5 current WWE Superstars who once rejected a contract with the company

The WWE world is perhaps the most exciting it has ever been at present since there are more promotions than ever before for wrestling fans to choose from.

This also means that there are several options for wrestlers to choose from when they are offered a contract. There are many who are heading to AEW, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and even IMPACT Wrestling instead of WWE.

In the past, there have been many wrestlers who have chosen not to sign with WWE, and interestingly there are many stars on the company's current roster who originally turned down WWE's first contract offer.

The following list looks at just five of the company's biggest stars and the reasons why they once rejected a contract with WWE.

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#5 WWE star MVP

I am not signed with WWE.I went to NXT to visit friends. I promise you.Accepting bookings:[email protected]

— MVP (@The305MVP) August 2, 2016

MVP is currently the manager of The Hurt Business on Monday Night RAW, whilst also an occasional wrestler when needed. The former United States Champion made his return to the company back at the Royal Rumble in January after almost a decade away from WWE.

Following WWE's Brand Split back in 2016, Fightful reported that WWE made a number of phone calls to some of their former stars including Tommy Dreamer, Carlito, Steven Richards, and Shelton Benjamin. There were several who were unable to accommodate WWE's schedule at that time and MVP was one of the men who was asked but rejected the offer.

The former Champion was busy concentrating on his career on the independent circuit at the time and later commented on the fact that his WWE career was in the past when he spoke to Chris Van Vliet.

"I can do what I do now because of the opportunity that Vince gave me and then when I wanted to leave, he said 'cool. come back when you're ready.' I have nothing but respect for Vince and WWE but it's kind of like that really hot girlfriend that you used to date and everyone was into. When she's on your arm everybody is like 'woah! He's with her!' but she farts in her sleep too. She has her flaws. Everybody else doesn't know that and when you go your separate ways there is no animosity, no hard feelings. It was a good time, we had our thing but we've moved on."

Of course, MVP has since made his return and is now one of the stars that carries Monday Night RAW on a regular basis in The Hurt Business.

#4 Former WWE Champion AJ Styles

AJ Styles has become one of the biggest stars in WWE since he made his debut in the 2016 Royal Rumble match. Styles became a legend in IMPACT Wrestling before he was signed by WWE. Interestingly, ahead of his career in TNA, Styles was originally linked with Vince McMahon's company.

Styles had his first WWE tryout match back in 2001 and even though he won the match against Rick Michaels, he wasn't offered a contract. Styles then made several more appearances for WWE in 2002 where he wrestled The Hurricane and Rico Constantino.

It was after these matches that WWE offered AJ Styles a developmental contract with the company but it would have meant that he would be forced to relocate to Cincinnati, Ohio. At the time Styles' wife was still studying to be a teacher and made the decision to stay at home and reject the offer.

AJ Styles later revealed the reason why he turned down the contract offer whilst appearing on Lilian Garcia's Chasing Glory podcast.

“I had a developmental deal to move to Cincinnati but at the time I was married and I didn't think it was right to move to Cincinnati, even though my wife said, ‘go.’ It wasn't right to leave her, have her move back in with her mother. My job is to take care of her. And so I turned down, respectfully, the developmental deal with WWE. Then within like a couple of months TNA started up, which I thought was just another independent thing that was probably happening. It wasn't a big deal to me. But within six months it's like, OK this might be something. As it grew on, I grew to love that place, because I felt that it was something I and other guys were building. We were the foundation. We were going to build this into something great."

Styles went on to have a successful career in IMPACT Wrestling before finally making his way over to WWE in 2016, where he was WWE Champion before the end of the year.

#3 WWE United Kingdom Champion WALTER

WALTER has dominated the NXT UK scene ever since he made his debut back in 2019 when he approached WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne. WALTER has held the NXT UK Championship since May 2019 and continues to be the standout star on that roster.

WWE had a hard time securing WALTER's services back in 2018 since the current Champion wasn't looking to relocate and told The Mirror that he didn't want to live in the US.

“I don’t know if I mentioned this but being a part of the Raw or SmackDown roster is nothing I am interested in. I don’t want to live in the US. I really like NXT though, I think it's a great product, filled with the best talent in the world and is focused on competition in the ring, which is something I enjoy. I don’t want to say it will never happen because in wrestling things change so quick.”

Of course, WALTER later signed a deal with WWE and has since appeared exclusively on NXT UK whilst making several appearances on the NXT brand when needed.

#2 WWE star John Morrison

John Morrison returned to WWE earlier this year after nine years away from the company and has easily been able to slot back in where he left off. The former star originally signed with WWE back in 2002 and went on to become part of MNM before later changing his name from Johnny Nitro to John Morrison.

Morrison's WWE career came to an end back in 2011 when the former Intercontinental Champion suffered a neck injury and rejected a new multi-year contract with WWE.

Morrison stated that he needed some time off to heal and would look at returning to the company in the future. Morrison later spoke to Stone Cold Steve Austin on his podcast in 2015 where he reiterated the fact that WWE wanted to re-sign him to a deal in 2011 but he wanted "more control over his time."

After dipping his toes in films and working for several promotions including Lucha Underground and IMPACT Wrestling, Morrison finally re-signed with WWE and has since aligned himself with his real-life best friend The Miz.

#1 WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels

WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is arguably seen as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. The former World Champion is currently working behind the scenes with NXT UK, whilst also making sporadic WWE appearances when needed. Despite The Heartbreak Kid's obvious loyalty to WWE throughout his career, Michaels also once rejected an offer from Vince McMahon.

Back in 2018, when WWE was pushing their first-ever show in Saudi Arabia, Shawn Michaels was one of the men that WWE was looking to bring in for an appearance.

According to X-Pac, on his podcast, Michaels rejected the appearance even though the Greatest Royal Rumble would be seen as a historical show.

"I know that this weekend I was in Baltimore and I was with Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash and we were talking about that. You know they wanted to get Shawn, and he was just like, ‘you know what, don’t even bother sending me an offer and trying to tempt me’. Cause there’s huge money offers."

Shawn Michaels retired from WWE at WrestleMania in 2010 and has since refused to make his return to the ring, even though Michaels did finally return for a one-off match at Crown Jewel in 2018.