3 WWE Superstars that saved a wrestler from getting fired and 2 that convinced Vince McMahon to fire them

It would be a miracle if someone saves their colleague from getting fired by their boss, right? It would be, especially if the boss is someone like Vince McMahon, who is infamous for firing Superstars for almost any reason.

Some of the biggest wrestlers in WWE today were once in a situation which could have led to their release from the company. Fortunately, they were saved by someone, who trusted in their abilities. But on the other side, a few wrestlers weren’t that lucky as nobody was there to protect them and it (almost) always resulted in them losing their job.

Also read: 3 WWE Superstars who are recovering from injuries and 2 that are currently wrestling despite being injured

Here are 3 WWE Superstars who saved their colleagues from losing their jobs and 2 that convinced Vince McMahon to terminate a Superstar’s contract.

#5 Stephanie McMahon (Saved John Cena from getting fired)

Stephanie McMahon has always had great influence in WWE. After all, she is the daughter of Vince McMahon, the majority owner of WWE.

On the other hand, we have John Cena. The 16-time World Champion who is responsible for keeping WWE alive after it went PG. Nowadays, Cena is focusing more on his acting career and because of it, he can’t spend much time in the wrestling ring. Undoubtedly, John Cena is one of the biggest WWE Superstars of all time, but it wouldn’t have been possible if Vince McMahon had fired him during his early WWE days.

When Cena was still a new project, the management thought he isn’t benefiting the product a lot, and they considered firing him. But due to Stephanie McMahon, they had to change their mind. And it proved to be the right decision for them as Cena went on to become the face of WWE.

#4 Triple H (Convinced Vince McMahon to release Goldust)

Just like Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, too, has had great influence in WWE. He started his WWE career in 1995 and since then, has only benefited the company.

In 2019, Tony Khan started a new company, All Elite Wrestling (AEW), to change the current landscape of the wrestling industry. And, he chose The Elite (Matt and Nick Jackson and Kenny Omega) and Cody Rhodes as AEW’s Executive Vice President. Cody, who once worked for WWE, wanted to have a match against his brother Dustin Rhodes (also known as Goldust in WWE).

But because Goldust was under contract with WWE, he had no choice but to ask for his release from Vince McMahon. Initially, Vince didn’t grant his release but due to Triple H, the former gave in and agreed to let his long-tenured wrestler work for a rival promotion.

#3 Dusty Rhodes (Saved Becky Lynch from getting fired)

Dusty Rhodes is a WWE legend and also a Hall of Famer. He worked for many promotions throughout his career but finally settled down in WWE and worked from 2005-15 and then passed away. He also served as the head writer and creative director for NXT and also as a trainer.

During his time in NXT, Dusty Rhodes never missed a chance to encourage younger talents and one of those wrestlers was Becky Lynch, who had just made her return to the wrestling ring after a long hiatus.

Her early NXT days weren’t so bright as she struggled a lot doing things right. And this almost got her fired from the developmental brand but Dusty, who trusted in her, didn’t let it happen.

"I'd probably just cry and say, 'Thank you Dusty', cause I don't know if I'd still have a job if it wasn't for Dusty.” - Becky Lynch, while speaking to Kristine Leahy.

#2 Randy Orton (Convinced Vince McMahon to release Ken Anderson (FKA Mr. Kennedy)

Randy Orton and Ken Anderson are (seemingly) not on good terms

Ken Anderson injured himself in 2008 and spent the next 10 months to recover from the injury. After returning to the ring again, he had a match with Randy Orton on May 25th, 2009 and 4 days later, Vince McMahon fired him.

When asked about his firing, Ken revealed that he botched a belly to back suplex and it led to him getting fired by WWE. And here’s the story from Randy’s perspective:

"He never said sorry, and even called me a liar after the match. I remember looking at him in disbelief. And yes, I did tell management I did not want to work with him after that. Who wouldn’t? That’s my side.”

In 2016, the former WWE Superstar gave an interview to WrestlingInc and revealed that both Orton and Cena were responsible for his WWE exit.

“So anyway, here’s the thing, he went to Vince and said something, that I was dangerous to work with. And I think Cena had a hand in that too. Like, Cena helped out and he said, ‘hey, we need to go to Vince.’ I didn’t get along with him too well” (Ken Anderson, while speaking to Raj Giri of WrestlingInc)

#1 Triple H (Saved Seth Rollins from getting fired)

“I literally almost lost my job. I had been there for almost two years. I was very frustrated. I couldn’t get along with anyone. I thought I deserved more than I did.”

Those were the comments Seth Rollins made in an interview given to WWE.com. Rollins then talked with Triple H and Joey Mercury and they trusted in him, and his in-ring abilities.

“We sat down and talked for a good couple of hours. That was an eye-opener for me, I think, in a lot of ways, because it really felt like that was going to be it. And if I don’t do this now [and] make this work now, I may not get another chance.”

And now, here we are, many years later and Seth Rollins is one of the biggest Superstars in WWE. If it hadn’t been for Triple H, we would have never seen the rise of Seth Rollins in WWE. But fortunately, The Game saved the day.