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.

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#6 Almost fired: John Cena

John Cena almost got fired

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.

#5 Almost fired: Titus O’Neil

Triple H saved Titus from getting fired

Titus O’Neil has some success in WWE as a tag team wrestler, although he became famous when he botched his entrance at the Greatest Royal Rumble event, which could be the funniest botch of the modern era.

In 2016, Daniel Bryan came to Monday Night Raw to announce his retirement from in-ring competition. He had already been injured before and things were only going to get worse for him. He was the most loved Superstar at that moment, and fans cried their hearts out when he gave his retirement speech. After the speech, he hugged Vince McMahon and then the boss, alongside other wrestlers, was heading backstage when Titus grabbed his hand and pulled him behind.

This infuriated Vince, who is known for having a short fuse and he took Titus to task.

“I still don't understand it. I literally put my my hand out and said, 'Ladies first.' So I don't know what the wrong time is to say, 'Ladies first' or the right time.” (Credits)

Vince McMahon had originally suspended him for 90 days but later scaled it down to 60 days. While it was still surprising that they suspended Titus for this reason, things could have gone worse for him if Triple H and Joey Mercury hadn’t convinced Vince not to fire him.

The moral of the story here is to never rub Vincent Kennedy McMahon the wrong way.

#4, 3 & 2 Almost hired: The Elite (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson and Kenny Omega)

The Ellie

The Elite originally consisted of three wrestlers: Matt & Nick Jackson and Kenny Omega. Since then, the group has recruited three new members in the form of Cody Rhodes, Marty Scurll, and Adam Page before moving back to the original setup. If you follow Sportskeeda Wrestling, you probably know that Vince McMahon tried multiple strategies to sign the Jackson brothers and Omega to WWE, but he failed as they rejected his offers.

Matt Jackson recently spoke to Chris Van Vliet and revealed how close The Elite was to joining WWE.

"At one point, I remember me, Nick and Kenny were in a room because all of our deals were up at the same time. We got off the phone one day and we looked at each other and we said ‘I think we’re all going to WWE.’ It was that close," he added. (Credits)

The Elite is now a core part of AEW's setup and the original members (as well as Cody Rhodes) also serve as Executive Vice Presidents of Tony Khan’s promotion.

The group is known to have full creative freedom and are one of AEW's top talents. They boast two AEW World Tag team championship reigns and an AEW world championship reign amongst their ranks.

#1 Almost fired: Stephanie McMahon

You didn't expect this name, right?

It’s shocking to see Stephanie McMahon’s name on this list, isn’t it? After all, she is the daughter of Vince McMahon, the CEO of the company. As surprising as it sounds, it’s indeed true that Stephanie almost got fired from her father’s company. Not once but many times. In an interview given to Lillian Garcia, the Billion Dollar Princess said this:

"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." (Credits)

Stephanie has played a pivotal role in WWE's rise both as an onscreen talent and as a member of the management. She was at the forefront of many storylines during the Attitude Era and also helped usher in the McMahon-Helmsley era through her alliance with Triple H.

Despite her limited in-ring abilities, she is a former WWE Women's champion. She has improved a lot in the past few years, and now, as many call her, she is the “most powerful” women in WWE, and is currently its chief brand officer running the show alongside her husband Triple H.

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