8. Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan was and still is the most successful and talented NXT "Rookie" from the 2010 edition of that series, and fans were gobsmacked when the indie darling (something which meant nothing in the WWE back then) was fired. A phone call from Vince McMahon to break the news came after he choked out announcer Justin Roberts with a tie as the NXT roster attacked the ring and personnel at the end of a Raw. That level of violence was apparently a little too much for the PG-rated WWE and their sponsors, but Bryan's sudden dismissal came across as a major overreaction. Bryan has chronicled in his autobiography how much he hated the degrading and humiliating experience of NXT, and while his firing came as a shock, he was actually glad to be able to return to the Indies, finding an even greater level of success there and being able to charge a lot more for his time thanks to the higher profile that appearing on WWE programming had given him. As surprising as Bryan's firing may have been at the time, that ended up paling in comparison to his return at SummerSlam a few months later. Having made the statement they wanted to, the WWE clearly realised what a mistake it was to let the American Dragon go, and it was no time at all until he was winning the WWE Heavyweight Championship and main eventing a WrestleMania for them as a firm fan-favourite.