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Despite being advertised to appear, a number of WWE Superstars have no-showed events in the past, with some even walking out on the company entirely.
Many of these performers made their decision at the last minute, forcing WWE to scramble to replace or rewrite the segments in which they were due to feature. Interestingly, some of these Superstars have yet to appear again in a WWE ring - meaning that their no-show had a significant impact on the direction of their careers.
The following article looks at five WWE Superstars who legitimately no-showed an event.
#5. Stone Cold Steve Austin no-showed an episode of Monday Night RAW and walked out on WWE
Stone Cold Steve Austin was one of the biggest stars of WWE's Attitude Era, but by 2002 the physical toll of his career - including a serious neck injury - had begun to catch up with him.
Brock Lesnar was earmarked by WWE as a Superstar with the potential to take over from Austin at the top of the card. Lesnar debuted the night after WrestleMania 18 and would go on to win The King Of The Ring tournament just a few months later.
Vince McMahon wanted Lesnar to book his place the tournament in the most impactful way possible - and so booked Lesnar to defeat Austin in an unadvertised qualifying match on the June 10 edition of RAW.
Austin was told of the plan over the phone and, shortly afterwards, made the decision to not show up to the television taping in Atlanta, Georgia. Explaining his thought process, Austin later told Sport Bible that he didn't feel that he should put Lesnar over in an unadvertised match on RAW, believing that a match between the two at least deserved some sort of build:
“And the time they wanted me to fly down to Atlanta for Monday Night Raw and put over Brock Lesnar. The night before, I was working in Columbus, Georgia, working with Ric Flair in a cage, so I was like a kid in a candy store working with the GOAT, so of course I didn’t show up."
Austin left WWE that night and McMahon was not able to convince him to make his return until early 2003. "Stone Cold" would retire from in-ring competition mere weeks after his comeback, meaning that Lesnar and Austin never did get the opportunity to square off in an official match.
#4. Paige no-showed an episode of SmackDown ahead of WWE's WrestleMania event
Paige was once seen as the future of the women's division in WWE, but the inaugural NXT Women's Champion's career was unfortunately plagued by injuries. The popular Brit officially retired from in-ring competition back in 2018 after recurring neck issues left her with no choice but to call time on her career.
Far from disappearing from WWE television, Paige was ulitised in a number of non-wrestling roles after her days as an active competitor had ended. A well-received run as the SmackDown General Manager was followed by a spell as manager for the Kabuki Warriors.
Back on March 13 this year, WWE was forced to broadcast its first main roster show from the WWE Performance Center as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. That evening Paige had been advertised to return to television on SmackDown and confront Women's Champion Bayley. The appearance was to have set up Bayley's WrestleMania title defence in a multiple-person match.
The rapidly-changing nature of global circumstances meant that Paige did not appear in Orlando as advertised - causing the angle to be scrapped.
Paige later apologised for missing the show and would appear on the following week's edition of Smackdown to deliver her news to Bayley - this time via video link.
Whilst Paige was in no way at fault for the situation, her no-show marked the first time that the ongoing pandemic would prevent WWE from delivering something as advertised. As we all know, it would be far from the last.
#3. CM Punk walked out of WWE and no-showed Monday Night RAW
CM Punk was the self-proclaimed "Best in the World" for much of the latter part of his WWE run, but consistently putting other stars over and feeling shackled by the company creatively eventually took its toll.
The former WWE Champion walked out of the company following the 2014 Royal Rumble match, where he was eliminated by Kane.
The following day at Monday Night RAW, in a behind-closed-doors meeting, Punk revealed that he told Vince McMahon and Triple H:
"You have shackled me, you have creatively stifled me, you have made this a very toxic environment, I no longer want to be here." (via BleacherReport)
Punk then walked out of WWE and went on to no-show that night's episode of RAW and has never again appeared in a WWE arena.
Punk was fired by the company a few months later - on his wedding day no less - for breach of contract after failing to honour his contractual obligations.
The promotion refused to talk publicly about their issues with Punk until the following year. The fall-out of the situation even led to a lawsuit between the two parties.
After their legal dispute was settled, Punk agreed to become a panelist for FOX on their WWE Backstage show, where he would give his opinions on the modern-day WWE product.
Having joined the show, Punk made it clear that he was under contract to FOX and did not have any direct ties to WWE. An in-ring return for Punk looks to be as far away as ever.
#2. Neville walked out of an episode of WWE Monday Night RAW
Neville was seen as a tremendous prospect throughout his time in NXT, but following his promotion to the WWE main roster, that potential was never realised. In truth, the former champion of the black and gold brand was only able to make any kind of impact on 205 Live.
Neville grew frustrated with the creative process in WWE due to his lack of progress. Things came to a head in 2017, after the Brit lost his Cruiserweight Championship to Enzo Amore. Shorly after his defeat, Neville was informed that he would be putting Amore over again in a rematch on the October 9 episode of RAW.
This was seemingly the straw that broke the camel's back since Neville then walked out of that episode of RAW. Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet reported: "Neville was slated to lose to Enzo in that match, but he walked out before the show, which necessitated a change of plans."
Neville refused to make his return to WWE and sat out the rest of his contract before the company finally gave the Newcatle-born star his release in August 2018.
Neville has since signed for AEW and is now known under the ring name PAC.
#1. Lars Sullivan was advertised for WWE's Monday Night RAW but failed to appear
Lars Sullivan was one of the most dominant forces in NXT throughout his time on the brand before he was called up to the WWE main roster - alongside a number of other faces including Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans, and Heavy Machinery.
Sullivan was set to make his first appearance on an episode of RAW in January 2019, but "The Freak" failed to make his debut alongside the other up and coming NXT talent.
Instead, it was revealed following the show that Sullivan had suffered a panic attack backstage and was then sent home by the company. Once again, this was a last-minute decision that forced WWE to make a number of changes to the show.
Sullivan did finally make his main roster debut the night after WrestleMania a few months later when he attacked Kurt Angle. The imposing Superstar was only a few months into his main roster run, though, when he suffered a knee injury in a handicap match against The Lucha House Party.
Sulivan is currently on the sidelines, but could be a surprise name included in the upcoming WWE Draft later this week.
