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WWE Superstars typically have several options when their contracts are set to expire. The independent wrestling scene has risen in recent years, and All Elite Wrestling has become legitimate competition for Vince McMahon's empire.
These factors have led many WWE stars to publicly request their release from the company over the past few years. The likes of Tye Dillinger, Luke Harper and The Revival have left WWE and joined AEW.
While WWE made wholesale changes to its roster in April 2020 and fired several unhappy Superstars, several current WWE employees have unsuccessfully asked to be released.
A number of stars have threatened to quit the company in the past, but WWE officials have convinced several of these wrestlers to stay.
The following list looks at just a handful of WWE stars who have either requested their release or threatened to quit WWE in recent years.
#5. Requested his release from WWE: Oney Lorcan
Oney Lorcan officially signed a contract with WWE in 2015, and he had been an overlooked competitor on NXT. For a number of years, it was clear that Lorcan was just another body on NXT and 205 Live. Back in 2019, this situation seemingly became too much for him.
After he removed all WWE references from his social media accounts, it was reported that Lorcan requested his release from the company at the end of October 2019. Lorcan also reverted to using his indy name on social media, hinting that he was prepared to leave.
But just a month later, Lorcan announced on his Twitter account that he had signed a new multi-year deal with WWE. He has been a featured member of the NXT brand ever since, so it appears that the company was able to address the issues that Lorcan had at the time.
Over the past two years, Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan have excelled as a formidable tag team, and they currently reign supreme as the NXT Tag Team Champions.
#4. Threatened to quit WWE: Mark Henry
Mark Henry is now a WWE Hall of Famer and a former World Champion, but his career could have gone quite differently.
On Stone Cold Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions, Henry recently revealed that he threatened to quit the company in 2011. Henry recalled how he was furious after the WWE Chairman decided to play a prank on him.
“I go down the hallways and I kick Vince's door open and he's gone. Started calling Vince, 'Man, I quit, this is the last time. Nobody ribs me, I'm a grown man.' ... Vince calls, 'Man, why did you get so bent out of shape about that? We just playing around.'”
Henry went on to accept an apology from Vince McMahon, and he wrestled for the company for several more years. He quietly retired in 2017, and he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018.
Henry has been working behind the scenes as a producer, and his latest appearance on WWE programming came at RAW Legends Night.
#3. Requested his release from WWE: Andrade
Andrade hasn't been seen on WWE programming for more than five months, and the former United States Champion didn't get picked in the 2020 WWE Draft.
Reports suggested that the former NXT Champion had elective surgery, so he would make his return to WWE in due course. But that no longer seems to be the case, as Wrestling Inc. recently reported that Andrade requested his release from WWE last week.
It was later reported that the company denied the request, so he remains a WWE Superstar. As of this writing, there has been no update on Andrade's future.
At one point in time, Andrade was viewed as one of the WWE's brightest stars. Under the leadership of Paul Heyman, Andrade was heavily pushed on RAW. He won the United States Championship, and he regularly contended for the RAW Tag Team Championship.
But after Heyman was removed from his role as the show's executive director, WWE stopped pushing several of his favorite stars. Andrade was one of the wrestlers who suffered the most, as he has been completely left on the sidelines.
#2. Threatened to quit WWE: Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler is widely believed to be one of the best in-ring talents on the WWE roster. But in recent years, the former world champion has been a jobber to the stars.
Ziggler had seemingly had enough when he was told that he would face Goldberg in a two-minute match at SummerSlam 2019. The match itself appeared to be punishment for Ziggler, as he was destroyed by Goldberg and speared several times after the match.
In an interview with talkSPORT in 2019, Ziggler confirmed that he wasn't happy with the booking. He said he unsuccessfully threatened to quit in order to convince WWE to give him a longer match.
“I fought all day long, threatened to leave, threatened to quit, did everything I had to – ‘Give me two damn minutes!’ And I got a minute, whatever, what you going to do?”
Ziggler has been pushed in recent months, as he's currently one-half of the SmackDown Tag Team Champions alongside Robert Roode. The Showoff remains one of the most recognizable stars in WWE, as he has been on the main roster since 2008.
#1. Requested her release from WWE: Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks has been one of leaders of WWE's women's evolution, and she currently holds the SmackDown Women's Championship.
But just two years ago, Banks almost quit WWE. The Boss was unhappy with the company following her booking at WrestleMania 35. Banks took some time away from WWE after the show, and she later requested her release from the company.
On Stone Cold Steve Austin's The Broken Skull Sessions, Banks stated that Vince McMahon rejected this request.
"I asked to leave and Vince was like, 'no.' He said no. He said I'm gonna give you 30 days to think about it. And I took more than 30 days. Depression was taking over. My mind was taking over. My thoughts were taking over. This place was being bigger than me. And I really, really lost myself because for a good seven years, I didn't even hear my real name. I didn't hear Mercedes anymore. All I heard was Sasha Banks, and traveling on the road, we only get one to two days off."
McMahon told Banks to take some time off and think about her decision. She ultimately came back to the company, and she has become one of its biggest stars in recent months.
