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WWE Superstars often become some of the most famous individuals in the sports entertainment business. However, the company does not offer lifetime employment to even the biggest names in the company.
The Undertaker, Kane and John Cena are some big names who might never sign with another wrestling promotion. However, recently, some big former superstars such as The Big Show and Mark Henry have turned heads by moving to AEW.
Similarly, WWE has let go of several major superstars who were once seen as workers who would remain with the company for a very long time. These individuals could have gone on to become the face of the company at any given point, but that did not happen.
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Let’s take a look at five recently released superstars who were once destined for greatness and were seen as too big to fail in WWE.
#5. Braun Strowman had a good run in WWE
Braun Strowman feels like the perfect WWE Superstar to kick off this list. Strowman signed with the company in 2013 and began a singles run in 2016. He was first introduced as part of The Wyatt Family, but managed to make a name for himself on his own.
The giant WWE Superstar was arguably the most agile and athletic big man the company has ever signed. He was able to pull off certain moves that were previously restricted to wrestlers almost half his size.
During his WWE career, Strowman competed in 51 pay-per-view matches out of which 24 matches were main events. This showed that the company had a lot of faith in the superstar.
Like Kane and The Big Show, Braun Strowman was seen as someone who’d enjoy being part of the company for his entire career without winning too many world titles. Speaking during an interview with Lilian Garcia in 2020, The Monster Among Men claimed that if he was ever let go by the WWE, he'd retire from the business:
"I've said it time and time again: the day I take my wrestling boots off for WWE is the day I stop wrestling," Strowman said. "I will not wrestle for anyone else. I've been given an opportunity from Vince McMahon and from WWE at life that I would have never gotten [anywhere else]. I told him a long time ago, the day I take my boots off from you, I'm done. And I mean that."
Unfortunately, Strowman never saw it coming. After failing to win the WWE Championship at the 2021 WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view, Strowman was released from the company.
This came as a major surprise for the WWE Universe, who expected The Monster Among Men to remain with the company for the rest of his wrestling career. Strowman is currently rumored to be looking to sign with some other promotion(s), and could even end up re-signing with WWE in the future.
#4. Buddy Murphy was once The Best Kept Secret in WWE
After spending several years on the independent circuit, Buddy Murphy signed with WWE in 2013. Murphy became a part of the WWE NXT brand where he formed a tag team with Wesley Blake. The two men went on to become the NXT Tag Team Champions in 2015.
Murphy became the first Australian to hold a championship in WWE and started performing by himself soon after. He lost a lot of weight to join the company’s cruiserweight division and took it by storm.
In 2018, the company rewarded Murphy with a Cruiserweight Championship victory at Super Show-Down in front of his home crowd in Australia.
He held the title for six months and was moved to the main roster where he had some good rivalries and partnerships. The creative team gave him a massive opportunity by teaming him with Seth Rollins to win the RAW Tag Team Championships.
WWE’s Best Kept Secret had a bright future ahead of him, but the company decided to pull the plug on his career after not utilizing him for several months. On June 2 2021, Murphy was released from his WWE contract.
News of his release took social media by storm as many fans believed WWE had mismanaged the rising superstar. He was seen by many as someone who could become a main event star at some point.
#3. Andrade 'Cien' Almas asked for his release from WWE
Andrade "Cien" Almas became the talk of WWE NXT before moving to the main roster. He had a good run as the NXT Champion before WWE moved him to the SmackDown brand.
With Zelina Vega by his side, Andrade was seen as a star in the company. He had the in-ring talent, presence and charisma required to be a top WWE Superstar.
He won the United States Championship once in his career and enjoyed a few rivalries on RAW and SmackDown. However, he never got a big push to reach the top of the company.
After being unused for several months, Andrade requested his release from WWE in March 2021. His request was initially denied, but WWE eventually granted his release on March 21. El Idolo revealed the details regarding his release during an interview soon after:
"About 15 days ago, two things happened. When I asked for my release, it was on a Monday. The following day, I had things with the company and I got COVID and my girlfriend also tested positive. No one knows about this. I got COVID and after I got it. On Sunday, [roughly a week] after getting COVID, I got a call and they gave me the release. It was what I wanted."
Several recently released superstars struggled to make it big in WWE. However, Andrade had the WWE Universe behind him and could have gone on to become a top superstar with better booking.
#2. Aleister Black found a new home soon after his WWE release
Since 2020, WWE has released several big names to cut costs. Not many releases have been as big a surprise as Aleister Black’s release.
Black joined WWE in 2016 before going on a golden run in NXT. The superstar was presented as almost unbeatable. He enjoyed a good NXT Championship reign before moving to the main roster.
WWE continued his winning ways on RAW and SmackDown for some time before handing him a loss to AJ Styles. The creative team then started underutilizing the superstar even though many fans saw him as a future WWE Champion.
After not being used for several months, WWE gave him a new gimmick before surprisingly releasing him in June 2021. The release surprised the WWE Universe and the superstar himself. Black spoke to Renee Paquette on the Oral Sessions podcast regarding his release and the backstage reaction to his exit.
“There’s been outpouring support from friends, colleagues, family, and fans. It’s helped” Aleister noted. “I’ve spoken to a lot of higher-ups and they don’t understand it.”
“Throughout the entire company there is a ‘why him?'” Aleister Black revealed. “It’s a good feeling that the perception you have of ‘why am I being let go?’ is shared by many high up in the company that are very close to the boss.”
The Striking Man from Amsterdam was seemingly too big to fail in WWE. Throughout his career, he was seen as someone who could become the next face of the company. However, WWE decided to cut Black’s stay in the company short and gave its competitor a massive name in the process.
#1. ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt was too big to fail in WWE
Third-generation professional wrestler Bray Wyatt joined WWE in 2009. After a few false starts in the company, Wyatt formed the iconic Wyatt Family to get a big push in the company.
Along with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, Wyatt started to take over the NXT brand before moving to the main roster. Bray Wyatt and his accomplices had a good gimmick that helped them get over with the WWE Universe.
He won the WWE Championship once and also helped Braun Strowman get a headstart in his career. Bray Wyatt later introduced ‘The Fiend’ character which took the WWE Universe by storm.
Even though he won the Universal Championship twice, the creative team ultimately mismanaged his character and dragged him down. He remained poorly utilized for several months and lost too many matches.
Even though fans still had a lot of faith in Wyatt and his work, WWE released him from his contract in July 2021. His release was another major surprise for fans who did not expect a man like Bray Wyatt to be released from the company.
Rumors suggest that WWE had plans for the 3-time world champion for SummerSlam before his release. It will be interesting to see what’s next for The Eater of Worlds in the wrestling world.
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