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WWE has been the biggest and most popular professional wrestling promotion in the world for many years. For a pro-wrestler, making it to WWE brings along fame, recognition, money, but also sometimes frustration.
WWE has often been accused of having an unnecessarily deep roster and wasting several of their talents. In the past few years, several former superstars have opened up about their unpleasant experiences with the pro-wrestling giant. At the same time, there have also been multiple examples of superstars parting ways with WWE, without any hard feelings and cherishing their time in the promotion.
Let's take a look at three former WWE Superstars who left the company on bad terms and three others who left on good terms. Be sure to comment down and let us know your thoughts on the same.
#3 Left WWE on bad terms - Neville
Former WWE Superstar Neville, now known as PAC, was one of the major stars who helped establish the NXT brand, also winning the NXT Championship once. The man who gravity forgot, as WWE hyped him, moved to the main roster with a lot of expectations and impressed fans with his incredible high-flying offense.
However, things didn't end well between the two parties with Neville unhappy with his creative direction. During an episode of RAW, he had a heated argument with Vince McMahon, where the former Cruiserweight Champion reportedly flipped out on him and walked out. He then refused to return and sat out his WWE contract before the company eventually released him in August 2018. Neville explained the following on his Instagram about why he left WWE.
“No, they gave me the opportunity to shine and shine I did. The lads over there are great but they ran of ideas for me so I left. It wasn’t really Enzo why I left, I don’t hate the lad he was just annoying backstage and putting the title on him was bad, especially beating me, I was worth more than being jobbed out to jobbers, that’s why I left,” said Neville.
In January 2019, PAC signed with the newly formed All Elite Wrestling as one of their first signees. The former WWE Superstar is still with AEW and is an integral part of the promotion's roster.
#3 Left WWE on good terms - Kairi Sane
One of the most impressive superstars in WWE's women's division recently was Kairi Sane. The Japanese pro-wrestling star made a massive debut by entering and winning the first-ever Mae Young Classic tournament in 2017. She then joined NXT and had a successful run on the brand, winning the NXT Women's Championship once.
In 2019, Sane got her main roster debut and started teaming up with Asuka as The Kabuki Warriors, initially managed by former WWE Divas Champion Paige. The two won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship once and became fan favorites.
In mid-2020, Kairi Sane made her last appearance for WWE and went back to Japan to be with her husband. In October 2020, she revealed via Twitter that she will be supporting WWE from Japan as an ambassador. The following is the translation of the tweet from the Japanese superstar:
"This is Kairi Sane from WWE. I will report on future activities. In addition to continuing to belong as a player, I have been given the role of a new WWE promotion supporter in Japan, and will resume activities based in Japan. Thank you for your continued support," wrote Kairi Sane.
Following her departure, WWE released multiple videos on its social media with WWE Superstars Asuka, Shinsuke Nakamura, and others giving her their best wishes for her future.
#2 Left WWE on bad terms - Rusev
WWE has often been criticized for not listening to the fans. One of the prime examples of this was Rusev and how over he was with the WWE Universe. There was a time when every WWE show was hijacked by fans with "Rusev Day" chants, yet the company didn't give him any significant push.
In late 2019, WWE booked Rusev in an absurd storyline with his real-life wife and WWE Superstar Lana cheating on him with Bobby Lashley. The angle was highly criticized and ultimately was abruptly scrapped.
He was soon released along with several other superstars in April 2020. During an interview following his release, Rusev spoke about his frustration in WWE and when he knew he was done.
“After I had my shoulder surgery I heard about, you know, Hunter’s got all his boys and they’re texting every day. They’re best friends and after my shoulder surgery, after I give up my life for this freaking company, like not even one person reached out, you know what I mean,” stated Rusev. “Not Vince, not Hunter, not Carano, nobody was man enough to be like, ‘Hey bud, are you ok? Do you need anything? I know you’re in the hospital, you’re by yourself because your wife is at freaking work.’"
“I’m there laying by myself in the hospital and nobody cares man and then at the same time you’re like, ‘What am I doing?’ Like why am I giving everything I have and I understand it’s my dream, but gosh darn man. Thank God, I did enough for my investments, I don’t need to work there at all. My wife is happy. Good for her. I’m done. I am done," said Miro.
Rusev, now known as Miro, signed with All Elite Wrestling in September 2020 and is currently the AEW TNT Champion. On the other hand, his wife Lana is still signed to WWE and appears regularly on their weekly shows.
#2 Left WWE on good terms - The Rock
Arguably one of the most popular WWE Superstars of all time, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has had one of the most iconic careers in WWE history. A 10-time world champion, The Rock ruled the roster of WWE for many years before leaving the company in 2004 to pursue a full-time acting career.
The relationships between the two parties were great as The Rock made multiple non-wrestling appearances for WWE in the coming years before returning as the host of WrestleMania 27 in 2011.
He then wrestled as a part-timer for the company for the next few years, even winning the WWE Championship by defeating CM Punk in 2013. The Brahma Bull then had two massive WrestleMania matches against John Cena, with both stars picking one victory each.
The Rock had an impromptu match against Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32, where he pinned the Wyatt Family member in six seconds, setting up a WrestleMania record. This has so far been his last match for WWE but over the last year or so, there have been rumors and speculations of The Rock returning for one more match against his cousin and the current Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
As for his Hollywood career, Dwayne Johnson has seen incredible success there as well, leading several blockbuster movies and franchises. He is also one of the highest-paid Hollywood actors currently.
#1 Left WWE on bad terms - CM Punk
One of the most infamous WWE exits of all time has been that of CM Punk. The former WWE Champion had a successful run in the company but was not satisfied with his position and treatment. It was at Royal Rumble 2014 where he made his last appearance for the company before walking away.
During an interview with Colt Cabana following his WWE release, Punk revealed that he was fired on his wedding day and how he was forced to forfeit all his royalty rights.
"I mean, you take... here's Vince McMahon, who wants to hug me goodbye and he has tears in his eyes and he's like 'oh, we're family' and he f**king fires me on my wedding day when I was just trying to get... The letter was ridiculous. It was like 'your contract is terminated, you forfeit all of your royalty rights, you're in breach of contract as of Jan. 27' which, I'm not even a f**king lawyer and I know you can't claim retro breach, you know what I mean? If I was in breach of contract on Jan. 27 on Jan. 28 they had to be like 'you're in breach of contract, we're not giving you your royalties'. And I would have been like 'eh, great, fine, I'm going to go home because I have this staph infection that you refuse to treat and diagnose, plus I have this concussion and I've needed time off for at least a year and you won't give it to me," said CM Punk. (h/t Cageside Seats)
In November 2019, CM Punk made a surprise appearance on WWE Backstage on FS1 and worked as a special contributor for few months alongside Paige, Renee Young, Booker T, and others before the show was suspended in June 2020.
#1 Left WWE on good terms - Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho has had a highly successful career in WWE and has been a fan favorite. Following his departure from the company in 2018, Y2J wrestled for NJPW and on the independent circuits as well, before signing with AEW in 2019, shocking the fans. Jericho then went on to become the first AEW World Champion.
Speaking on his podcast, Chris Jericho revealed that he spoke with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon before signing with AEW.
"I'm not in AEW because I was a rebel. I'm with AEW because Vince went, 'go.' And then, when I went, he went, 'did you sign the contract?' I said, 'well, yeah.' He said, 'can you get out of it?' 'No! You told me to sign it!' But [Vince] had the opportunity to stop it like he did with [Scott Hall], which is very interesting to me because 23 years later, he made the same [mistake]. I love Vince,” said Chris Jericho.
Jericho also mentioned last year that he still talks to multiple WWE Superstars and even Vince McMahon from time to time.
“I talk to Kevin Owens, I still text Seth Rollins once in a while, couple of guys in NXT, Drake Maverick, Samoa Joe, Drew McIntyre - those types of guys. I talk to Edge from time to time. I talk to Vince from time to time," said Chris Jericho.
He also recently appeared on Stone Cold Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions on the WWE Network, which was a huge deal. Chris Jericho has played a massive part in putting All Elite Wrestling on the map and will continue to be an integral part of the promotion in the future.
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