10 Wrestlers Who Were Released For Breaking Kayfabe

3. Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy Fired
WWE

Even more weirdness awaits.

2005 was a tumultuous year for Matt Hardy. Officially, WWE released him on 11 April due to "unprofessional conduct" (there's that old chestnut again), but there was another reason. Matt had gone public, without WWE's knowledge, with details about an affair between his girlfriend Lita and Edge.

Wrestling forums, magazines and other news outlets swarmed to cover the story and squeeze as much drama out of this very-real situation as they possibly could. Meanwhile, WWE tried to distance themselves from the controversy, at least at first. Before long, they decided to try and turn Hardy's heartache into a money-spinning storyline.

It's often forgotten that WWE just wanted Matt to go away quietly in '05. He refused to do so, and didn't seem to care about the consequences of going public with his broken heart. The company released him, tried to move on, realised there was cash to be made in amongst all the kayfabe-breakage and seized their opportunity.

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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.