10 Unfortunately-Timed WWE Releases
8. David Hart Smith - 2011
Someone who can probably empathise with McIntyre is David Hart Smith, who was released on Aug 5, 2011, which was just three days after his 26th birthday.
Unlike McIntyre, Smith’s departure hadn’t been quite as much of a surprise as he’d only featured twice on television over the course of the preceding six months. But at just 25 years of age, it felt like there was still time for him to live up to the expectation that came with being the son of the British Bulldog.
The timing then became doubly unfortunate when three days later, CM Punk cut an impassioned promo on the Aug 8 edition of Raw, in which he referenced Smith’s release and put John Laurinaitis on the spot by asking if he personally flew to Florida to tell Smith he was being let go.
For the record, he didn’t. Not that Smith will be sweating it too much, as he’s currently in the midst of his third reign as an IWGP Tag Team Champion alongside fellow WWE alumni Lance Archer.