10 Beloved Wrestlers FIRED By WWE

7. Samoa Joe

Eddie Guerrero Vince McMahon
WWE.com

It's impossible to hate Samoa Joe.

Defining beloved almost, he's intensely believable, "worked" the sickest match of all time, doesn't do anything that could begin to make you cringe, is mean, blackly hilarious, even in 2023 on his best day a super-worker.

Who doesn't like Samoa Joe?!

WWE, twice.

Twice!

He was first released due to "budget cuts" when WWE was making an absolute fortune in April 2021, and if conspiracy theories are to be believed, he was rehired at the behest of Triple H just two months later - but stripped of the NXT title because Vince wanted to rub Triple H's nose in muck for losing the Wednesday Night War. He was fired, again, in January 2022.

Again, just a conspiracy theory echoed across various circles online - but it isn't it weird that Joe said onscreen that he had to relinquish the belt due to "various injuries" and Joe himself later said it was because he had COVID? Which isn't to say he didn't, but at least one lie was told from the WWE side.

All ended rather well: capping off an awesome career resurgence in AEW, Joe and MJF drew one of the very best Dynamite demos of the year (Grand Slam, 0.36) and earned a PPV rematch at Worlds End.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!