10 Wrestling Matches That Led To Wrestlers Being Fired
These matches ended up being the beginning of the end for this bunch of wrestlers.
"Job security" isn't what you'd class as an ever-present element within the ever-changing landscape of professional wrestling. With companies retaining the right to call it quits with just about every star on their books should they suddenly decide a wrestler is no longer worth paying, a whole host of scenarios have been known to open the door for an impromptu exit.
And while the chill-inducing "budget cuts" line has ravaged many a locker room and attracting unwanted attention to a promotion via controversial antics away from the squared-circle tends to lead to a swift departure from a wrasslin' organisation, sometimes it's a performer's work in the ring that hammers the final nail in a career coffin.
For a great many reasons, the stars on this list were all on the receiving end of an almighty heave-ho out the door shortly after one particularly questionable decision, performance, or reaction before, in, or after a wrestling match.
From not quite cutting it with a Beast to being deemed too fat to stay on the payroll by those in command, these wrestlers were all suddenly cut loose after each of the following in-ring appearances.
10. Dustin Rhodes And Blacktop Bully's Rule-Breaking King Of The Road Match
Far from being a concept made popular due to necessity throughout the recent crowd-less era of professional wrestling, pre-taped gimmick contests have been popping up in and around the business for decades. Perhaps one of the most infamous iterations of a pre-recorded skirmish came during WCW's 1995 PPV Uncensored as Dustin Rhodes went to war with bitter rival The Blacktop Bully in a King of the Road match on the night.
Determined to take their rivalry up a notch over the course of the contest that could only be won by sounding a horn, Rhodes and Blacktop decided that blading themselves in the battle would be the best way to hype up the drama of the war upon a moving vehicle.
And while this definitely helped make a rather barmy situation feel a little more grounded (if that's even possible), said choice also resulted in both Rhodes and Bully being let go by WCW as the promotion had a strict "no-blading" policy at the time.
Though Dustin has since stated that the pair had both been given the bloody green light, confessing that he feels the pair were cut loose to free up money for the likes of Hulk Hogan.