10 WWE Stars Who Were Bullied Out Of The Company
Anything can happen in WWE... and too often, does.
One of the most grotesque lines repeated by loyal WWE employees in the face of controversy and bad PR is the adage that the company is simply all about "putting smiles on faces." Though Vince McMahon may want to portray himself as a purveyor of legitimate, family-friendly entertainment, even the most casual of fans knows that the company has a seedy underbelly, and that makes itself evident both on and off camera.
Throughout much of last summer, the emphasis was on backstage bullying, specifically actions undertaken by John "Bradshaw" Layfield during his long tenure with the company. Of course, JBL was just the tip of the iceberg - other wrestlers have been bullies, and none of this would even be possible if it wasn't for a company culture accepting of bullying, with McMahon at the helm. With that in mind, here are 10 WWE stars who were bullied out of the company.
Just a couple of notes before we start: this list isn't just limited to stars who quit WWE in the face of bullying - it's also for talent who were eventually fired after long tenures of being mistreated. Also, this isn't meant to, in any way, criticize stars who left the company due to the toxic work environment or to say that those who experienced bullying and still work for WWE somehow "did better" than other victims.
10. Mauro Ranallo
March 2018, Ranallo - who had been public about his lifelong battle with bipolar disorder - left his post on SmackDown after suffering symptoms related to the illness. Soon, though, news emerged that repeated harassment from JBL had contributed to Ranallo's relapse (Bas Rutten, a longtime friend of Ranallo's, all but confirmed it on Twitter).
JBL had been vicious to Ranallo both on screen and off camera, but the final straw came when the former WWE Champion took Ranallo to task for acknowledging his win for "Best TV Announcer" in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards. The belligerent teasing - which took place on a WWE Network show - was very hurtful to Ranallo, as were JBL's subsequent Twitter jabs at his broadcast colleague.
Ranallo took a long-term sabbatical, whilst the seemingly Teflon JBL remained in situ. Eventually, the story had a happy ending, as Ranallo returned for a lower-key NXT post, and JBL called it quits to focus on charity work - tidily shuffled out the backdoor whilst preserving his reputation.