10 Wrestlers Who Were Released For Breaking Kayfabe

5. Bart Gunn

Matt Hardy Fired
WWE

Poor Bart Gunn.

The midcard tag star did nothing wrong by blasting his way through the WWF's ill-advised 'Brawl For All' tough man competition in 1998-1999. That tournament was designed to ready 'Dr. Death' Steve Williams for a series of matches with head boy Steve Austin. Instead, it ended Bart's run with the company.

Gunn battered Williams in the second round, which scuppered federation plans to push the rugged 'Doc'. Plodding on, the promotion finished the tourney then fed legit hard nut Bart to Butterbean at WrestleMania XV. The whole thing was a disaster, and it exposed that 'Dr. Death' wasn't actually the toughest heel on the roster.

The outright stupidity of airing a real fight league that was supposed to produce a fresh kayfabe challenger for 'Stone Cold' should not be overlooked. Gunn was released from his contract a short while after 'Mania, presumably because they were p*ssed that he'd spoiled main event booking.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.