Three months ago WWE agent Fit Finlay was fired by the company after ten years service. Fit has finally broken silence and is now offering his first comments on the incident that led to his release. “I made a call that caused a storm and I paid for it.”
Fit was a well respected WWE superstar. In the ring, Fit brought a hard-nosed approach that was appreciated by fans and wrestlers alike. Out of the ring, Fit was a highly respected agent and coach. That is why many were shocked when he was fired by the WWE a few months ago.
The former WWE United States champion is finally going on record to talk about the events that led to his dismissal from World Wrestling Entertainment a month before WrestleMania 27. Fit spoke to Fighting Spirit Magazine and confirmed a story that many had suspected resulted in his firing.
Numerous reports indicated that Fit was let go by the WWE after sponsors complained about an angle he approved at a RAW house show. This is how the Wrestling Observer website reported on the incident back in March.
“We had gotten a live report from the show noting The Miz come out and stopped the playing of the national anthem to get easy heel heat prior to a title defense against Randy Orton that would open the show.
Apparently representatives of the Army National Guard, a WWE sponsor, were upset they would use the anthem for cheap heat. Since Finlay was in charge of laying out the show, and thus would have made the final call on the idea, he was the one let go.”
Fit finally broke his silence as he has remained in relative media obscurity since his release. Here is what Fit says about the firing which pretty much confirms the above report.
“I was given a lot of leeway and a lot of power in WWE, and that comes with a lot of responsibility. I made a call that caused a storm and I paid for it.”
“They play the American national anthem over here before every event. We had Miz going out first and, because it was just before WrestleMania, we were trying to get as much heat on him as possible.”
“So my spur-of-the-moment call, as I sat right by the technician, was to tell him to hit Miz’s music while they were half-way through the national anthem.”
“Of course, people were up in arms about it, but it was a good reaction as a heel. But there were National Guard people in the building that took exception to it, and I understand that fully.”
“It wasn’t intended to insult anybody in that way – it was just part of an entertaining show. That’s what we do, we entertain – it’s about cheers and boos.”
You can read more about Fit by checking out the Sun article on the interview with more quotes.
This was a highly polarizing dismissal. Many WWE superstars were reportedly outraged as Fit is a very popular guy. Fit was a well liked agent and was highly respected for his training with green talent and WWE Divas. Dave Batista recently talked about it on his Twitter page. Here is what Batista tweeted after copying and pasting a series of tweets.
“so im going to say this because i said i would elaborate later….and im sure i’ll get some grief over it but i dont realy care. and this is completely the opinion of an outsider looking in. i only know what ive been told about Fit Finlay’s release and i dont know exactly what happened…but no one in this world could convince me that Fit, the honorable man that he is, did anything that would warrant him losing his livelihood. i wouldn’t have made it to the top without fit,and i wouldn’t have made it through alot of the longass unbearable tours either. i seriously think that there’s a huge void in the WWE without him. he isn’t replaceable.” – @Real_DBatutista
I’d say that is pretty high praise from one of the most successful WWE superstars of this era.
Hopefully at some point things will smooth over and Fit will have another opportunity to make a full time living with the WWE. From all accounts and things I have heard on and off the record, he certainly deserves it. In the meantime, it appears that Fit is getting ready to start hitting some independent wrestling shows.
Talk about getting your money’s worth as an indy fan.
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