While not every independent standout makes it to a WWE ring, a number of notable stars from smaller promotions find new life in the wrestling giant as producers, coaches, or writers. Former Ring of Honor Tag Team Champion Steve Corino now spends his days training the next generation at WWE NXT while Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer Christopher “Abyss” Park produces matches on WWE’s main roster. Some retired indie stars have even assumed on-screen, non-wrestler roles for WWE, as seen recently with former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce, who operates as an authority figure for both Monday Night Raw and WWE SmackDown.
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One of those indie standouts that joined WWE in a behind-the-scenes capacity was Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs made a name for himself in Ring of Honor, where he spent over a decade leading multiple factions that boasted future greats like Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and Roderick Strong within their ranks. Jacobs would put his in-ring career on pause in 2015, as he joined WWE’s creative team.
His WWE tenure would last just over two years, as Jacobs was fired in October 2017 for posting a photo with then-Bullet Club members the Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and Marty Scurll, who were leading an “invasion” of Raw outside the arena. Jacobs reflected on his WWE firing during an interview on AdFreeShows, noting that he was well aware that the Instagram was going to ruffle some feathers.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be received well, that’s for sure,” Jacobs said (h/t Fightful). “I was in the arena and I think Kevin Owens texted me, ‘Are the Bucks there?’ I hadn’t heard anything about it from inside the arena. He goes, ‘I think they’re outside shooting something.’ I went out there, ‘Holy crap, the Bucks are here.’ I saw them, we exchanged pleasantries, it was good to see them. Right as I was leaving, ‘hey guys, let’s take a picture.’”
Jacobs noted that once he posted the photo, part of him “wanted to get in trouble.” He added that he expected backlash, but thought he would remain employed because he was good at his job.
“I took the picture and 25 minutes later, Michael Hayes, Road Dogg, Dave Kapoor come to the room, kick everyone else out, Dave is like, ‘Why the hell am I seeing this?’” Jacobs said. “‘I wasn’t thinking.’ ‘Hunter [Triple H] is pissed about it.’ I went to Hunter’s office and talked to Hunter. He was cool about it. He wasn’t happy about it, but he was cool about it. Hunter is a reasonable guy.”
Despite Triple H’s demeanor about the photo, Jacobs received his pink slip roughly one week later.
“I look back at it now, five years later, and I see the child like behavior of acting out and I knew what I wanted from that. I needed to expand and not feel confined like I felt, so I acted out. It wasn’t for me anymore,” Jacobs said. “I knew that for a few months at that point. By the end, I couldn’t even speak in front of Vince [McMahon], I couldn’t even pitch an idea in front of him. I felt so stupid every time I talked there.”