggest Diva since Trish, nough said)

Melina (firing your 2nd biggest Diva since Trish, nough said, how's the Division suppose to prosper by losing those two big names, they were talented and beautiful, total packages, then add losing Maryse who went out on her own, it sucked bad at that time)

A.W. (this is one of the top stupid firings of all time, especially for a guy who was so talented he could take his pick at being a top wrestler, manager or color commentator. This guy can talk and reminds me of Chris Tucker in his ECW days. He has a good look and it sucks for PTP because not often does a manager make the team, but he MADE them what they were. He made that team appealing. Not hearing his voice when they come out, hyping them and making their match unique with his live mic will take away heavily from them. Even a replacement wont do. All World Promotions was bigger than PTP. Remember that WWE)

Ariel (fired ove Batista, that was stupid. She was one of a kind in her character of the very hot ECW vampire and the entrance, the look, she had everything for it and played it well. She was let go when she was very good and another example of behind the scenes shit getting in the way of good business. Also they shouldve just brung back Gangrel to put over her and Kevin, they had something going there. I would like to have seen Kevin Thorn vs Damien Sandow and what Sandow's response would be to his whole being a vampire)

Deuce & Domino and Cherry (a great tag team, and still the best of the new breed of teams in the 21st century right there with Miz & Morrison were these guys who had a cool vintage look to them with Cherry, who was the cherry on top. These guys worked well in this gimmick and WWE was fucked up to fire these two and try Snuka on his own. They were gold with this look and team and couldve gone far making the tag team division better with a long feud with Cryme Tyme on through new teams of today)

Chyna (personal issues shouldnt have mattered more than business and Chyna with her build and ability was always good for business)

Paul Heyman (I believe this was some time after the whole December to Dismember catastrophe, but either way I dont think why this needs to be explained as stupid. This man is a creative genuis like both Vince and Bischoff. He can always be utilized)

Daniel Bryan (ppl need to let the Benoit shit go and choking someone with a tie and spitting on Cena to put over a segment is not good enough reasoning for firing. Especially when just like AW he was only emulating WWE. Rock spit in Austin's face with water, he's not the only person to do that back in the Attitude Era either. I'm sure it's happened before then too. And the tie thing, come on. That was one of the best parts. If a fan chokes themself accidentally with their own tie which can happen pretty easily, are they banned from WWE events? come on)

Mr. Kennedy (he messed up, pissed off Orton, so what. He was still a star that wouldve been bigger by now and made WWE more money, he shouldve been allowed to stay)

Shad Gaspard (this isnt a stupid one if it was just him, he sucks, but its stupid for a different reason. Only because it wasnt a complete job. You fire him you may as well fire JTG because he's nothing without him and that goes both ways. These men can only be Cryme Tyme, nothing else)

 

[FlairFan2003]

The Top Ten Firings that were stupid, I'm listing groups at a single number as they make each other and were a unit:





Mickie James (firing your biggest Diva since Trish, nough said)

Melina (firing your 2nd biggest Diva since Trish, nough said, how's the Division suppose to prosper by losing those two big names, they were talented and beautiful, total packages, then add losing Maryse who went out on her own, it sucked bad at that time)

A.W. (this is one of the top stupid firings of all time, especially for a guy who was so talented he could take his pick at being a top wrestler, manager or color commentator. This guy can talk and reminds me of Chris Tucker in his ECW days. He has a good look and it sucks for PTP because not often does a manager make the team, but he MADE them what they were. He made that team appealing. Not hearing his voice when they come out, hyping them and making their match unique with his live mic will take away heavily from them. Even a replacement wont do. All World Promotions was bigger than PTP. Remember that WWE)

Ariel (fired ove Batista, that was stupid. She was one of a kind in her character of the very hot ECW vampire and the entrance, the look, she had everything for it and played it well. She was let go when she was very good and another example of behind the scenes shit getting in the way of good business. Also they shouldve just brung back Gangrel to put over her and Kevin, they had something going there. I would like to have seen Kevin Thorn vs Damien Sandow and what Sandow's response would be to his whole being a vampire)

Deuce & Domino and Cherry (a great tag team, and still the best of the new breed of teams in the 21st century right there with Miz & Morrison were these guys who had a cool vintage look to them with Cherry, who was the cherry on top. These guys worked well in this gimmick and WWE was fucked up to fire these two and try Snuka on his own. They were gold with this look and team and couldve gone far making the tag team division better with a long feud with Cryme Tyme on through new teams of today)

Chyna (personal issues shouldnt have mattered more than business and Chyna with her build and ability was always good for business)

Paul Heyman (I believe this was some time after the whole December to Dismember catastrophe, but either way I dont think why this needs to be explained as stupid. This man is a creative genuis like both Vince and Bischoff. He can always be utilized)

Daniel Bryan (ppl need to let the Benoit shit go and choking someone with a tie and spitting on Cena to put over a segment is not good enough reasoning for firing. Especially when just like AW he was only emulating WWE. Rock spit in Austin's face with water, he's not the only person to do that back in the Attitude Era either. I'm sure it's happened before then too. And the tie thing, come on. That was one of the best parts. If a fan chokes themself accidentally with their own tie which can happen pretty easily, are they banned from WWE events? come on)

Mr. Kennedy (he messed up, pissed off Orton, so what. He was still a star that wouldve been bigger by now and made WWE more money, he shouldve been allowed to stay)

Shad Gaspard (this isnt a stupid one if it was just him, he sucks, but its stupid for a different reason. Only because it wasnt a complete job. You fire him you may as well fire JTG because he's nothing without him and that goes both ways. These men can only be Cryme Tyme, nothing else)

OK, first Divas dont drive ratings or sell tickets, no one watches Raw to see the Divas and certainly no one buys PPVs to see them. Ppl bought WrestleMania because of Taker, Trips, Cena, Rock, there just happened to be Divas present. Firing them on face value means nothing since they contribute nothing money wise except selling posters. Cena sells posters too but fans actuaky pay to see him wrestle.

Talent is no reason to ignore counterproductive behavior such as drug abuse. Chyna had to go. Heyman maybe a genius to some but he historically doesnt get along with ppl unless he is charge. He will never be able to work long term for Vince and I dont blame Vince.

Stupid Firings: Jim Herd fires Ric Flair after Flair balks at cutting his hair, adopting a Roman Gladiator gimmick, changing his name to Spartacus, and having his pay cut in half. WCW struggled with their lowest ratings ever, had fans screaming "We want Flair" at their PPVs, happy to top 6,000 fans for a major show like SuperBrawl while Flair headlined in front of 20,000 in Madison Square Garden and defended the WWE World Title in front of approx 70,000 at WrestleMania. His legendary personna, largely un changed, enabled him to headline for two more decades before retiring as arguably the greatest wrestler of all time with the greatest send off ever.

Eric Bischoff fires Steve Austin citing his bland, colorless personna among his issues. Stone Cold Steve Austin became one of the biggest names in the industry in the late 90s, a phenom in pop culture, and one of the most charismatic personnas of all time, the biggest main event attraction since Hulk Hogan.

How can anyone top those two ?

 

[Wolf Pac]

Five or ten is too many for me to think back, so I'll just go with three off the top of my head.

Syxx - Was fired by Bischoff just to let Hall & Nash know who's boss.

Brian Pillman - Well the firing wasn't stupid, Bischoff was just stupid for falling for Pillman's word. Pillman told Bischoff to legit fire him to make a storyline look real to the fans then few months later he can bring him back to the company, little did Bischoff know that Pillman used this to his advantage to go and sign up with the WWF.

Hogan - Even though Hogan didn't wanna job to Jarrett at Bash At The Beach 2000, I would've just went ahead with giving the belt to Hogan anyway cause Jarrett was a weak champion or Russo could've just worked something out with Hogan instead of going & screwing up the PPV the way he did. Actually I read somewhere that Bischoff in his book said it was a work and 2 months later, Hogan would return, claiming to be the real WCW Champion then he would face Booker or Jarrett, whoever was the champ at the time, at Halloween Havoc for the belt.

 

[Mr Monday Night Raw]

Jeff Hardy- I know, I know, he was annoying vince with him failing wellness policys and he was given a lot of chances, but I would of loved the Punk and Hardy feud to of continued. And other feuds like The Undertaker, Orton, Cena and Sheamus.
Mr Kennedy- He pissed off Orton and got fired, that was really sad thing to by the WWE he had so much potential and was wasted.

Other Firings I was annoyed by: Goldust, MVP, AW and Chris Masters....

 

[HBsam31]

Muhammad Hussan is one that sticks out in my mind. he got fired for doing what he was supposed to go out and do. I understand why he was pulled from tv, but I am sure they could have repackaged him without much backlash.

Mr Kennedy - seemed like he rubbed Orton the wrong way and was let go. The injuries I am sure had something to do with it, but it just seemed like a lot of wasted potential.

AW - the guy shouldn't have made that joke on a live mic, but he was an interesting character, and the shouting during matches is something we haven't really seen since Jimmy Hart. I think he could have been given a second chance.

A poster above mentioned Ric Flair being fired by Jim Herd, and I agree that was a very stupid one.

The stupidest of all is Steve Austin being fired by Eric Bischoff. Look what happened there.

 

[SickJames]

OK, first Divas dont drive ratings or sell tickets, no one watches Raw to see the Divas and certainly no one buys PPVs to see them. Ppl bought WrestleMania because of Taker, Trips, Cena, Rock, there just happened to be Divas present. Firing them on face value means nothing since they contribute nothing money wise except selling posters. Cena sells posters too but fans actuaky pay to see him wrestle.

Talent is no reason to ignore counterproductive behavior such as drug abuse. Chyna had to go. Heyman maybe a genius to some but he historically doesnt get along with ppl unless he is charge. He will never be able to work long term for Vince and I dont blame Vince.

Stupid Firings: Jim Herd fires Ric Flair after Flair balks at cutting his hair, adopting a Roman Gladiator gimmick, changing his name to Spartacus, and having his pay cut in half. WCW struggled with their lowest ratings ever, had fans screaming "We want Flair" at their PPVs, happy to top 6,000 fans for a major show like SuperBrawl while Flair headlined in front of 20,000 in Madison Square Garden and defended the WWE World Title in front of approx 70,000 at WrestleMania. His legendary personna, largely un changed, enabled him to headline for two more decades before retiring as arguably the greatest wrestler of all time with the greatest send off ever.

Eric Bischoff fires Steve Austin citing his bland, colorless personna among his issues. Stone Cold Steve Austin became one of the biggest names in the industry in the late 90s, a phenom in pop culture, and one of the most charismatic personnas of all time, the biggest main event attraction since Hulk Hogan.

How can anyone top those two ?

I know this is gonna start an argument, but anyone being real with themselves will admit that Austin's firing doesnt belong on the list at all.

See, that wasnt a stupid firing, it was the most regretful. Basically Bischoff's opinion couldve held some weight at the time as he wasnt a big star yet. The Flair thing holds more weight as Flair had a name at the time.

Austin later made himself a star and THEN it was at that moment it became a regret on Bischoff's conscience. Only stupid in Hindsight. You cant have a stupid firing at the present moment in history when you cant forsee the future. If Eric was a psychic you'd have an argument. Before any argues, you know I'm right, come on.


As far as Divas go, you're not alone in your opinion, but definately not in great company either. I watch for Divas. And just because it's male dominated means nothing. A lot of storylines, matches etc got over because of women. It's a male dominated sport so all men have to have that mentality, or most. That's the only thing stupid. WWE isnt giving them a chance to draw. Really Lita and Trish couldve sold WrestleMania with a compelling storyline if every major guy was too injured to wrestle WrestleMania X7 and you only had high midcarders

Mickie James vs Trish is the greatest Divas match at Mania and had a better story and build that most matches on that card if not all really. Hell, that's the greatest Diva storyline of all time and the greatest Rivalry, Trish and Lita, those matches could draw.



You have to find the people who match up and do well together. Some people wont draw together others will. People want to see Barrett/Sheamus, no one really wants to see another Del Rio/Sheamus match or has been interested since before their latest feud atleast. That match would bomb at Mania. Barrett/Sheamus would have a great Mania. But all three guys are talented. Divas are the same. The only thing is you see it differently cause there's less of them, but for as many more guys there are that arent getting over means there are more useless guys than gals if you wanna bash Divas.

But that's not true either and forum posters are stupid for not letting ALL talents grow and automatically burying them. You dont know what some one can do until they do it.

It's the same with people bashing the tag division, fans will always be stupid especially internet fans because they only bash things, never have any hope for anything or support for anything

 

[HBsam31]

I know this is gonna start an argument, but anyone being real with themselves will admit that Austin's firing doesnt belong on the list at all.

See, that wasnt a stupid firing, it was the most regretful. Basically Bischoff's opinion couldve held some weight at the time as he wasnt a big star yet. The Flair thing holds more weight as Flair had a name at the time.

Austin later made himself a star and THEN it was at that moment it became a regret on Bischoff's conscience. Only stupid in Hindsight. You cant have a stupid firing at the present moment in history when you cant forsee the future. If Eric was a psychic you'd have an argument. Before any argues, you know I'm right, come on.


As far as Divas go, you're not alone in your opinion, but definately not in great company either. I watch for Divas. And just because it's male dominated means nothing. A lot of storylines, matches etc got over because of women. It's a male dominated sport so all men have to have that mentality, or most. That's the only thing stupid. WWE isnt giving them a chance to draw. Really Lita and Trish couldve sold WrestleMania with a compelling storyline if every major guy was too injured to wrestle WrestleMania X7 and you only had high midcarders

Mickie James vs Trish is the greatest Divas match at Mania and had a better story and build that most matches on that card if not all really. Hell, that's the greatest Diva storyline of all time and the greatest Rivalry, Trish and Lita, those matches could draw.



You have to find the people who match up and do well together. Some people wont draw together others will. People want to see Barrett/Sheamus, no one really wants to see another Del Rio/Sheamus match or has been interested since before their latest feud atleast. That match would bomb at Mania. Barrett/Sheamus would have a great Mania. But all three guys are talented. Divas are the same. The only thing is you see it differently cause there's less of them, but for as many more guys there are that arent getting over means there are more useless guys than gals if you wanna bash Divas.

But that's not true either and forum posters are stupid for not letting ALL talents grow and automatically burying them. You dont know what some one can do until they do it.

It's the same with people bashing the tag division, fans will always be stupid especially internet fans because they only bash things, never have any hope for anything or support for anything

I see your point on the Austin firing. Austin was not a priority in WCW. If they gave him the ball and said run would things have turned out different for him there? Maybe? That said though I agree that it wouldn't have really been stupid at the time and was just a regretful firing.