5 Wrestlers Who Were LEGITIMATELY Fired On The Air

4. Hulk Hogan

Vince McMahon Ultimate Warrior
WWE.com

Bash At The Beach 2000 spelled the end of Hulk Hogan's tenure with WCW.

The notorious event saw booker Vince Russo work a work and work himself into a shoot. Since between them, Russo, Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff couldn't locate the truth if it screamed the words "bro", "brother" and "context" into their faces, details of the worked shoot pin are muddled - but reductively, the foot poke of doom was a prearranged event that Russo fiercely buried in the aftermath, leading Hogan to leave. The promo that followed was the quintessential summation of the man: a hugely entertaining if confusing - and chronically counterproductive - blast.

Russo incinerated Hogan. Much like he had done with his WCW product, Russo peppered his promo with "sh*t" in an expletive-laden burial. He called Hogan a "politician", and a "piece of sh*t", revealing that Hogan had exercised his creative control card and refused to job for Jarrett. Hogan claimed that the company was in the "state it was in" because of "bullsh*t" like this.

Russo was not imbued with hiring and firing power, strictly speaking, but he more or less worked it: when he said "I promise everybody or else I'll go in the godd*mn grave, you will never see that piece of sh*t again!", Hogan was never again seen in WCW, nor did any deity strike Russo down.

Sorry Jim!

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!