10 Shocking WWE Superstar Firings No One Saw Coming

Finlay had already hung up his shillelagh by March 2011, but - as a highly-regarded veteran of three decades experience in the ring - he was still on the WWE books as a road trainer.

That gig was ended, though, when he made a faux pas during a house show by encouraging The Miz to interrupt a rendition of the American national anthem, offending some of the National Guard representatives in the audience.

A few weeks off his date with John Cena at WrestleMania XXVII, Miz was hardly likely to lose his job - so it fell to the Northern Irishman to take the fall (which he did without too much fuss, even though the decision to axe him altogether was perhaps a little harsh).

Ultimately, there was no real harm done. Finlay got his job back about a year later and has been on the WWE payroll ever since, occasionally seen separating brawling wrestlers backstage in front of the camera and generally keeping a low profile behind it.