Alberto Del Rio was fired by WWE on August 7, 2014 after he slapped a WWE social media manager in the face after the employee (Cody Barbierri) had made a racist remark. According to Del Rio, he was originally going to be suspended for the incident, but then WWE changed their mind and fired him for it instead. It was a major news story at the time because Del Rio was a former WWE World Champion. To see him dropped so suddenly was a head-scratcher, to say the least. If the employee said the racist remark about Del Rio (which apparently he did) then that guy should have been punished, too. Barbierri did leave WWE a few months after the incident, but why didn't WWE fire him like they did Del Rio? I think WWE should have considered Del Rio's side of things more. A fine for hitting another employee in a backstage setting makes sense. However, firing the guy for something like that when Barbierri made a racist remark sets a bad precedent and sends the wrong message. It's OK to be racist but it's not OK to use physical violence? Del Rio was just sticking up for himself and was justified in his actions. A little over a year later, WWE brought back Del Rio and put the US Title on him at their Hell in a Cell PPV in October 2015, so it's clear that all is forgiven, but his initial firing was stupid, to say the least.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
