5 fired WWE stars who returned to great success
Unless specifically requested, getting a release is something a WWE performer never wants to go through. Not only does it put their ability to make a living in jeopardy, as it's never a sure thing that another job will come along but, even if one does, the 90-day No Compete clause in most of their contracts puts an even further damper on those plans. It's that uncertainty that wrestlers such as Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, and Lana are going through right now (and we wish them and all the other WWE and AEW talent released today all the luck in the world.)
However, there have been plenty of wrestlers over the years who have been released from the company and used it as motivation. Performers who took their firing on the chin, so to speak, and turned it into a positive. Whether it's a wake-up call to improve their work ethic or just a desire to prove their former employer made a mistake, plenty of WWE stars have come back better than ever before.
So, we're going to look at five of those wrestlers - five wrestlers who were fired by WWE at one point or another and came back better than ever. Obviously, there are way more than five wrestlers who qualify for this, so please mention those we missed in the comments below.
And with that out of the way, let's get firing... er... going.
#5 R-Truth found success both in and out of WWE after being released
If it feels like Ron "R-Truth" "The Truth" "K-Kwik" "K-Krush" Killings has been in WWE forever, well... he hasn't. That would be ridiculous. He has, however, spent a combined total of over twenty years with the compa Be it as a heel or a babyface, R-Truth has never not been entertaining. In 2002, however, that future was seriously in doubt.
Truth - then called K-Kwik (because why not?) - signed with the then-WWF in 1999, after spending a couple of years on the independent scene. He would only spend a year in WWE's Memphis, TN developmental territory before debuting on the main roster in 2000 as the tag team partner of "Road Dogg" Jesse James. But by 2002, Killings found himself being shown WWE's exit door.
Not missing a beat (he is a musician, after all), Killings moved on to TNA-NWA (now IMPACT) Wrestling, where he became a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion - the first African-American wrestler to ever hold that championship.
Six years later, R-Truth's success in TNA regained the attention of WWE, and in 2008, he signed a new deal with the company. He's been there ever since.
Years after re-signing with WWE, Truth would mention on a podcast interview that he actually thanked Vince McMahon for firing him years earlier - claiming it gave him a chance to grow and mature.
It wouldn't be a stretch to say that R-Truth has a job for life in WWE - a complete 180 since being released over a decade earlier.