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Every year, WWE eliminates the clutter from its roster and fills up the gap with new talent from all around the world. This year as well, many Superstars parted ways with the company. Some of these exits also upset a lot of fans who didn't want them to leave WWE for other wrestling promotions. However, these wrestlers still left the company and some of them are now enjoying a new level of success at their current position.
Cody Rhodes is one of the best examples of how leaving WWE could change someone's career for good. Back then, he was a known face but could not feature heavily in main events. However, now, fans count him as one of the best wrestlers in the world.
On that note, here are 5 WWE Superstars who left Vince McMahon's promotion this year and an account of where they are right now.
#5 Jon Moxley
Jon Moxley (FKA Dean Ambrose) is currently signed to AEW, but before stepping foot into the promotion, he worked for WWE for over 5 years. During his run in the company, he was an integral part of The Shield and when the group was disbanded, Moxley received a decent push—for some time at least.
He left WWE earlier this year in April after turning down a massive contract offer from Vince McMahon. Last year, Moxley suffered a triceps injury, which put him on the shelf for months. When he made his return before SummerSlam 2018, WWE hyped him a lot. He turned heel two months later against Seth Rollins, the night when Roman Reigns announced he was battling leukemia.
However, his heel turn didn't benefit him a lot. Instead, it made it become one of the reasons for him to leave WWE, which he did, earlier this year, by joining AEW. Moxley is currently one of the biggest names in Tony Khan's wrestling promotion and we can expect him to challenge for the AEW World Heavyweight Champion soon.
#4 KENTA
KENTA (FKA Hideo Itami) competed in WWE from 2014 to 2017. In NXT, he had a successful career and even challenged for the NXT Championship. Then, he moved to 205 Live, where, unfortunately, he didn't enjoy the same success. However, his numerous injuries could’ve also been responsible for his underwhelming run in the company.
In July, KENTA spoke to NJPW and he revealed the reason why he left WWE for the Japanese promotion.
"I went to America, I went to WWE, and I didn't really achieve what I set out to do there. I didn't get the results I wanted. (Credits for the quotes)
Earlier this year, it was reported that KENTA had asked for his release from WWE, which was granted. Days later, WWE too confirmed the news on their website. After leaving WWE, KENTA signed with NJPW, a place where he had never worked before and now, he's the first-ever NEVER Openweight Champion of the said promotion.
#3 Shawn Spears
Shawn Spears (FKA Tye Dillinger) became popular with his Perfect 10 shtick in WWE. In NXT, he had a decent run but since debuting on the main roster, he failed to succeed as a main eventer. This is one of the reasons why the former rejected a pay raise and left the company after his release request was granted in February. It had a 90 days no-compete clause, and if WWE had delayed his release request by a few more hours, Spears wouldn't have been able to debut during AEW's Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
At AEW Fyter Fest, Spears shocked the world when he landed a chairshot to the promotion's Executive Vice President, Cody. It was a setup for their feud and both Superstars faced each other at All Out where Spears lost. But, despite this, he seems to be one of the biggest heels in the promotion and it wouldn't surprise us if he gains a few wins over the likes of Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley soon.
#2 Rhyno
Rhyno was never a main event talent in WWE. However, during his ECW run, he was one of the major highlights of the promotion. In the past few years, Rhyno was a part of multiple entertaining segments but none of it was big enough to allow decent television time for him.
According to the Man-Beast himself, WWE actually offered him double the money so he could re-sign, but Rhyno rejected the deal because he wanted to wrestle than just being a part of Vince McMahon's wrestling promotion.
"They actually offered me more than twice my downside but it wasn’t where they would have to use me because the downside is so large and it wasn’t about money it was about me wanting to be on the road work and helping the younger guys kind of like a player-coach.” (Credits for the quotes)
Since leaving WWE, Rhyno worked for numerous independent wrestling promotions and recently returned to Impact Wrestling. He seems to be happy while working outside of WWE and who knows? Rhyno might wrestle for a few more years, now that he's actually free to do so.
#1 Dustin Rhodes
Dustin Rhodes (FKA Goldust) is the real-life brother of current AEW Superstar and Executive Vice President, Cody Rhodes. Dustin had multiple runs in WWE, with his recent one lasting over eight years.
He has worked as a mid-card talent in WWE since the beginning and the fact that he didn't get enough television time didn't upset the fans, mostly because he is already over 50 years of age and there wasn't much left for the former WWE Superstar to accomplish in the company.
However, since the inception of AEW, fans expected that Dustin Rhodes would leave WWE to join forces with his brother in the new promotion. Dustin asked for his release from WWE in February and despite Vince McMahon being against it at first, the former was fortunate enough to leave the company, thanks to Triple H's efforts.
As expected, Dustin joined AEW and signed a multi-year deal with them. His debut match happened against his brother, Cody, where we witnessed a five-star match. The match delivered in every way and some even consider this as the best match of 2019 so far.
