10 Wrestlers Who Allegedly Got Other Wrestlers FIRED

Allegedly! In the cases of Randy Orton, Booker T and Shawn Michaels, who WAS the Heartbreak Kid...

Randy Orton Mr Kennedy
WWE.com

Nobody is getting released from WWE nor AEW any time soon because the paradigm has shifted yet again.

Triple H can't - yet - release the various talents he clearly doesn't want to feature on his rebooted product. Maintaining the first shred of locker room morale in decades is crucial at this point, as are the feel-good optics surrounding the company. For the first time in aeons, WWE, somehow, with the ugly Crown Jewel mere weeks away, has found itself playing babyface. A swerve turn may prove as disastrous as a Vince Russo WCW special.

Tony Khan doesn't want to release any of his (reportedly few) disillusioned talents either, likely because he doesn't want to set the precedent. It's ugly, capitalist stuff from a promotion that once was or at least masqueraded as the goodie. This is not an excuse, because it's bullsh*t, but rather an explanation: were Andrade for example to get released, after allegedly assaulting a co-worker, only to star in the highest-rated wrestling show on TV, it might embolden others to follow on a dangerous path.

It's more likely that Andrade will work overlong matches on Raw with bad finishes that fans only halfway get into at the end, but Khan does not share that perspective.

There are ways to get a fellow performer fired, as you'll discover - even if a recurrence isn't likely in 2022...

10. Shawn Michaels / Marty Jannetty

Randy Orton Mr Kennedy
wwe.com

Marty Jannetty was as great in the ring as he was a rascal outside of it, which explains why he was fired and rehired so frequently in the turbulent 1990s.

Often, he'd return just as soon as he'd disappeared. He was simply that good at making people look good: his 1993 programme with the original heel Doink The Clown might just be the most underrated WWE storyline ever. He returned in 1993 after being fired in 1993, to bring that original point into focus, and old Rocker partner Shawn Michaels is said by Jannetty to have gotten him fired. Shawn told Vince that Marty was "messed up in there" - at least according to a not exactly credible shoot interview with Hannibal - thus ruining their underwhelming match at Royal Rumble. Jannetty for his paty claims Michaels was f*cked on somas and fell in his food the night before.

But all's well that ends well: an altogether nicer chap in the 2000s, measured against a curve, anyway, Michaels appeared to look out for his old, wayward pal. Michaels even baptised Jannetty in an attempt to bathe him in the Lord's light.

"Our Father which art in heaven / Hallowed be thy name / Thy daughter come..."

Jannetty it turns out preferred the neon lights of the strip club, giving the whole religion deal all of a day.

Actually, no, it didn't end particularly well: Marty continued to go off the deep end in what is either a grim bid for attention or the next big Netflix true crime series.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!