3 WWE Superstars Vince McMahon almost fired and 3 wrestlers he almost hired
WWE is the biggest wrestling promotion in the world, which means they have to sign the best talents to benefit the product. With NXT, they are doing a great job signing upcoming Superstars but this isn’t enough. The more wrestlers they hire, the more cluttered their roster becomes. And, it’s why WWE often clears up their roster by releasing talents that they think aren’t benefiting the product.
Over the years, Vince McMahon has fired multiple talents, some of whom have now become a major wrestling attraction. But sometimes, the Superstars he was going to fire, were saved by someone with high influence in WWE. Here are 3 superstars that were nearly fired from WWE and 3 that Vince McMahon almost signed.
#6 Almost fired: John Cena
John Cena is probably the most successful wrestler WWE ever had. He was the one that made its PG Era a thing, and also helped Vince McMahon make billions (though other stars too deserve some credit). He debuted on SmackDown against Kurt Angle and challenged him to a match in which he lost.
The next two months weren’t so bright for the 16-time WWE Champ as during that period, WWE officials were considering firing him because he didn’t live up to their expectations. But this didn’t happen because Stephanie McMahon was a fan of Cena’s work. Here’s what Dave Meltzer said about the situation:
“[John Cena] worked OVW for a while which is where he really learned his craft. He was called up too soon, which everyone knew, and there’s political reasons why that happened, and it nearly cost him his career. If it wasn’t for Stephanie McMahon taking a liking to him after they’d just about decided to let him go, he could’ve been gone.” (Credit)
The rest is history. Cena is a 13-time WWE Champion and has been the face of the company for more than a decade. He has championed multiple causes for the brand and is one of their all-time greats.
Stephanie McMahon certainly knows a star when she sees one.