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Back in April this year, WWE released a number of Superstars due to budget cuts, with the company keen to try and keep its profit margins strong despite the ongoing global health pandemic. The lack of crowds on both RAW and SmackDown since March has meant that the company has had to think outside the box when it comes to presenting its television shows. However, ratings have still continued to slide for the promotion.
Whilst it's understandable that the company might make cuts in the midst of a global pandemic, there have previously been some releases from the company that have caught fans by surprise, to say the least. In recent times, WWE has fired some of their biggest stars for some of the strangest reasons and that has naturally caused some controversy.
Here are five of the most controversial WWE firings that have taken place in recent years.
#5. Arn Anderson
Arn Anderson worked as a road agent in WWE from 2001 until his 2019 firing. The WWE Hall of Fame member currently works for All Elite Wrestling, but prior to his move over to Tony Khan's promotion, there was plenty of controversy surrounding his departure from WWE.
Anderson was well respected backstage within the company, so his release came as a huge shock to many. This shock increased after Wrestling Inc released a report in May last year revealing that Anderson was fired because of an incident with former Divas Champion Alicia Fox.
"Wrestling Inc. has confirmed with multiple sources that Anderson was fired because Fox showed up at a live event while she was allegedly intoxicated. Anderson was the agent for her match and allowed her to perform. Word got back to Vince McMahon, who was reportedly furious when he found out. There were apparently some other issues with Anderson in the past, however that was the final straw."
After an 18-year run with WWE, this was a controversial way for "The Enforcer" to leave the company.
#4. Brad Maddox
Brad Maddox was introduced to WWE as a referee in the match between Ryback and CM Punk back at Hell in a Cell in 2012. Maddox was the reason that Ryback failed to win the WWE Championship and this later led to Maddox becoming an authority figure on RAW alongside General Manager at the time, Vickie Guerrero.
Maddox later looked to become an in-ring star and changed his name to Joshua Kingsley, but this was short-lived since the former referee cut a shocking promo that forced Vince McMahon to fire him.
Maddox spoke to Rolling Stone Magazine back in December 2015 following his release from the company, where he confirmed the line that forced The WWE Chairman to give him his marching orders.
"I had a dark match in Indianapolis and I called the Indianapolis crowd “p*****.” I didn’t think anything of it. That’s never been a bad word to me. I didn’t think it was inappropriate. Vince [McMahon] was watching and did not like it. That was pretty much the reason."
Some had a certain amount of sympathy with Maddox, as other WWE Superstars have made similar mistakes, but have not lost their jobs as a result. However, in the WWE PG era, there is little margin for these sorts of errors - and so Maddox was gone from the company. The 36-year-old has since retired from wrestling.
#3. Enzo Amore
Enzo Amore was once one of the most exciting new Superstars in WWE. His entrance made him stand out, whilst his promo ability was second to none. That being said, Amore's out of the ring activities became a problem later in his career. Some of his behavior reportedly caused him to be kicked out of the WWE locker room and led to him allegedly having issues with Roman Reigns. Allegations concerning Amore's personal life would also lead to him losing his job.
Amore was suspended from WWE back in January 2018, before he was swiftly released from the company. The allegations that led to Enzo's release were later found to be untrue. However, there was a lot of controversy surrounding Amore's WWE release for some time. Finally, in 2019, the man himself was able to sit down with Chris Van Vliet and explain his side of the story.
"I’m so blessed to have gotten out of that situation the way I did and for people to read into it and understand and know I’m a good guy and these false accusations that were made about me were just that. It was a blessing to know that the world had my back and when I found that out, probably it was the best day of my life. It was a day that I made a decision not to necessarily jump back into pro wrestling because I thought that the love that was shown to me, I had to come home.”
Since leaving WWE, Enzo has released a rap album under his stage name "Real1" and has also made a few independent wrestling appearances. He is perhaps best known over the last few years, though, for his attempt to disrupt Survivor Series 2018 - having snuck into the building in disguise.
#2. Robbie McAllister
Many members of the WWE Universe may have forgotten Robbie McAllister and his brother Rory, who were known as The Highlanders during their short stint in WWE.
McAllister competed on Monday Night RAW throughout the course of his WWE career, before there was some controversy when he attended a live episode of TNA Impact. Back in 2008 TNA was seen as a competitor for WWE, so when McAllister was spotted in the audience on live television, the company called him and told him to leave immediately.
Robbie did as he was told, but he was punished for his actions and the company went on to take away his $5,000 WrestleMania bonus. Less than four months after the incident, both Rory and Robbie were fired by WWE.
Robbie later went on to tell his side of the story to James Guttman at World Wrestling Insanity.
"Well, I don't really know exactly why I did it. I happened to go see my buddy Johnny Devine. He's a good friend of mine up here in Canada. It was my stupidity to actually go in there and watch it. In hindsight, I look at it as a set-up, but I'm the only one who knows (why I went). Do you know what I mean? Everybody else can speculate. Even Rory can speculate. It was my own stupidity. I don't even understand why I did it. But it could have been a subconscious thing that I did it because (WWE) weren't using us. Stuff like that. But it was just a dumb thing on my part. I wish I could take it back, but you never can. So now I just have to look and go, 'Oh well."
Given what happened to Robbie McAllister back in 2008, you probably shouldn't expect to see any WWE employees in the crowd at another company's televised event without them first getting permission to be there.
#1. CM Punk
Perhaps the most controversial firing in WWE history concerns the circumstances surrounding the departure of former World Champion CM Punk. The self-proclaimed "Best in the World" walked away from WWE following the 2014 Royal Rumble match, but wasn't actually fired from the company for breach of contract until June of that year - and Punk was not happy with WWE's timing.
Punk kept his side of the story to himself for almost a year before his controversial podcast appearance with Colt Cabana. This was where CM Punk revealed that WWE not only fired him, but decided to send his release papers over to him on the day of his wedding to former WWE Diva AJ Lee.
"The day of my wedding I got a FedEx in the mail. It was my termination papers. I was fired," explained Punk. "I was fired, on my wedding day. Very calculated, very deliberate. As much as I chuckled at it and didn't let it affect my day, I was like once again, you pushed too f****** far. You pushed the wrong guy...The letter was ridiculous. It was like 'your contract is terminated, you forfeit all of your royalty rights, you're in breach of contract as of January 27'".
Punk has since returned to professional wrestling as an analyst for WWE Backstage on Fox. The 41-year-old, though, has repeatedly insisted that he is a Fox employee - and is in no way answerable to WWE. Despite much speculation, Punk has also not stepped into the ring since his 2014 firing either.
