John Cena and 4 top stars you may not know WWE almost fired
Some of WWE's biggest superstars almost got fired from the company in the past few years. Vince McMahon's company has released many wrestlers including former world champions like Braun Strowman, Jeff Hardy, and Ric Flair. It has also let go of several young talents.
Some wrestling fans may not know that the company was also about to let go of some of today's biggest superstars in the past. A few years ago, WWE almost fired a current champion. Another wrestler WWE thought about releasing in the past later became arguably the greatest in company history. Vince McMahon even, surprisingly, almost fired one of his own children.
Here are five top stars you may not know WWE almost fired.
#5. Former WWE RAW Women's Champion Alexa Bliss
Alexa Bliss is one of the most talented superstars of this generation. She joined WWE in May 2013 and spent nearly three years on NXT before making her main roster debut in July 2016.
Despite not winning any titles during her NXT run, Little Miss Bliss later captured many championships on RAW and SmackDown. The Goddess is now a former three-time RAW Women's Champion, two-time SmackDown Women's Champion, and a two-time Women's Tag Team Champion. The 30-year-old also won the 2018 Money in the Bank ladder match.
Although she is now one of the most accomplished female superstars, Bliss' career, surprisingly, was almost cut short during her NXT days.
During an appearance on the Not Sam Wrestling Podcast in 2017, the former RAW Women's Champion disclosed that changing her character after teaming up with Blake and Murphy on NXT saved her from being fired from Vince McMahon's company.
"From day one I knew it was my sink or swim moment because in NXT as a good guy my character wasn’t getting over and when I was told about the pairing with Blake & Murphy I knew there had to be a character change. Wednesday night we had TakeOver and I pushed Enzo and helped keep them as champions, I came the next day with new gear and different hair and I knew that if I didn’t run with it, I probably wasn’t going to have a job," she said.
Bliss has not wrestled since her defeat against Charlotte Flair at Extreme Rules in September 2021. Nevertheless, she recently returned to television, appearing on the Red Brand.