wwe & sport!

justin gabriel’s ditched the wwe!

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One minute he’s jumping from the top rope and landing on his opponents for the win, the next he’s turned his back on the sports entertainment giant. the wwe dropped justin gabriel from their battle royal line-up at the royal rumble pay-per-view on 25 january 2015 and released a statement saying that they’d agreed to release him with immediate effect. he’s since signed with pro wrestling syndicate and justin will go by the name “the darewolf” pj black when he gets back into the ring. so how do we know that it wasn’t a good split from the wwe? the only thing that justin’s had to say on the matter was this tweet: “i should probably issue a statement. but first. breakfast.” and he’s not the only star to have walked out on the wwe business…

bret “the hitman” hart

how: one of the most iconic wrestlers climbed into the ring in 1997 and unloaded a tirade on wwe ceo vince mcmahon, the business and most of the superstars backstage, claiming that he’d been “screwed by the business i love the most”.

The truth: back then, the wwe wasn’t that big and vince was unable to pay bret the salary that they’d agreed upon the year before, when the hitman signed his 20-year contract.

“stone cold” steve austin

how: he was fired by general manager eric bischoff on “medical grounds” in 2003, a year after returning from his feud with vince mcmahon and other superstars.

The truth: legitimately, it was medical reasons. steve broke his neck in 1997 in a match with the late owen hart (it left him temporarily paralysed in the ring) and his doctors told him that “a violent move could leave him a quadriplegic”.

cactus jack

how: superstar mick foley’s most infamous persona (he had three – dude love, cactus jack and mankind) quit the ring in 1998 because the fans “don’t love me; they only love stone cold steve austin”. mankind and dude love still wrestled.

The truth: cactus jack was also mick’s craziest persona – he lost an ear, broke bones and beat himself. he just couldn’t meet the physical demands of being cactus jack anymore.

cm punk

how: the outspoken star was put on “sabbatical” in early 2014 after being a no-show at a number of live events.

The truth: cm punk told vince and triple h (the executive vice president of talent, live events & creative) that he was “going home”. according to vince, they couldn’t resolve their issues and cm punk was fired after not reporting for work. he’s now fighting in the ufc world of mixed martial arts.