5 WWE Superstars who were fired and then rehired shortly thereafter 

One thing that can't ever be denied is that WWE is the biggest sports entertainment company in the world and has been for a long time now. Due to this, almost every aspiring professional wrestler dreams about getting signed and performing there.

However, just performing in a WWE ring isn't supposed to be the end goal. Making it big in WWE and becoming a household name should be the motive. Oftentimes, things don't go as smoothly as a wrestler would like them to and this results in them getting released from their contracts.

It's common for people to get fired in any company for various reasons. Sometimes, however a fired employee might be brought back.

In WWE, there have been multiple instances of Superstars getting fired and then brought back the following year, or even sooner. We take a look at five such instances in the slideshow below.

#5 Alberto Del Rio

Alberto Del Rio was fired by WWE after a backstage incident in 2014

Alberto Del Rio is no stranger to controversies and scandals. During his initial run with WWE, he was heavily pushed as a main event Superstar from 2010 to the end of 2013. Although he was phased out of key storylines once 2014 started, 'Mexico's Greatest Export' was still being featured prominently on WWE TV.

Everything was going smoothly, but then in August of 2014, WWE announced that it had cut ties with Del Rio due to “unprofessional conduct and an altercation with an employee.”

Wrestling Observer reported that Del Rio was fired for slapping a web producer after the latter made a racist joke.

WWE had invested a lot in the Del Rio character by that time and abruptly closing the doors on him wasn't going to work out. This resulted in the 2011 Royal Rumble winner returning to the company during the Hell in a Cell 2015 pay-per-view. The event was held on October 25th, a little over 14 months after his release. On his first night back, he defeated John Cena to win the United States Championship.

#4 Charlie Haas

Casual wrestling fans of the current era might not be familiar with Charlie Haas' tenure in WWE. However, he had a decent run during the Ruthless Aggression Era. The most prominent part of his career was when he used to represent Team Angle, alongside Kurt Angle and Shelton Benjamin. He had multiple reigns with the Tag Team Titles as well.

In July 2005, Haas and his wife, Jackie Gayda, were released from WWE. Haas wasn't doing much at that time, so his release didn't manage to raise many eyebrows.

This wasn't the end of Haas' WWE career, as 9 months later during the April 17, 2006 edition of RAW, he made a surprise return. He was revealed as Rob Van Dam's handpicked opponent for Shelton Benjamin. His second run in WWE lasted nearly 4 years and he was mostly used as an enhancement performer after 2007.

#3 Matt Hardy

Hardy's real-life rivalry with Edge and Lita caused him to get both fired and rehired.

Matt Hardy disappeared from WWE TV after his feud with Kane culminated in 2004, due to a critical knee injury. During his time off, he was still contracted to the promotion. His release was announced on April 11, 2005.

The official reason behind the firing of one of WWE's most popular wrestlers was professional misconduct with social media. For those of you that may be unaware, Hardy didn't take kindly to news breaking of his girlfriend having an affair with Edge, while he was out with an injury. His actions following that eventually led to his release.

After this news reached the public, fans started rallying for Matt Hardy during live shows and began booing Edge and Lita. WWE made the real-life situation between the three into a storyline and Hardy was brought back to RAW on July 11, 2005, exactly three months after his release. The Matt Hardy/Edge/Lita storyline made for good TV and is still talked about to this day.

#2 Eddie Guerrero

Eddie Guerrero made sure not to waste the second chance given to him by WWF in 2002.

Nearly 14 years have passed since Eddie Guerrero's untimely death, but he is still remembered by his colleagues and the rest of the wrestling world alike. Although he spent most of his wrestling career outside WWE, his WWE tenure made many his lifelong fans. It should be noted, however that 'Latino Heat' was once fired from the sports entertainment giant.

Guerrero was dealing with addiction problems during his initial WWE run and was sent to rehab in 2001. After he was arrested for drunk driving, his release was announced on November 12, 2001.

The master of lying, cheating, and stealing didn't have to wrestle in the indies for long. Guerrero made his WWE return on April 1, 2002. This time around, Eddie made sure that everything went right. He became one of the most popular Superstars of the Ruthless Aggression Era over the following three and a half years. He even won the WWE Championship and was constantly featured in key storylines.

#1 Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan was fired shortly after becoming an active member of the Raw roster in 2010.

Daniel Bryan's professional wrestling career is nothing less than a fairy tale. Throughout his run with the promotion, he has overcome the odds, both on-screen and off-screen. Coming back from retirement, having entire arenas chanting his name, and many other instances make him one of the all-time greats. All of this would have never come to fruition, however had WWE not rehired Bryan in 2010.

Yes, it's true. The former leader of Yes Movement was fired in June 2010 after an incident on RAW. During an invasion angle in which Bryan and his fellow NXT season one alumni were attacking John Cena and other WWE personnel, Bryan strangled announcer Justin Roberts with his tie. This was considered too violent for a PG show and Bryan was released from his contract shortly thereafter.

WWE soon realized that the 'American Dragon' would be a valuable asset to any promotion. Moreover, the company also realized that Bryan didn't intend to cause an uproar in the first place. Therefore, he was brought back on August 15, 2010 at the Summerslam PPV. The rest is history.