Brian Hebner is happy that WWE released him in 2006 and believes it was a blessing in his life overall.
Former WWE referee Brian Hebner was a recent guest on the Haus of Wrestling Podcast. When asked about his WWE release in 2006, Hebner said he knew his release was inevitable after his dad was released the year prior. Although Hebner believes he essentially had a hand in doing it to himself.
“Basically, once the things that happened with my dad, my uncle, I knew I was on the clock. I knew I was,” Brian Hebner began. “Meaning you can’t be a Hebner and be thinking you’re gonna stay around for a long time. So, I knew it, and visually all that really happened, to be honest with you, and people can say what they want, but I know the truth, and the truth is, and nobody’s ever disputed it, it would be kind of dumb for me to say anything otherwise, really.
“But, it became where I did it to myself. Meaning I would normally catch one of the buses; we had tour buses back then, and it was the production bus that I would catch, and that would be my ride up to the hotel. So I didn’t have to worry about Uber, and back then, they didn’t have Uber; we had taxis and whatnot. I caught the bus, and one of the people on the bus, I don’t remember who, it doesn’t matter, was running late. I actually got to the building late. And once I got to the building, Johnny Ace, they said, wanted to see me.
Brian Hebner was released for being late to work one time
“He pulled me into the office, and he told me that he has to make a statement, and it can’t be his referees coming into work late and that he was gonna let me go for, I think, thirty or sixty days, or whatever it was, and to call him back. I called him back, and he said he didn’t have anything for me, which floored me because I guess they didn’t have any more matches from that point forward, which is ridiculous. You don’t have any more matches? You don’t have anything for referees? Okay, I got you, bud.
“But anyway, long story short, it was bullshit. Because there were fines that were supposed to be put in place. Your first time being late, you get $500. The second time was $1,000. The third time was, I don’t know, $15 or $200 or $2000, whatever it was, and then a possible suspension or whatever. But none of that happened to me. I was late, and I was let go. So, that’s just the nutshell of it.”
Brian Hebner believes his WWE release was a blessing in his life
Regardless of how things went down, Hebner thinks the whole situation was a blessing. Hebner said he has no regrets and, in a nutshell, thanks WWE for letting him go.
“I’m not saying this was Johnny’s decision,” Brian Hebner continued. “I’m sure somebody higher up, and I’m sure Vince had a hard one for my dad, my uncle, and I’m sure his son being around his company probably didn’t help causes. I mean, your last name is your last name, even if you can’t stand it and you want to get rid of it.
“I don’t know; it is what it is. You know what I mean? It was a blessing. It was a blessing in my life, and I didn’t know so and think so at the time, but it was a blessing in my life. I’m glad the way things worked out. I have no regrets. And I’m very much, in a nutshell, thanking you, WWE, for letting me go.”
READ MORE: Brian Hebner Always Believed The Montreal Screwjob Was A Work, And Still Does
What do you make of Brian Hebner’s comments? Do you think WWE made the right call releasing him when they did? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
