5 recently released WWE Superstars who have left the business

A few former WWE Superstars have left the wrestling business after recently being released from their contracts.

Vince McMahon's company has released many wrestlers since the start of 2020. Several of these competitors have joined other promotions, including IMPACT Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling.

Meanwhile, a few other superstars decided to leave the wrestling industry, either temporarily or permanently, to work on other projects. These former wrestlers are now pursuing careers in different careers or sports.

Here are five recently released WWE Superstars who have left the business.

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#5. Former WWE Superstar Lars Sullivan

Lars Sullivan signed a developmental contract with Vince McMahon's company in 2013. He competed for several years on NXT before making his main roster debut in April 2019.

The Freak struggled on the main roster as he competed in only three matches on Monday Night RAW and SmackDown. He also competed in a fourth match at the 2019 Super Showdown event in Saudi Arabia. Sullivan's last bout came on October 23, 2020, when he defeated Shorty G on SmackDown.

In January 2021, WWE quietly released Sullivan from his contract. After his release, The Freak decided to leave the whole wrestling business.

A few weeks after leaving Vince McMahon's company, Sullivan started training to become a boxer. According to reports, his goal was to work for one of the Bare Knuckle promotions.

However, in an interview with Fightful, Sullivan disclosed that he is not yet fully committed to boxing. Instead, the former WWE Superstar is still keeping track of his progress.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter also noted that Sullivan's age and size would complicate his chances of becoming a professional boxer.

"Dylan Miley, the former Lars Sullivan, is now doing boxing training with the idea of working for one of the Bare Knuckle promotions. He's 32, which is old to start boxing training. Also, you don't see a lot of 330 pound boxers or MMA fighters. The story is that he has no illusions about his age being a factor and just starting out, but is planning on competing in that sport," he stated.

The former WWE Superstar has recently been keeping a low profile. He has not been active on Twitter for more than two years now. Meanwhile, he only posts training videos on his Instagram account.

#4. Former WWE Superstar Eva Marie

Eva Marie first joined WWE in 2013 after winning the Diva Search competition. She spent nearly four years in the company before leaving in 2017 to pursue an acting career.

Following her departure from Vince McMahon's company, the 37-year-old participated in a few movies and television shows, including Inconceivable and Paradise City.

In an interview with TooFab in 2017, the former Total Divas star disclosed that she had always dreamed of becoming an actress.

"It's always been something I was definitely interested in and the opportunity came about at the perfect time. Luckily, for me, when I started WWE, my husband and I were like, if I can get in front of The Rock's agent and manager, that would be a dream (...) A year later, it just so happens that it fell into place and I ended up having a meeting with his agent, then his manager, then I talked with Dwayne for an hour and everybody signed off on me and I signed with his exact team," she said.

The All Red Everything established a fitness empire and launched her own brand, NEM, and workout program, NEM FIT. The former wrestler also became a fitness influencer on Instagram, posting workouts for her 5.2 million followers.

In mid-2021, Eva Marie returned to WWE. Nevertheless, her second run lasted only a few months. In September, she lost her final match against Doudrop on Monday Night RAW. Two months later, the company released her from her contract due to budget cuts.

Since her release, Eva Marie has returned to her projects outside the wrestling business. She is also working on a new movie.

#3. Former WWE Superstar Jessamyn Duke

Former mixed martial artist Jessamyn Duke signed with WWE in May 2018. Over the next few years, she competed on NXT and RAW Underground. Duke also worked as a full-time digital content creator for UpUpDownDown.

Nonetheless, WWE released Duke from her contract in May 2021 due to the pandemic-related budget cuts. Her final match came in August 2020, when she defeated Avery Taylor on RAW Underground.

Following her release, Duke disclosed that she would continue to appear on Xavier Wood's gaming channel UpUpDownDown.

"I want all of you to know; UpUpDownDown is still my home. BRE Start is not going anywhere. Everyone can relax, sit back, and enjoy knowing that tomorrow [Friday] a brand new episode of BRE Start will be premiering. We still have BRE Fridays and have BRE content coming out of our ears. That's not going anywhere," she said in one of her streams.

The 35-year-old has not competed inside a wrestling ring for nearly a year and a half now. She now describes herself on Instagram as a gamer.

Duke has her own gaming channel, OKAY GAMER, on YouTube. It now has more than 27 thousand subscribers.

#2. Former WWE Superstar Lana

Before joining WWE, Lana appeared in a few movies and television shows, including Pitch Perfect and The Game.

The 36-year-old has always wanted to become an actress. She graduated from Florida State University with a degree in dancing and acting before moving to Hollywood to pursue an acting career.

"I always wanted to be an actress but I didn't have the opportunity to really pursue it. Acting is dance but with words. When I moved to Hollywood, I was like ok here I am in the city where the best of the best come to be stars so let me train with the best! That is what I did," she told SayWhatNews.

However, Lana signed with WWE in 2013. She spent nearly eight years there before the company released her from her contract last June. In her final match, she teamed up with Naomi to face Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose on Monday Night RAW. Nonetheless, Lana and Naomi lost the bout.

Since her release, The Ravishing One has been away from the wrestling ring. In an interview with Action Sports Jax, Lana's husband, Miro, refused to give a definitive answer regarding his wife's future in the wrestling business.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she stays in wrestling because there are so many opportunities coming because she's one of the best. Outside of wrestling, she could always go because before wrestling, she was something else. My mind is blown if she decides to focus on a different career path how successful that would be," he said.

Lana is currently focusing on her acting career. The former WWE Superstar is filming two new movies, WifeLike and Trail Blazers.

#1. Former WWE Superstar Mojo Rawley

Mojo Rawley joined WWE in 2012 and spent four years on NXT before making his main roster debut in 2016. Despite winning the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in 2017 and the 24/7 Title several times, the 35-year-old's struggled in Vince McMahon's company.

In June 2020, Rawley competed in his final WWE match when he lost to Shorty G on SmackDown. After the bout, he remained inactive for nearly ten months until Vince McMahon's company released him from his contract last April.

After his release, Rawley decided to take some time off from wrestling to focus on other projects. In an interview with TMZ Sports, he disclosed that he is now focusing on the stock market and trading. He had also started a marketing agency with a few of his friends.

"Now I can do everything, so I don’t have to be known as just one thing. I can do it all! I can focus on the stock market and trading because that’s what my background is in. I even started a company with a couple of my buddies, the Paragon Talent Group, you know which is actually here to assist people with what I’m going through right now. Because a lot of guys, once they leave professional wrestling, they don’t know what’s next, especially when leaving the WWE, they don’t know what to do next. They don’t know how to represent themselves. They come from this wrestling bubble and that’s it. So, we’re here to assist people with the transition to market them," he said.

The former 24/7 Champion has also expressed his desire to focus more on pursuing an acting career. He recently appeared in the movie Snake Eyes, in which he played a small role as a streetfighter.

Although Rawley revealed that he is planning to return to the wrestling business in the future, he stated that his comeback would not be soon.