10 Times WWE Caved To Public Pressure

9. Caught Off Guard

Fabulous Moolah
WWE

Dave 'Fit' Finlay has been a virtual ever-present in WWE since jumping on board following WCW's collapse in 2001. A more valuable asset than bizarre industry survivor John Laurinaitis, Finlay was credited with coaching and guiding Trish Stratus, Victoria and others to assemble the finest company women's division ever whilst 'Big Johnny' ran a jumped-up frat party in Miami for his Diva Search hires.

It was Finlay that briefly bit the bullet in 2011 though, after a complete misunderstanding between WWE and the United States Army National Guard forced Vince McMahon to make a public relations point at the Irishman's expense.

Working as the lead producer on a March house show, Finlay instructed then-WWE Champion The Miz to interrupt a rendition of the National Anthem. An old-school heat generator, the move drew enough scorn from soldiers in attendance to encourage Vince McMahon to act on their behalf.

Finlay was quietly rehired in 2012 after the immense heat around his original sacking had died down. Considered an isolated incident, McMahon felt as though a message-sending sacking was the only way to illustrate tight company policy on the matter.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett