10 Controversial WWE Releases

Including backstage disputes, allegations of racism and a brawl at 30,000 feet.

By Elliott Binks /

Figuratively speaking, the revolving door at WWE headquarters gets its fair share of usage. So much so, in fact, that in 2016, Wikipedia revealed that its List of WWE Personnel article was the second most-edited page in the site’s history.

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Granted, that page does cover the comings and goings of more than just the wrestlers we see on TV, including producers, referees, executives and more. But even so, a number of those edits will have specifically been a result of the company’s frequent releases of in-ring talent.

In the last month alone, we’ve seen four names released at various points in time. Names like the former Tag Team Champion Darren Young, James Ellsworth, Summer Rae and perhaps most notably Emma—who was coming off the back of a pay-per-view match with Asuka just a few days prior to her departure.

And while there wasn’t necessarily a huge amount of controversy surrounding any of those exits, that hasn’t always been the case.

Over the years we’ve seen plenty of releases come under questionable circumstances, from incidents that were totally blown out of proportion to scandals that were rather inexcusable. Here, we look back at some such examples with ten of the more controversial releases in WWE history.

10. Dave Finlay, 2011

In March 2011, after a ten-year association with WWE, Dave Finlay was let go following a house show incident involving The Miz, the national anthem, and a complaint from a major company sponsor.

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The incident in question took place at the 25 March live event from Champaign, IL, where The Miz had interrupted the pre-show rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. The move had been designed to score Miz some cheap heat, but with members of the United States Army National Guard in attendance, it soon became something of a PR nightmare.

The National Guard is a key WWE sponsor, so when the anthem stunt led to a complaint from the organisation, WWE was forced to act.

The Miz had of course simply been following orders—orders that had been given by the producer, Finlay, and so it was the latter who took the fall for this one and was dismissed by WWE higherups.

Finlay was later re-hired by the company in July of 2012 and has been once again working as a producer ever since, so all’s well that ends well.

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