10 Controversial WWE Releases

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.

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.