10 Shocking WWE Superstar Firings No One Saw Coming

Like Lashley, Matt Hardy was nursing an injury at the time of his release in April 2005 - but that didn't make the news any less shocking.

Matt, a WWE employee for over a decade, was widely regarded as one of the company's brightest young talents. He was capable of turning his hand to just about anything, from tag team wrestling alongside brother Jeff to playing the cruiserweight division's Version 1 bully boy.

It was particularly surprising, though, because of corresponding rumours that Lita - his long-time, real-life girlfriend - was having an affair with fellow WWE superstar Edge. Clearly the company had to do something to assuage potential backstage drama, but it seemed odd that Hardy was the guy who got fired, even though he was - by all accounts - the innocent party.

Fortunately, Jeff's brother kept himself in the public eye during his time off and came back a huge star later in the year, becoming embroiled in one of the most memorable feuds of the Ruthless Aggression era in the process.