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A charismatic problem?Once you reach WWE as a pro-wrestler, you have reached the mountain top of all pro-wrestling. You are finally at the biggest and most storied wrestling promotion in the world and you have accomplished potentially a life-long dream.Sadly, you must eventually retire or you might get let go by WWE. Once this happens, you have to decide what you will do with your life now that you have no affiliation to WWE any longer. Some do well with this like The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, as both went on to have success in Hollywood. Rock became the biggest star in the movie business today and is a must have for any action movie out there.People like Batista have done well in the world of showbiz too. For every success, there is also a sad group who didn’t transition well into their post-WWE careers. We decided to count down the top ten people who weren’t able to transition well. Enjoy.
#1 Hulk Hogan
I know what you’re thinking. How can the most iconic pro-wrestler ever and a man who has both a reality show and movie history to his credit not have transitioned well into a post-WWE career? Well, the problem is that he never could let go from the world of pro-wrestling and only seemed to have troulbe outside of WWE.
Vince McMahon pretty much forced Hogan out in the early 1990’s and Hogan felt retirement was his best option. He was happy being at home and made enough money to live on during his time with WWE for probably a good portion of his life. Then WCW called and he ended up going there where he helped WCW overtake WWE, but added to a business dying with some of the most controversial stories ever such as the Jarrett laydown, Fingerpoke of doom, etc.
Hogan would find his way back to WWE for a while and would then leave and have no issues. Then his son would get into an accident and cost the life of his friend during it. This led Hogan to paying out a ton of money.To add more problems, he and his wife would divorce, costing him even more money.
He would go to TNA to get more money, which at the time he needed badly.
Hogan would then get involved in a sex tape ordeal, which is actually playing out in court right now. Hogan would then leave TNA after hurting it more and would sign with WWE. He did well for a while but the comments he made from 8 years ago during a tough time in his life hit the ‘net, which ended up costing Hogan his job with WWE yet again.
All of this said, Hogan has not had a satisfying situation in life since leaving WWE the many times he has.
#2 Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy is known as one of the top WWE performers to ever work with WWE. He was not known as a great wrestler, but rather a great performer who was massively popular during his WWE stint.
He would have many years of drug issues, which ended up forcing him to leave WWE for a while in the mid-2000’s. He would go to TNA, which was a big move at the time. They didn’t have drug testing and that helped Hardy who would be able to use without the worry of job loss.
He would then return to WWE nearly 2 years later where he would get clean but still have some substance issues. He would continue to resist rehab as he wanted to get himself clean. WWE would continue to suspend him. This led Jeff to leaving WWE once again in 2009. He would sign with TNA in 2010, and he has been there since. While his career in TNA has been successful, he would have one of the most memorable TNA PPV fallouts in history.
At Victory Road in 2011, Hardy would come into the arena high as a kite and was thought to have been on drugs all day. This was contemplated about at the previous PPV and at Impact Wrestling tapings months prior, but this was the night, things came to a head. Hardy would lose to Sting within seconds at the event and fans would go home pissed over it all. Reports them came out that Hardy had been suspended for a period of time and he would go on to get the help he so badly needed.
While the jury is still out on if he will stay clean, his career post- WWE has been nothing to brag about. This could lead to a WWE return before too much longer.
#3 Virgil
If there is one man no one in WWE and anywhere else in the world seem to like these days, it’s Virgil. He was known as the Ted DiBiase lacky and one that people loved at the time.
He would then depart from WWE as the company had nothing for him. Once Ted left for WCW, he followed but the company had nothing for him there either. He would eventually have nothing left to do and would not transition well post- WWE.
He is known for appearing at comic conventions and attempt to peddle trading cards, autographs, etc. The problem with this is that no one has really been interested in him for years. Although Virgil loves to use social media to make himself look important, no wrestling fan is into him these days.
Virgil can’t even connect to the performers of African-American these days. People like Xavier Woods of the New Day have expressed Virgil’s negativity on his career and also aid that he achieved everything because of his ethinicity.
Virgil is a born excuse maker and has yet to really do much post-WWE. Last we heard, he had a job at a local Jack’s.
#4 Tyson Tomko
Tyson Tomko is not remembered by a lot of people these days but he was a pretty popular guy during his run with Christian in both WWE and TNA.
He would never really do much on his own in WWE but in TNA he stood out well. The company never really could find a good spot for him and when Christian left for WWE after a good TNA run, Tomko was not seen as much of a value.
Tomko first appeared with TNA before WWE, but never could connect with the fans. He was good in his time with WWE, so most thought he would do well with TNA. That was never the case as fans knew something was off with him.
He had an addiction to opiate painkillers. He would go on to rob a pharmacy and would be arrested while shooting up drugs at a local Chili’s food establishment inside their bathroom. He had a real problem, but rehab was said to have helped him a lot. Sadly, it does not look like a WWE or TNA return will ever happen due to his history.
#5 Buff Bagwell
To be fair, Buff Bagwell is known more for his time with WCW than with WWE. He would compete with WWE for a short period of time before the company felt that he had nothing to offer compared to others coming over from the company.
Bagwell would go on to wrestle on the Indy scene a good bit and has kept in shape since leaving WWE. However, he has picked a very interesting career path since leaving the world of wrestling by becoming a male escort. He has claimed to earn up to $25,000 spending time with women for just a week.
Many feel that he has not transitioned well after his WWE run. While Bagwell has not been linked to drugs there is some alcohol issues in his past. Many do worry about his new lifestyle, but he seems to be okay with it.
#6 Lex Luger
Lex Luger was known as a very popular performer in his time who had it all. He was WWE’s new Hulk Hogan once Hogan left. WWE felt he could be the next top guy but sadly couldn’t connect well with the WWE fans.
Eventually, Lex would leave WWE and end up in WCW. This is where he first met Miss Elizabeth. She and Randy Savage split after years together, so Lex was seen as a big part of her life for a while. Both would get addicted to drugs and Lex would even be arrested for abuse against her. Liz would go on to suffer an overdose in Luger’s home, which led many in the world of wrestling to blame him for her death.
He then got in trouble with the law off and on and was in jail for three months at one point as well as five years probation. He would then turn to Christianity and turn his life around thankfully, but his post-WWE career was certainly a rollercoaster.
He ended up having a spinal stroke in 2007 and would be paralyzed for a period of time. Nearly a month after his stroke, he could not move anything. Eventually, he would have surgery and repair issues he had. In 2010, he claimed he could walk better and was able to drive. Thanfully, he seems to be okay now.
#7 Jake Roberts
Jake Roberts is not the first or last case of someone who was involved in drugs while also wrestling. Roberts has been known as one of the worst abusers with drugs over the years and would try to get help with nothing ever seeming to work for him.
This ended up eventually being too much for WWE and he and the company parted ways. He would be caught smoking crack via video and was one of the people involved in the bad portion of the Beyond the Mat movie.
Roberts was known for showing up to events hammered or high on drugs, which led promoters not wanting to book him a lot. While he did try to get help a lot over the years, he was finally able to get true help with DDP. The former WCW World Champion and friend of Roberts’ would help him get his life back on track through his notable yoga program that many have had success with and is highly hyped by all of WWE’s roster who use it.
He would also help Roberts get clean from drugs through it all.
While he has not had a good post-WWE career, the company finally allowed him to come back after they saw his great progess. He worked WWE RAW at one point and was even inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, a moment he thought he would never get to have.
#8 Scott Hall
Scott Hall is probably one of the most terrible cases ever. He had everything one could want. The man had a great look, could talk and had some great in-ring ability.
He was a promoter’s dream in so many ways, but his drug problems were just too much. While he was with WWE, he was a known alcoholic. There were times he would have to be helped to the car and even had to be helped to get dressed.
Drugs led him to get fired from WWE in 2002, but WWE offered him help numerous times through rehab. They paid more for Hall than any other wrestler in history when it came to rehab. Over a million was used in fact. He would also work for and get removed from TNA Wrestling.
He has been arrested numerous times and there are countless stories of him working Indy events in terrible condition. There is a memorable video on YouTube and featured on the ESPN documentary involving Hall where an Indy promoter would have to help Hall to a ring and he would proceed to work a match with a guy. It was so terrible to see and his post-WWE career was just miserable to watch as a fan of his from the past.
Finally, just like Roberts, DDP helped Hall. Also like Roberts, he would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. WWE always wanted to induct him but never wanted to be linked to him while he was going through such terrible situations in his life. He is said to be clean now, and we hope he stays that way.
#9 Sunny
Former WWE Diva Sunny may be one of the worst cases of bad transitions in history. After not hearing anything from her in over a decade after her release in 1998, she showed back up in the limelight a few times with WWE afterward. However, it was when WWE inducted her into the WWE Hall of Fame a few years ago that she started to get some big time spotlight on her again.
She would go on to have numerous drug related issues, DUIs, and felony charges held against her. She has been arrested numerous times and she was seen as someone even many Indy promoters didn’t want to touch, which is saying a lot. She would end up selling herself, literally.
She turned to porn and even doing Skype calls where she strips, talks, or does whatever a person wants her to do, all for their money. She has apparently signed a deal with Vivid Entertainment to do hardcore pornos with them but is is not yet known if and when those videos will be released at this point. As of this writing, nothing exists.
She has seriously not transitioned well at all since her departure from WWE for sure and only continues to make life worse for herself. She still blames everyone ‘BUT’ herself for her actions, which isn’t surprising.
#10 Chyna
Former WWE Diva Chyna was beloved in her time with WWE. She was a key part of D-Generation X and will go down as one of the best working Divas ever with WWE. She was also a former IC Champion and was the first female to ever compete with men in multiple matches in WWE. She was also the first female Royal Rumble participant.
While she did Playboy under the WWE banner and was a big part of the company for a while, she ended up being an issue for WWE after she was dumped by Triple H. The Game ended up with Stephanie McMahon whom he has been with ever since.
Jim Ross claims that Chyna asked for her release, but Chyna claims that Vince McMahon just released her over being a problem.
Chyna would not do well at all post-WWE. She would get involved in drugs, which never works out for anyone post-WWE as we learned above. She would then willingly go into the porn world and has filmed numerous scenes in the adult film world the last number of years. Many feel she has developed mental issues due to her past struggles.
She has also had many bi-polar moments where she would slam WWE, Triple H, and Stephanie. Then, she would go on to ask why WWE won’t give her a chance to come back or even do the WWE Hall of Fame.
Triple H mentioned that there is no way the WWE would want her back, especially with her connection to the adult film world. WWE is PG and if they wouldn’t take people like Scott Hall back, a big time friend of Triple H’s while he was in his worst times, there is no way Chyna gets back in. She continues to make things worse for herself.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
