5 Rejected WWE Superstars who succeeded elsewhere

Recently, WWE released a long list of personnel in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. The releases included some big names like Rusev and WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle. Many of these released Superstars have hinted at their next move via their social media handles and it would be interesting to see where these wrestlers end up going in the near future.

A bunch of WWE Superstars are released by the company every year and while some fade into obscurity upon their release, others turn the unfortunate situation into an advantage for themselves.

Over the past decade or so, there have been a bunch of Superstars who were let go by WWE but went on to find success elsewhere. Let's take a look at five of these Superstars.

#5 Drew McIntyre

Dubbed as "The Chosen One" upon his arrival on SmackDown in 2009, Drew McIntyre was destined for success from the very beginning. Things went horribly wrong in a matter of years though. McIntyre spent the final three years or so on the lower card as a part of the 3MB alongside Heath Sater and Jinder Mahal.

When McIntyre was released by WWE in 2014, he was determined to improve himself in the ring. He returned to Insane Championship Wrestling and won his second ICW Heavyweight title soon after.

He also had a stint in EVOLVE where he became World Champion. In addition, McIntyre wrestled in several independent promotions and found success in most of them. A two-year stint in Impact Wrestling followed, which saw McIntyre winning several titles, including the Impact World Heavyweight title.

At this point in time, McIntyre had improved himself way beyond anyone had imagined. He now boasted a grizzled look and an incredible physique. His hard work paid off and he was brought back to WWE in 2017, where he is the current WWE Champion.

#4 Mr. Kennedy

Mr. Kennedy was a big name in WWE back in the mid-2000s. He feuded with top WWE Superstars on the SmackDown brand, most notably The Undertaker and Batista. Kennedy went on to win the Money In The Bank briefcase at WrestleMania 23 but lost it to Edge soon after on an episode of RAW.

Kennedy didn't do much of note for the remainder of his WWE career. He was released by WWE in 2009. Kennedy later stated that Randy Orton had a lot to do with WWE releasing him.

Having won the US title on one occasion during his WWE stint, Mr. Kennedy did much more upon his release. After a short run on the independent scene, Kennedy made his way to Impact Wrestling.

For the next six years, Kennedy remained a mainstay in Impact Wrestling and was featured in some of the biggest storylines during his run. Going by the moniker of Mr. Anderson, he won the Impact World title on two separate occasions. He was fired in 2016 after failing a drug test.

#3 Damien Sandow

Damen Sandow's six-year run in WWE saw him doing quite well for himself on the main roster. He formed a team with Cody Rhodes, with the duo calling themselves Rhodes Scholars. At Money In The Bank 2013, Sandow won the briefcase and an opportunity at the World title.

He cashed in the briefcase on John Cena months later but failed to defeat him. An incredibly popular run as The Miz's stunt double followed, which resulted in Sandow regularly getting huge reactions from the audience.

WWE didn't capitalize on his popularity though and he was released by the company in 2016. Following his release, Sandow became a Top 5 Twitter trend in the United States.

After his departure, Sandow wrestled in various promotions, most notably Impact Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance. He is currently a big name in NWA and has won the NWA National Championship on one occasion.

In Impact Wrestling, Sandow won a tournament for the Impact Grand Championship by defeating Eddie Edwards in the finals.

#2 EC3

EC3 was one of the participants on Season 4 of WWE NXT, with Daniel Bryan being appointed as his mentor. He lost his debut match in NXT to Alberto Del Rio. Although he made it to the final three, he was eliminated from the competition.

Soon after, he made his main roster debut in a quick loss to Ryback. Known as Derrick Bateman in NXT, EC3 didn't do much of note before being released by WWE in 2013.

For the next five years, EC3 wrestled for Impact Wrestling and also kept making appearances on the indie circuit. EC3 became a main event star during his Impact Wrestling stint. He won the World title on two occasions. Additionally, he won the Impact Grand Championship once.

EC3 had defeated Mr. Anderson to bag an opportunity at the World title. On June 25, 2015, he won the coveted belt by defeating pro-wrestling legend, Kurt Angle. Around a year later, EC3 defeated Matt Hardy in the finals of a tournament to win his second World title in the promotion.

EC3 returned to WWE in 2018 but failed to make any significant impact this time around too. He was a part of the long list of releases that took place last month.

#1 R-Truth

Many fans might not be aware of the fact that R-Truth was a WWE mainstay in the early 2000s. He was signed to WWE in 1999 and was dubbed as K-Kwik. After a forgettable run that saw him win the Hardcore title on two occasions, K-Kwik was released in 2002.

Almost immediately, Truth signed a contract with TNA, now called Impact Wrestling. Mere weeks after his debut, Truth lashed out in an angry promo and announced that he was being held back because of his race. On August 7, 2002, Truth defeated UFC legend Ken Shamrock to win the NWA World Heavyweight title.

With this win, he became the first and only African-American wrestler to date to bag the NWA World Heavyweight Champion

For the next five years, Truth wrestled for TNA and his resume included two NWA World title wins. He signed with WWE again in 2008 and has been with the company ever since. Truth is currently one of the most popular Superstars in the company and his exploits with the 24/7 title have a lot to do with it.

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