Vince McMahon is an interesting case study in regard to successful business owners. While wrestling is his main business source, he has refused to label himself as a wrestling promoter for almost the entirety of his career, instead seeing himself as an executive in charge of an entire sports entertainment brand. Yet, in addition to managing all business aspects of the company, like recently securing the WWE a $1 billion TV deal with Fox, he is also incredibly hands-on in regard to the wrestling product. His "guys" (see Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar) are pushed to the ceiling, while others that have niche and even mainstream fan followings are kept to the mid and under-card of Raw and SmackDown.
Despite what you might think of his wrestling personnel decisions, McMahon is rather calculated in everything he does. He's also loyal if that loyalty is reciprocated (see Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Reigns), but can be vindictive if he feels slighted (see Bret Hart and CM Punk). It shouldn't be surprising then that there are numerous wrestlers he came close to firing but eventually changed his mind. Likewise, given the fact he still has his finger on the pulse of the wrestling industry, it's not surprising that there are numerous independent and mainstream stars from other promotions that he once came close to signing.
16 Almost Fired: Titus O'Neil
The leader of Titus Worldwide (or Titus Worldslide if we're still enjoying his "entrance" into the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia) hasn't enjoyed much in-ring success these days save for the odd tag team match win with Apollo Crews, but he should count himself lucky to have a job, even if he was almost fired for a ridiculous reason. O'Neil touched - literally just touched - Vince McMahon during Daniel Bryan's retirement ceremony and was subsequently suspended for 90 days, although that was later reduced to 60.
Apparently, McMahon had considered firing O'Neil, but was talked against doing so by Triple H.
O'Neil claimed he was just trying to make way for Stephanie McMahon to leave the ring before Vince and simply put his arm out to allow for that to happen.
"It's water under the bridge. Really. It happened and I took ownership of it," he said a year later on the Chasing Glory with Lillian Garcia podcast. "Regardless of if I was right, wrong, or indifferent or if the situation could've been handled differently. It happened. I served my suspension and it's over with." McMahon and O'Neil have definitely patched things up since as the former was apparently in tears laughing at O'Neil's entrance botch during the Greatest Royal Rumble and gave him a pat on the back when he came backstage.
15 Almost Hired: Reby Sky
We've seen Reby Sky (real name Rebecca Hardy) on WWE programming in the past as she was present at the Hardy Compound during "Woken" Matt Hardy's Final Deletion match against Bray Wyatt. However, it should be noted that she is not under contract with WWE, despite the fact she could be a tremendous asset to the company as it expands the "Woken" Universe - especially considering it has failed to do so since pairing Matt with Bray. Prior to the Hardy Boyz returning to WWE at WrestleMania 33, they competed in TNA along with Reby Sky, who had been there since 2017; in fact, she actually has roughly eight years of in-ring experience.
Before she was even associated with TNA, she had been offered a contract with WWE, although she was unable to accept.
While working as a host with MTV2's Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors, Reyes tweeted:
"Weird day. Just had to turn down WWE (per my Lucha Libre USA contract). Very weird day."
Presumably, she was offered a developmental contract or offered the opportunity to appear on Tough Enough. One has to wonder where she would be now if she had accepted the contract. It's likely she'll be used more frequently by WWE in the future, so perhaps the wait paid off.
14 Almost Fired: Tyler Beeze
Like Titus O'Neil, Tyler Breeze might not have the most secure job in the WWE, but he has a job nonetheless - and a decent-paying one at that. The 30 year old Canadian has been signed to WWE since 2010, when he first began wrestling in FCW as Matt Clements and competing against the likes of Roman Reigns, Big E, and Darren Young. He later competed as Mike Dalton, but adopted the Tyler Breeze character and gimmick in 2013 while with NXT. He's now predominantly used along with Fandango as part enhancement talent and part comedy act, although there's potential for a singles feud between the two should Breezango break up.
Yet, on an episode of the Edge and Christian's Podcast of Awesomeness, Breeze revealed he was almost fired multiple times before even reaching the main roster:
"[Cesaro] just got signed and I had his first match on FCW TV at the time, which got viewed by like 50 people in Florida. And they put all this emphasis on it, like, ‘okay, this guy's special. We've got to make it a big thing.' Whatever. So he did a thing where he threw me up in the air and uppercutted me out of the air and I guess it looked really cool, but I guess the people literally went, 'okay, don’t fire him yet. There might be something here.'"
He also recalled another instance where he thought he was close to getting fired, but impressed Triple H during a match against The Ascension.
13 Almost Hired: Davey Richards
Former five-time TNA World Tag Team Champion and independent circuit superstar, Davey Richards was among the top unsigned talents in the wrestling industry at one point, he also already let an opportunity with the company go by. Richards had a successful run with TNA from 2014 to 2017 and previously gained a following in New Japan and Ring of Honor, where he was a three-time World Tag Team Champion and one-time World Champion.
While in ROH, Richards received a contract offer from WWE, but turned it down due to being uninterested in playing the backstage politics game that can sometimes be associated with being in the company.
"It's not for attention I do this, it's not for money, it's not for notoriety," he wrote in a blog post. "It's for my beliefs, my morals, my creed. I am a man who believes hard work must be rewarded and laziness must be punished. I've simply walked away from places before who I feel have not shared this moral with me." While he might gain more mainstream recognition in WWE, he probably has a point, especially considering he would likely be a mid-card worker at best.
12 Almost Fired: Baron Corbin
Man, what a whirlwind of a year it has been for Baron Corbin. The Lone Wolf has plenty of detractors who believe he's not even worthy of a roster spot and is terrible on the mic, but he also has plenty of fans who see him as a capable heel with ever-improving in-ring abilities. He was on the cusp of realizing his potential when he was the surprise winner of the 2017 Money in the Bank, but had the misfortune of unsuccessfully cashing in against Jinder Mahal, who might be remembered as one of the worst WWE Champions of all-time. That Corbin wasn't given the rub over a guy like Mahal says a lot about how Vince McMahon views him as a top guy.
However, there are those that allege he lost his Money in the Bank privileges due to a backstage incident in which he called out WWE doctor Joseph Maroon, who was conducting a concussion-related session. The doctor allegedly downplayed a Journal of American Medical Association study which found that 99 percent of deceased NFL players' brains showed signs of CTE. Corbin, a former NFL player himself, challenged the doctor and alleged he "knew Maroon was against CTE" due to his depiction in the Will Smith-led Concussion film. Some suggested he could have been fired, while others stated his poor booking was a punishment for the incident.
11 Almost Hired: Eddie Edwards
Davey Richards likely wouldn't have been coming to WWE alone had he accepted a contract offer from McMahon back in 2009. The former Ring of Honor World Champion has been teaming with Eddie Edwards for most of his career - they are two-time ROH World Tag Team Champions and five-time TNA World Tag Team Champions - and it's entirely plausible that they would have signed together in WWE to bolster its tag team division back in 2009. However, that wasn't the only instance in which Vince McMahon was interested in signing Edwards, who is a former TNA World Heavyweight Champion, two-time X-Division Champion, and the company's eighth Triple Crown Champion.
WWE recently signed EC3 and Bobby Lashley away from Impact Wrestling and it had showed interest in adding Edwards once his contract expired this past February, at least according to Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
However, he instead opted to maintain his status in Impact rather than signing with WWE and most likely being sent to NXT. While it was likely the correct decision, signing with WWE could, at the very least, have prevented him from being struck in the face with a baseball bat at the hands of Sami Callihan. Edwards and Richards also had a tryout with WWE in 2013, but weren't signed.
10 Almost Fired: Zack Ryder
Woo! Woo! Woo! You know you could have been fired too! That shouldn't be surprising if you regularly watch WWE. Even as part of The Hype Bros, Zack Ryder was used sparingly on SmackDown Live, but since the tag team's split he has been relatively non-existent, even with being moved to Raw as part of the Superstar Shakeup. In fact, the only time he was even mentioned was during Backlash as it took place in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey. Despite only being 33 years old, Ryder has been with the company for nearly 13 years, having first signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2005. He has had varying levels of success throughout his career and is a one-time United States and Intercontinental Champion, but hasn't been all that relevant on the main roster in years.
Yet, as he explained in a recent interview, he has been able to hold onto his job through hard work at live shows and success in online ventures such as his YouTube series.
He discussed there were times in which he was scared to pick up the phone as it might mean the end of his WWE career:
"But I'm still here, (and) I don't know why. Except that I don't give up. I just don't quit. Whether it's reinventing myself or starting a YouTube show, or getting in the best shape of my life; I just find a way."
9 Almost Hired: Moose
Quinn Ojinnaka is a burgeoning TNA/Impact star and former Ring of Honor superstar who was named Rookie of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 2015 and ranked No. 55 on the PWI 500 in 2017. The former NFL offensive tackle only began wrestling in 2014, competing as Moose in Dragon Gate USA and later for ROH. He left ROH in July 2016 and was linked to WWE, but ultimately signed with TNA with reports suggesting WWE backed off due to domestic violence allegations from 2009. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported:
"He was actually told not to worry by WWE with the idea it's just a timing situation (given the recent situations with Adam Rose and Jerry Lawler) and not a closed door."
Yet, when the opportunity to sign with WWE presented itself once again in 2018, Moose re-signed with Impact, where he has developed into a legit main event worker.
"They were interested and I almost did sign there ... and, at the end of the day, I took the best situation that was best for me. Not saying that I don't ever want to work there because at some point I do - everybody's dream at some point was to work for WWE - but as of right now I'm happy with Impact and I want to build my reputation and build my brand here." Regardless, we can expect him in WWE in the not-so-distant future.
8 Almost Fired: Alexa Bliss
It's easy to imagine Titus O'Neil, Zack Ryder, or even Baron Corbin getting fired from WWE, but can you imagine a Raw or SmackDown without the Goddess of the WWE, Alexa Bliss? While that's hard to picture now given she's established herself as one of the top women on the roster, there was a time not so long ago when she was just another developing talent in NXT who could have very well been cut - and few people would have even noticed. However, instead of being a forgotten face in the WWE/NXT landscape, Bliss re-created her character and improved both in the ring and on the mic, to the point where she became an immediate success upon being called up to the main roster.
"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 and Murphy I knew there had to be a character change," she said during an interview for the Sam Roberts Wrestling podcast. "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."
Alexa also credits both Bayley and Buddy Murphy as major parts in helping her development, had it not been for the duo Bliss admitted her future might have been bleak.
7 Almost Hired: Abyss
Christopher Parks is a 44 year old Washington, D.C. native better known as Abyss to wrestling fans. The 6-foot-8, 350-pound superstar has been wrestling since 1995 and has been part of TNA since 2002, although he left briefly to compete in Ring of Honor, while also taking bookings for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. Nonetheless, he has been a staple on TNA/Impact TV shows for the better part of 15 years. He was the fourth TNA Triple Crown Champion and second-ever TNA Grand Slam Champion.
Because of his dark character, it would have been a dream match of sorts to compete against The Undertaker - and that was even Vince McMahon's plan at one time.
"It was definitely an offer there in 2006 to work with Undertaker, but again, I was such a big part of the beginning of TNA, I was such a home-grown talent, a base talent who they were building around, I decided to stay," he said during a 2016 interview on the Pancakes and Powerslams Show. "I have no regrets, to be honest with you. Like I said, TNA has been my home and treated me so good, so in the end it was a pretty easy decision for me to make, and I've never looked back."
6 Almost Fired: Batista
While WWE fans might be a little sour over the fact Batista wasn't part of this past WrestleMania, there was a very real chance early in his career that the six-time World Heavyweight Champion and four-time Tag Team Champion might have never reached the pinnacle of the company. In 2017, on an episode of Talk is Jericho, Jim Cornette revealed how he felt Batista should have been handled during the early stage of his run on the main roster, stating how he had envisioned him, as his Leviathan gimmick, being thrust into the main event and working alongside The Undertaker, Kane, and Steve Austin.
"We ... [had a] tailor-made gimmick for Undertaker, Kane and Big Show, and they bring him up and put him with D-Von, hang that thing around his neck and put a suit on him to cover up his muscles. I had lost my mind; then they were on the verge of firing him until he started working out with Triple H." Of course, we all know what happened with the Evolution angle and how successful Batista - and Randy Orton - became as a result of that. It's a refreshing change of pace to credit Triple H for helping a guy instead of burying him.
5 Almost Hired: Sting
At Survivor Series in 2014, Sting set the Internet abuzz when he made his WWE debut, nearly 30 years after beginning his decorated career, which included 15 years with Jim Crockett Promotions and WCW and another 11 years with TNA. Unlike nearly every other major WCW star who eventually signed with WWE, Sting always had a distrust of the company and how he would be used and even said as much in interviews:
"There are so many variables. Let's just say that I turned it down for the same reasons I always have," he said during an interview with the Daily Star. "Something in me never trusted what would happen up there, based entirely on the track record with other WCW guys and everything that went on after Vince bought WCW."
While that's a fair point, it's widely believed that Sting, had he signed with the WWE following its purchase of WCW, would have headlined WrestleMania XVII against The Undertaker in what would have been the dream match to end all dream matches. So, as hard as it is to fault him for his reasoning, we can still be sour that he took away the opportunity to have that match, which he even called his "unfinished business" in wrestling during his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech.
4 Almost Fired: John Cena
Like it or not, John Cena is the WWE's biggest star and most successful wrestler. While his bookings have been limited recently due to a burgeoning career in Hollywood, he remains committed to the product through his appearances on Total Bellas and Total Divas and always seems to work in a live show when he can. He's the anti Brock Lesnar, yet is somehow hated just as much - or even more. The 16-time World Champion has come a long way since his debut on SmackDown, when he ultimately kick-started the "Ruthless Aggression" Era by saying as much to Kurt Angle. Yet, there was a strong chance that, despite the memorable debut, Cena could have been on his way out of WWE just two months after his main roster debut.
Apparently, according to Dave Meltzer, Vince and others in WWE management at the time were prepared to fire Cena, but his job was saved by Stephanie McMahon:
"[Cena] 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."
3 Almost Hired: Kenny Omega
Before he was Kenny Omega, Winnipeg native Tyson Smith worked for WWE's developmental territory Deep South Wrestling, but it wasn't a positive experience for the 34 year old, who is now one of the hottest wrestlers outside of the WWE. He felt he was underutilized and has since been critical of the promoters, Bill DeMott and Jody Hamilton, as well as Bob Holly, who was a trainer at the time. As you're likely aware, he has steadily built his career outside WWE ever since, particularly with New Japan, where the Bullet Club member is a two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, one-time IWGP United States Champion and recipient of the company's MVP award in 2017.
His success has obviously caught the attention of the WWE, which offered him contracts in 2014 and, according to Omega, three times in 2015. Presumably, WWE also approached him earlier this year before he signed a new contract with New Japan.
"I'm just having too much fun doing what I am doing," he said during a Twitch Q&A. "It really means a lot to me in my profession, to feel like I'm making a difference. I don't want to be a robot. I don't want to be controlled. Even though there is a lot of great talent, some of my good friends are still in WWE. I wish them all the best, but to be able to tell the stories—the kind of stories I want to tell with who I believe are the greatest talents in the world—that's most important to me right now."
2 Almost Fired: Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie McMahon is the chief brand officer of the WWE and former executive vice president. She is incredibly active on the business side of things and even serves as commissioner of Raw, often making appearances to further feuds or put over new wrestlers (see Ronda Rousey). She has been working full-time for the company since 1998 and has been used as on-screen talent since 1999. Regardless of how you feel about her, it's hard to imagine the WWE without Stephanie McMahon, for one because of the impact she has had on the company and secondly because of who her father is. How on earth would she ever get fired?
Well, according to Steph herself during an interview on Chasing Glory with Lillian Garcia, Vince almost dropped the hammer on her on multiple occasions: "From Vince McMahon's perspective, especially, you have to earn it even more because you're his child. You have to be better than everybody else and he puts you to that test every single day. I've almost been fired numerous times. It hasn’t always been pretty. I had to learn a lot along the way and I made a lot of mistakes along the way. And I think that the only way you truly grow and get better is by making mistakes."
1 Almost Hired: James Storm
The will he or won't he saga of James Storm signing with the WWE has been ongoing for quite some time with no apparent end in sight, despite the fact he now seems resigned to accepting independent bookings - he has most recently competed with Insane Championship Wrestling. However, in April, Storm was spotted backstage at Raw and was rumored to appear at NXT TakeOver, but that obviously didn't happen. Storm wrestled briefly with NXT in 2015, but instead of signing long-term, opted to return to TNA/Impact, where he is a 14-time World Tag Team Champion and one of the company's most decorated superstars.
WWE apparently had big plans for Storm should he have signed with the company in 2015 instead of returning to TNA/Impact.
As was revealed on a recent episode of Table for 3, AJ Styles' entrance theme was originally developed for Storm: "That was originally written and developed for James Storm," noted Road Dogg, who joined Styles and Jeff Jarrett for the WWE Network special. "And James passed on it and he went a different direction, and AJ stepped in and it just worked out perfectly."
Given he isn't exclusively signed anywhere yet - and the fact WWE just earned $1 billion from Fox - it's likely Storm eventually signs with WWE, but it's clear he already passed up a phenomenal opportunity.