10 Times WWE Wrestlers Were Punished For Speaking Out

The Hardy Boyz broke out as one of the most popular tag teams in WWE at the height of the Attitude Era and wowed the fans with their fast-paced and high-flying style. Matt Hardy was already in a relationship with fellow wrestler Lita when WWE aligned her with the duo as their manager, and together, the three became Team XTreme.

Their relationship progressed over the years until it came to a crashing end in 2005 when Matt Hardy found out Lita was having an affair with one of his best friends, Edge. Things became heated when Matt Hardy ranted about the betrayal on his message board on his website. The public knowledge of the affair resulted in Edge and Lita receiving jeers from the fans during events. WWE didn't take too kindly to Hardy's decision and released him from his contract due to unprofessional conduct in April 2005. Nine days after his release, Hardy appeared on the Between the Ropes radio program and discussed the nature of his termination. Despite WWE saying they had other reasons for releasing Hardy from his contract, the latter revealed that the entire ordeal with Lita and Edge was the obvious reason and even termed his release a classic example of wrongful termination.

However, the decision came back to haunt WWE as the fans continued to show hate for Edge and Lita during events, which in turn disrupted the on-screen storylines. WWE decided to re-hire Hardy in July 2005, and Vince McMahon even turned their real-life troubles into a storyline.