Earlier this year, former WWE superstar Finaly, who was working as an agent/producer behind the scenes at the time, was fired after booking an angle where The Miz interrupted the National Anthem at a live WWE event – which caused an uproar among the National Guard servicemen who were in attendance.

Finaly recently spoke to the UK’s Fighting Spirit magazine and had this to say about the situation:

“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.”

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