5 Times WWE Superstars wanted to leave the company (and how Vince McMahon reacted)

Landing a job in WWE has been the dream of countless wrestlers over the past several decades. A select few of them end up realizing their dream and bag a WWE contract, while the vast majority never make it. The ones who do though, have to be up on their toes for the better part of the year, as WWE's hectic schedule isn't something everyone can commit to.

In other cases, Superstars feel like they aren't being used to the best of their ability, and aren't doing much of note while being a part of the biggest wrestling company in the world. Many others believe that they can do better elsewhere. This culminates in a Superstar requesting their release from WWE. Over the years, a string of WWE Superstars have requested to let go by WWE, or have refused to renew their contracts. Here, we'll talk about 5 such instances. We'll also discuss Vince McMahon's reactions when these Superstars revealed that they were done with WWE.

---

#5 Luke Harper

Back in March, former WWE Superstar Luke Harper appeared on Chris Jericho's "Talk Is Jericho" podcast, and discussed the events surrounding his WWE exit and getting hired by AEW. Now dubbed as Brodie Lee, Harper revealed Vince McMahon's reaction when he requested his release from WWE last year. After having a couple of talks with Vince, Harper received a call from the WWE Chairman himself, who made it clear that he can't let him go.

Shawn Spears had done the same thing a few months earlier, and they granted his release. I thought they were gonna do it. After the second conversation with Vince, he called me and said, 'Hey man, for business reasons, I can't let you go.', and I said, 'Okay, it's totally fair, it's your decision obviously.'

Harper was finally released by WWE in December. He went on to make his AEW debut in March and was revealed as The Exalted One of The Dark Order.

#4 Jon Moxley

Former WWE Superstar Jon Moxley, a.k.a. Dean Ambrose wasn't feeling like he was being used properly on WWE's main roster, back in 2018-19. During his forgettable heel run in late 2018, Ambrose got vaccinated by a doctor so that he wouldn't catch anything from the fans in attendance. This was the last straw for him, and he decided that he was done with WWE.

Moxley let WWE Senior Director of Talent Relations Mark Carrano know that he was leaving, and word got out to Vince McMahon soon after. According to Moxley, the news of him wanting to leave WWE and not renew his contract was what led to the WWE Chairman booking him in an angle with Nia Jax.

The angle in question saw Jax attacking Ambrose on an episode of RAW, and the latter believed that it was a way to "bury him" before he left. Moxley had rejoined The Shield in early 2019, and the trio had a series of matches against Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, and King Corbin. The Hounds of Justice defeated the villains in Dean's last match at The Shield's Final Chapter, following which he left WWE.

#3 Goldust

WWE veteran Goldust had been with the company for a long time and wasn't satisfied with his standing on the roster back in 2019. Soon after WrestleMania 35, Goldust announced that he had requested his release from WWE a while ago.

Vince McMahon didn't want to let him go though. According to reports, Vince McMahon wasn't thrilled when he learned that Goldust wanted his release, and refused to let him go. WWE EVP Triple H convinced Vince to grant Goldust his release, and he finally confirmed his exit on April 21.

Goldust, now using the moniker of Dustin Rhodes, made his way to AEW, where he wrestled his first match at Double Or Nothing, the promotion's first show. Dustin lost to his brother Cody, and the duo hugged it out after the contest as the fans in attendance cheered in unison. Rhodes has been doing well for himself in All Elite Wrestling so far and seems very happy with his current standing. His match with Cody proved that he still has a lot left in the tank, and just needed the opportunity to showcase it in front of the fans.

#2 The Revival

Back in early 2019, The Revival requested their release from WWE, and the same was reportedly denied by Vince McMahon. What followed was an angle with The Usos that was embarrassing, to say the least. Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood went along with whatever was given to them, but the WWE Universe wasn't happy one bit with how the talented duo was being handled. Months later, the two Superstars had a meeting with Vince, who knew that they were hell-bent on not renewing their contracts.

Vince, in an attempt to stop The Revival from leaving, pitched them a gimmick that made Wheeler "laugh out loud".

We sat down, and Vince hands us these. I'll put my hand on the Bible, and tell you right now, I laughed out loud in front of everybody. It was me and David, Vince, Bruce Prichard, and Corino. They were all serious, they told us why they though that would be a good idea.

Dax and Cash said that they don't have a problem donning the gimmick, but won't be renewing their contracts. Soon after, they received a call from WWE and were told that they had been pulled from every WWE event, moving forward.

#1 Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar's initial run with WWE saw him struggling to keep up with the company's hectic schedule. Soon after his WWE title loss to Eddie Guerrero, Brock Lesnar approached Gerald Brisco and made it clear that he was leaving WWE. Lesnar wanted to tell this to Vince McMahon's face and found him chatting with Triple H in the ring.

As per Lesnar's autobiography, "Death Clutch", The Beast told the boss that they needed to have a chat. He told Vince that he didn't want to wrestle in a WWE ring again and wanted to leave. This is what Vince told Lesnar in response:

Well Brock, what about WrestleMania? You can't leave on bad terms that way! You can't do this to me.

The duo reached an agreement and Lesnar went on to lose to Goldberg at WrestleMania 20 in Madison Square Garden. Lesnar and Goldberg were both booed by the audience as the news of both leaving at the same time had become public knowledge by that point. It would be 8 long years until Lesnar made his return to a WWE ring.