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WWE is considered by many to be the pinnacle of professional wrestling. Τhe last few years, however, more and more Superstars have decided to take a chance on themselves.
Professional wrestling is evolving all over the world with AEW,NJPW, ROH, Impact and NXT making great progress over the years.
It's not a coincidence that many Superstars are asking for their release these days, the roster is stacked and the creative plans are limited for most of the talent.
So much so that many Superstars will settle for a lower payment in other companies in order to have creative freedom over their character.
With AEW now in town offering an alternative, ROH being economically strong and NJPW making more and more appearances in the US, the future out of the WWE doesn't seem bad at all.
So with Dean Ambrose being the latest big name to be leaving the company, here's a list of superstars that found success after leaving WWE.
#5 CM Punk
CM Punk left the WWE in 2014 after a frustrating year with the company. He didn't leave the promotion though with the best terms.
In the infamous Colt Cabana podcast episode Punk highlighted the fact that they had no direction for him, that his termination papers arrived at his wedding day and that he had a serious medical condition which WWE doctor Chris Amann failed to diagnose.
CM Punk wasn't that successful at his UFC run. He lost both of his fights against Mickey Gall and Mike Jackson, but the box office numbers that he generated were massive. Therefore we can't consider his run in the octagon a failure.
Despite the losses, Punk transitioned wonderfully from fighting to commentating. He made his debut on December 14, 2018, on Cage Fury Fighting Championships (a UFC affiliate) and had a great showing.
He also had a great partnership with Marvel comics where he was a writer for Drax and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Punk was one of the most popular superstars during his WWE tenure. Fans had become increasingly frustrated with John Cena's constant push and demanded an alternative. Punk answered this call through some heroic displays across the year and fans loved every bit of what their brash and outspoken Chocago-made talent had on offer.
There are always rumors still floating around that Punk is likely to return to the WWE. Only time will tell.
#4 PAC (Neville)
On October 10, 2017,multiple sources were reporting that Neville had walked out of Monday Night RAW but nothing was confirmed, he was scheduled to face and lose to Enzo Amore but he was instead replaced with Kalisto.
WWE denied any rumors regarding Neville and claimed that he was still with the company. However, on August 24, 2018, after a long departure from the promotion, WWE announced that the English superstar was no longer under contract.
He returned to the indie scene on October 2, 2018, at Dragon Gate using his old name 'PAC' and allied himself with the R.ED stable.
Since then PAC's worth has skyrocketed, he became an internet sensation and also won the Open the Dream Gate Championship. The cherry on top of the cake was on Jan 8th, 2019 when he became one of the first to sign an AEW contract.
Neville was a two-time WWE Cruiser Weight Champion and a one time NXT champion. His high-flying wrestling style was a huge hit with fans wanting to see more of him as part of the main roaster.
A piling midcard crisis added to Neville's issues and he quit WWE to find greener pastures elsewhere.
#3 Johnny Mundo (John Morrison)
It was November 28, 2011, in a falls count anywhere match where we last saw John Morrison inside a WWE ring before his high profile return in 2019.
On November 29, WWE acknowledged the end of Morrison's contract and moved his profile to the alumni section of its website.
After leaving WWE, he began wrestling on the independent circuit under his real name as well as "Johnny Mundo" and found tremendous success in doing so.
During his time in the indies, Morrison became a Lucha Underground champion, a AAA Mega Champion, a AAA Latin American Champion and he's currently the Impact Heavyweight Champion.
In 2015, Mundo revealed on Stone Cold Steve Austin's podcast that WWE wanted him to sign another three-year contract, but due to a neck injury, residual pain and creative frustrations, he decided not to renew his contract, wanting more creative freedom.
Morrison returned to the WWE in 2019 has sided with The Miz in a tag team capacity ever since.
#2 Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho is one of the greatest of all time. The man is a living legend. At the age of 48, he still produces five-star classics in Japan against Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito. Not only that, he took a chance on himself and signed with AEW.
For the first time in over 20 years, Jericho has a contract with another wrestling promotion. That's massive considering the monopoly that WWE has over wrestling talent.
Jericho is proof that even for a huge star like himself he finds joy, creative freedom and success outside of the WWE.
While Jericho isn't necessarily a part of this era, at 48 years of age, he turned down a guaranteed contract and possibly a Hall of Fame induction in order to join AEW. That's something to admire. Y2J is no more, this is the Alpha of professional wrestling.
When Jericho jumped ship to the AEW, he became the inaugural AEW world champion. He continues to dominate proceedings there, similar to what he did in the WWE.
Few wrestlers can boast of the type of longevity that Jericho possesses.
#1 Cody Rhodes
Haunted by the legacy of his father and stuck in a gimmick he didn't want, Cody Rhodes thought that he deserved better, so on May 21, 2016, he asked for his release and WWE granted it. Little did they know that this was the biggest mistake they had made in years.
What followed was Cody's ascend to greatness. He signed a contract with ROH which allowed him to work with NJPW as well. He debuted on December 10, 2016, as 'The American Nightmare' Cody and joined the Bullet Club where he became close friends with the Young Bucks.
Along with the leader of the Bullet Club, Kenny Omega, as well as Marty Crull and Adam Page they started to call themselves 'The Elite'.
The rest is history, as they proceeded to conquer the wrestling world, first by filling a 10K seat venue in an event called ALL IN and then by creating their own wrestling company called All Elite Wrestling.
Meanwhile, Cody became an ROH World Champion, an IWGP US Champion and NWA World Champion. He thought he deserved better, he was right.
Quite a career accleration compared to what the WWE offered him.
