5 Stars you probably forgot are still contracted to WWE

In the modern age, there's seldom a part of the society that WWE does not touch. WWE Superstars have an impact on fans that goes far beyond the product and the ongoing storylines. At the end of the day though, professional wrestling is still a business.

WWE's contractual decisions

Nothing highlights the statement above more than the COVID-19 budgetary cuts that WWE underwent back in April this year which resulted in a mass exodus of personnel from the company. So while several Superstars have indeed scripted long careers in WWE, many have come and gone as per the need of the hour.

Having said that though, there are still several stars who are contracted to WWE which you may have forgotten about. On that note, let us look at five of them.

#5 Road Dogg

One of the cornerstones of the Attitude Era in WWE, Road Dogg ruled the roost in the company's tag division as part of the New Age Outlaws with Billy Gunn before the duo eventually joined D-Generation X.

Road Dogg's last match took place at Royal Rumble in 2015 where the New Age Outlaws were overcome by The Ascension. He would later make an appearance at WrestleMania 31 when members of D-Generation X and nWo collided at ringside during Triple H vs. Sting. The man known as Brian Girard James had already started working as a backstage producer in WWE by then but he transitioned into the role of the head writer on SmackDown after that.

There were reports around WrestleMania 35 that he was being relieved of his duties but Road Dogg eventually took up the role of a mentor at WWE's Performance Center. His most recent appearance on WWE TV was during the 25th-anniversary celebration of Triple H on SmackDown where he Facetimed his old buddy to congratulate him.

#4 Maryse

Currently in her second run with WWE, Maryse has mostly appeared as an accomplice of her husband The Miz. However, she had quite a successful stint in the company the first time around, where she became the first-ever two-time Divas Champion.

Maryse began appearing on WWE TV as early as 2006 but became a regular on SmackDown only by early 2008. She's had some fantastic feuds too, especially the one against Michelle McCool which resulted in the former's first Divas title. Her storyline against Mickie James was rather acclaimed too.

Maryse then became the manager of Ted DiBiase before eventually becoming the co-host of NXT during its game-show era and then finally left WWE in 2012.

Since her return to the company in 2016, Maryse has been involved in mixed tag team feuds with The Miz against the likes of John Cena and Nikki Bella followed by Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella. She is the mother of two daughters and even features in the WWE Network show Miz and Mrs. Maryse last appeared in WWE TV during The Miz's feud with "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt in 2019.

#3 D-Von Dudley

He may no longer be getting the tables but D-Von Dudley is still very much a part of WWE

If you've watched WWE for close to two decades as I have, I'm pretty sure you're aware of the "D-Von, get the tables!" phrase. One half of the most successful tag team in WWE history, The Dudley Boyz, D-Von was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame along with his partner in crime Bubba Ray in 2018.

The duo has had quite the run in the company and no one can forget the three-way feud for the-then WWF Tag Team Championship involving The Hardy Boyz and Edge & Christian which resulted in the first two TLC matches in WWE history. D-Von had a short run as a singles Superstar after The Dudley Boyz were split once during their first stint following WrestleMania X-8.

After winning the tag team titles nine times in WWE, The Dudley Boyz departed the company in 2005 and returned only a decade later. The duo would have engaging feuds with The New Day and The Usos after which they were reduced to special appearances. In the meantime, D-Von took up the role of a backstage producer and is still going strong in that position.

#2 Mickie James

Mickie James continues to miss time following an ACL injury

A five-time WWE Women's Champion, Mickie James kickstarted her RAW tenure back in 2005 as a huge fan of the then-champion Trish Stratus. The angle would take a romantic turn with Mickie James expressing her love for Stratus. The storyline eventually culminated with the two squaring off for the WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania 22 in what was a truly memorable match.

Fast forward to more than a decade later and Mickie James is still a part of WWE. She had remained aligned with Alexa Bliss for the majority of her second stint in the company and the duo disbanded only after losing to Nia Jax and Tamina in a qualifier for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships Match at Elimination Chamber.

Mickie James has been out of action since tearing her ACL in a house show back in June last year. She did become a commentator on WWE Main Event for a few months in the meantime but is currently out of action again.

#1 Lars Sullivan

Lars Sullivan made his NXT debut back in 2017 and has been billed as a one-man wrecking force ever since. While he's still got a lot to prove in WWE, his career has been marred by controversies already.

Sullivan had a number of high profile matches on the Black and Gold brand, but his only notable feud came against Kassius Ohno. He was supposed to become a part of RAW in January 2019 and vignettes of his arrival had already started to air by then. However, an anxiety attack prevented this from happening.

Lars Sullivan eventually debut on the RAW after WrestleMania 35 and took out Kurt Angle in the process. His only proper feud on the Red brand to date has come against Lucha House Party. He would suffer a knee injury against the trio on a RAW episode in June and has been out of action since.

In the meantime, Sullivan has already been fined $100,000 by WWE for a slew of insensitive posts that he had posted on the Bodybuilding.com forum between 2007 and 2013. As of this writing, there is still no update about his WWE return.