2) Jim Ross
Fired For: Hosting A WWE Panel That Went Off The Rails
Jim Ross hosted a panel of WWE stars for the WWE 2k14 roster announcement. One of these stars was Ric Flair, who was drunk and telling some stories. This included talking about John Cena being a hardcore drinker. The whole panel went off the rails and it wasn’t a good look for the company.
Ross announced his retirement from the company a few weeks later. In an interview with AXS TV, Ross admitted that he was fired. He also spoke more about the incident:
“Should I have been fired? I don’t think I should’ve been fired. I could’ve very easily have been… let my contract expire and there we go… But Vince [McMahon] had made it very clear to his staff he was going to take care of this matter”
Ross thinks that Vince was forced to fire him because he had made it clear to his staff that someone would be made responsible for the incident:
“He did what he had to do. I think he booked himself a little bit into a corner because we had a wonderful meeting that day. I walked into his office and I say: ‘I know you’re going to fire me. So let’s just get it over with so I can make my flight home”
Jim Ross did eventually return to WWE but not for several years after.
1) Nailz
Fired For: Allegedly Assaulting Vince McMahon
You might remember the name ‘Nailz’ from his time in WWE in the late 1980’s, early 1990’s. It turns out that he was fired by WWE for an alleged backstage incident with Vince McMahon.
Bret Hart during a shoot interview says that he didn’t see the incident but was right outside the door when it all happened. Bret says that Nailz’ voice was shrieking and berating Vince in his office. The rumor goes that Nailz attacked Vince, leading to several backstage agents eventually breaking it up.
After Nailz left the office, he called the police, claiming that Vince McMahon had sexually assaulted him. Nailz was immediately fired by the company. This led to some court battles between Nailz and WWE, which were eventually dropped.
Nailz later was a star witness at Vince’s steroid trial. He admitted on the stand that he ‘hated’ Vince, which ended up backfiring because it took away his credibility. Vince was later acquitted of the steroids charges.
Nailz worked for WCW for a brief time as ‘The Prisoner’.
READ NEXT: Here are 10 Backstage Fight Stories
Are there any good stories that we are missing? Let us know in the comment section and thanks for checking out our list of WWE firings.
- Emma Source: TMZ, WWE.com
- Source: Interview With Rolling Stone
- Del Rio Source: Interview With Wrestle Talk TV
- Daniel Source: From his old blog.
- Mr Perfect Source: MikeMooneyham.com
- Finlay Source: Interview With The Fighting Spirit Magazine
- Jim Ross Source: Interview With AXS TV
- Nailz Source: Bret Hart Shoot Interview