1. Finlay Fired Over National Anthem Stunt
scape.goat n.1. One that is made to bear the blame of others. 2. Bible A live goat over whose head Aaron confessed all the sins of the children of Israel on the Day of Atonement. The goat,symbolically bearing their sins, was then sent into the wilderness. tr.v. scape·goat·ed, scape·goat·ing, scape·goats To make a scapegoat of.
Dave 'Fit' Finlay knows all about being made a scapegoat. His ten-year WWE career came to an abrupt end the weekend before WrestleMania XXVII after an incident at a late March house show. In order to get more heat for The Miz before his 'Mania main event with John Cena, producer Finlay booked the 'Awesome' one to interrupt the American national anthem. Unfortunately for Fit, he didn't realise that members of WWE sponsor The National Guard were in attendance and that they were deeply offended by the heat-seeking stunt. When they complained to WWE management about it, Finlay, as the show's agent, was blamed and subsequently fired. Although nothing new and actually on the milder side for cheap heat tactics (Miz was an American jerk, not some 'foreign terrorist'), it was still deemed inexcusable. Finlay, to his credit, took full responsibility for it, saying that:
You know, with WWE. I was given a lot of leeway and a lot of power, and with that comes a lot of responsibility. I made a call that caused a storm, and I paid for it...I understand that fully. It wasnt intended to upset people in that way it was just part of an entertaining show
Finlay returned to WWE as a producer/agent in July 2012.