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Who was David Schultz? Well, most fans will remember him as the guy who stood up for wrestling when John Stossel of ABC’s 20/20 tried to expose the wrestling business to the world. Even though many fans were already aware of the scripted nature of this business, kayfabe hadn’t completely died. A few months after this incident, Schultz was unexpectedly removed from the WWE roster. What was the reason for his firing? Some would say it was the Stossel incident since that led to a lawsuit against WWE, while others believe there was another incident that led to Schultz getting his release.
RELATED: 10 Things Wrestling Fans Should Know About David Schultz
David Schultz Was A Controversial Figure In WWE
There’s no doubt that David Schultz was a controversial name for WWE. He was one of those old-school wrestlers who believed kayfabe was everything and he never broke character. As some might have guessed, this landed him in hot water a few times. One time he even shot a gun on television because his character was unhinged.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Schultz was too contentious even for his days. If someone was with him, they'd never know if he was working them or just being himself. Schultz was that good at keeping kayfabe alive. In the Dark Side of the Ring documentary, he revealed that one time the sheriff's department and state police showed up in Vince’s office asking for Schultz’s address and were going to arrest him for spousal and child abuse. Why? Because they watched the “At Home with Dr. D” segment where Schultz constantly berated his wife and children and the officers thought they were being abused.
McMahon had to explain that it was all part of a show and that Schultz wasn’t like that in real life. Also, those guns that we saw on television weren’t actually Schultz's, and his family was just a bunch of paid actors playing their roles. But Schultz did all of this because McMahon wanted him to get more heat from the audience. And it worked, to some extent at least. Needless to say, heels like Schultz have always been rare and McMahon could’ve made a ton of money with him. So why did he end up firing him instead?
Vince McMahon Wanted David Schultz To Take The Blame For The John Stossel Incident
Some fans believe that Schultz was fired for slapping Stossel. But they're forgetting that McMahon sent him for some time until things had calmed down. He was going to bring Schultz back later.
The wrestler did sign an apology letter but he was also asked to sign another letter where he would have admitted that WWE had nothing to do with the Stossel incident.
This wasn’t the reality according to David. He has always said McMahon had told him to handle the whole situation without breaking kayfabe and even patted Schultz on the back for how he handled the situation. Vince even said he’d take care of everything afterward but probably changed his mind once the lawsuit happened. Schultz wasn’t immediately fired after the Stossel incident, but continued to be a part of WWE which made some fans believe that he was later released for a different cause. Apparently, it had something to do with Mr. T.
Did Mr. T Play A Role In David Schultz's Firing?
Mr. T and Hulk Hogan were going to main event the first WrestleMania and Schultz didn’t think an outsider like Mr. T should’ve been there. A few years back The Hulkster claimed that Schultz had got physical with Mr. T and this prompted Vince to fire him. But Schultz said this wasn’t true. He said he never hit Mr. T, he just went ringside to say something to him and Toru Tanaka who was Schultz’s friend. He had already been warned by Jay Strongbow that if he created a scene with the actor, he’d be fired. And Schultz told them to go ahead and fire him. Sometime later, cops arrived in the arena because Strongbow had called them. They handcuffed the wrestler and held guns to his head before throwing him out the backdoor.
McMahon later told him that he’d fix everything but he’d have to sign that letter saying the Stossel incident was his fault. Schultz didn’t sign it and WWE eventually made a settlement (some say it was around $280,000; others reported $425,000) with the reporter. In Dark Side of the Ring, he claimed that he wasn’t fired because of his issues with Mr. T. He also told how he and Mr. T even took pictures together in the hallway that night before cops were called. But because he wouldn't sign the papers Vince wanted, he got fired in the end.
