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WWE is the largest wrestling promotion in the world, and it is the dream of every wrestler who steps into the industry to be a part of the company for a long duration of time.
Many Superstars even agree to compete as jobbers and enhancement talent in order to feature for the company and bag a bigger paycheck than they can anywhere else.
On the other hand, there have been numerous Superstars who have parted with the company due to personal reasons, personal image, other projects, and creative directions.
Many a time, wrestlers have walked out of the company due to personal reasons or creative directions, while others have not renewed their contracts to pursue other projects.
In this article, we will look at 5 former popular WWE Superstars and the reasons for their release from the company.
#5 Jack Swagger
Jack Swagger was introduced to the WWE Universe as a heel and was very successful during his initial days in the company. It seemed like Vince saw a new Kurt Angle in Swagger, and pushed him to the moon even though he did not have as much following.
Swagger won the ECW Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, and United States Championship within the first few years of his career.
However, he wasn’t as good on the mic, nor a great entertainer, and this led to him sliding down the cards.
After staying in the mid-cards for some time, Swagger found it next to impossible to rise up once again. After years of trying, and much frustration, Swagger asked for his release from the company in 2017.
Even though it’s unlikely for WWE to allow a star they’d invested so much in go so easily, Swagger went ahead and booked himself for some independent dates which led to WWE letting him go in the process.
Swagger has since gone on to try his hands at Mixed Martial Arts, while also competing on a few different wrestling promotions.
#4 Molly Holly
There have been very few top female Superstars who have willingly quit WWE unless they’ve tried their hands at other promotions, but Molly Holly had other reasons for her departure.
Holly was one of the few women during her time who had a real passion for competing in the ring and was known to pitch several ideas herself which would work well.
One of the most memorable spots she pulled off to get the right crowd reaction was by having her head shaved off in the middle of the ring!
She was one of the few women who preferred to work as a heel rather than as a face, but did not like WWE focusing more on a women’s looks rather than her talent.
Holly saw some success by winning the WWE Women’s Championship twice and WWE Hardcore Championship once before calling it quits at the age of 27.
In August 2005, she released an autobiographical DVD called "Nora Greenwald: Shootin' the Shi Crap" in which she explained in detail the problems she had with the company and the reasons behind her departure.
She put family matters at the forefront of the reasons why she quit WWE and claimed that she wanted to spend more time with her family, moving away from the hectic schedule of traveling.
#3 Neville
‘The Man That Gravity Forgot’ was always big with the WWE Universe thanks to his physique, wrestling skills, and high-flying maneuvers.
This allowed him to get a significant push from Vince McMahon, who has always been a fan of men and women with great physiques.
Neville was the NXT Champion, and a two-time NXT Tag Team Champion before he made the jump to the main roster. However, the main roster did not have any major Championship belts to offer for the talented Superstar who was then moved to the Cruiserweight division.
There, Neville won the Cruiserweight Championship twice, but it was his rivalry with Enzo Amore which marked the beginning of the end to his relationship with the company.
On October 9, 2017, Neville walked out of Monday Night RAW after he was scheduled to lose to Enzo Amore. Neville lost the title to Amore at No Mercy 2017 and appeared on a couple of episodes of RAW before disappearing.
It was revealed that Neville had been unhappy with the company for some time and had asked for his release, but WWE froze his contract in January 2018, not granting him an early release.
Neville finally made his way out on August 24 and has since gone on to feature in Dragon Gate, where he won the Open the Dream Gate Championship, and All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
#2 Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho did not depend on WWE to make him a huge star, as he was one of the most sought-after young talents when he decided to join the company.
In anticipation of his huge debut, the company set a clock labeled "countdown to the new millennium" ticking down to Jericho’s arrival.
Jericho was a major part of WWE and competed at all levels which allowed him to win several Championships and push many newer stars. His popularity in other fields such as acting, music, and hosting allowed him to become a one of a kind entertainer, and the company continued to cash in on his success for almost 19 years.
With Jericho taking several months off to pursue other projects, fans were never sure when he’d return, but he always came back with a fresh outlook.
In 2005, he exited the company for over two years after losing to John Cena in a "You're fired" match. He returned in 2007 and picked up right from where he’d left off.
However, in 2018, when Jericho left the company after his final appearance at the Greatest Royal Rumble, it seemed like he was gone for good.
He moved on to other promotions and soon found out how he was a bigger name than he thought he was. He performed for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) after which he signed up with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) which confirmed his departure from WWE.
Recently, we've seen Jericho make negative remarks regarding WWE's creatives, confirming that even the biggest stars have had their problem with their creative directions.
#1 Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes’ father, Dusty Rhodes, was arguably one of the best wrestlers of his time, and his success was instrumental in bringing Cody to the forefront of the wrestling industry.
Cody’s half-brother Goldust was already a part of WWE when he decided to try his luck out with the company.
Dusty Rhodes never won any titles in WWE but was one of the biggest stars of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) even though he didn’t have the typical wrestler’s physique. However, Cody was much more successful with WWE and won the Intercontinental Championship and the Tag Team titles quite a few times.
Cody wasn’t too happy at always being stuck in the mid-cards, and even fans had a similar opinion that he should be among WWE’s top Superstars. After holding on for some time, Cody revealed on Twitter that he’d asked for his release from the company in May 2016. WWE granted his release the very same day.
Later on, he revealed that he was frustrated with the creative direction the writers had for him and that he had "pleaded" the creatives to end his Stardust gimmick while pitching many other ideas.
It was a shame to watch a wrestler of Cody’s caliber lingering on WWE Superstars and Main Event, and his future decisions and matches have proven that he made the right call by asking for his release.
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