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Former WWE Star Reveals Incredible Response To Being Fired

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Former WWE broadcaster Kevin Kelly has recalled how he was almost fired from the company by Jim Ross but he simply explained how he was far too valuable to be let go.

Kelly was a broadcaster for the company between 1996 and his departure in 2003 but as well as commentating and hosting duties, he also wielded some influence over talent scouting and creative during his tenure in WWE.

Speaking on the Insiders Edge podcast, Kevin Kelly revealed that when he was about to be cut from the company by then-Head of Talent Relations Jim Ross, he shot back with all the reasons why the company needed to keep him:

“I was in the process of buying a house. The closing was in a couple of weeks away. You can’t fire me. I’ve already told my landlord that I’m moving. I’m buying a house. ‘Do you even know what I do, JR? Do you even know how many hats I wear? Who is going to do all the jobs that I do if you’re letting me go? We need to talk about this because it’s not going to work for me.'”

“He said, ‘Okay.’ I was going to get fired, what’s the worst that could happen? He was going to shoot me with a gun? I didn’t call him an asshole or MFer, I just said, ‘Hey, no.'”

When Kelly was eventually let go in 2003, he asked the company to give him a couple more months of severance pay above what he was due:

“Then, when they finally did fire me, I knew it was coming, but I was the last one to get cut. It was 03 and they were going department by department. You hear about it, people getting let go. I knew it was coming. I was in the last round. Everyone was very nice. They said, ‘You were here almost seven full years. We will treat that as eight years and give you four months of severance.’

“I said, ‘I did a lot of work while I was here. I had two or three jobs at a time, I would like six months severance please. I feel I deserve it.’ The lady said, ‘Okay.’ Again, why not ask? What’s the worst that will happen? I didn’t ask for anything ridiculous. I asked for a couple extra months of severance.”

Kevin Kelly has no job concerns anymore as he is firmly established as the English voice of New Japan Pro Wrestling and was on the call at Sakura Genesis where a new IWGP World Champion was crowned.

h/t Fightful