5 Times WWE Superstars had unexplained absences from TV

WWE Superstars portray characters on TV, and unlike other jobs in the sports world, there is no off-season. This means that more often than not some stars are forced to work for more than a year without a break which forces them to take a lengthy hiatus due to burnout.

This leads to many stars requesting a leave of absence from the company before they are interjected into much bigger storylines.

Even though the WWE Universe is now the closest they have been to their favorite stars and there are dirt-sheets everywhere, many stars have been absent without any apparent reason.

The following article looks at just five times that members of WWE's roster had unexplainable absences.

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#5. Former WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt/The Fiend

Bray Wyatt was once seen as one of the company's most creative minds, but his last year with WWE was one that was filled with gaps.

Following his loss at WWE TLC in the fall of 2020, the former Universal Champion went on a lengthy hiatus which was seemingly a storyline following the ending to his match with Randy Orton.

The Fiend was burned alive and his absence was then covered by Alexa Bliss, who stepped in as Wyatt "recovered."

The Fiend made his return the following year and was able to battle Orton at WrestleMania, but this was another loss following a distraction from Alexa Bliss.

It was assumed that Bliss would then move on to a storyline with The Fiend following his loss at The Biggest Show of the year, but instead, Wyatt returned to The Firefly Fun House.

The former World Champion was a part of one episode of RAW following WrestleMania but failed to appear in WWE again. He was released from his contract in July, despite reports that the company had plans to bring him back in August.

The Fiend was missing from WWE TV for almost four months with no word on why and was then released from the company despite being seen as one of their biggest stars at the time.

#4. Current WWE Superstar Eva Marie

WWE fans will remember Eva Marie's first stint with WWE, which came to an end in 2017.

The former Total Divas star was able to climb her way through the ranks in the company up to the main roster before she was suspended for violating WWE's Wellness Policy.

Marie was forced to miss SummerSlam as part of her 30-day suspension and failed to return to TV. She was released from the company a year later.

At the time no injuries were reported and there was no reason why Marie was kept from returning from WWE TV. Instead, the current Monday Night RAW superstar continued to work several modeling jobs outside of WWE whilst still contracted.

Marie moved on to several non-wrestling jobs and even removed WWE from all of her social media profiles before the company officially announced that they had parted ways with the star.

Despite the manner of her WWE exit, Marie was able to make her return to the company earlier this year and is currently part of their Women's Division on RAW.

#3. Current WWE Superstar Damian Priest

Damian Priest made his official WWE main roster debut earlier this year at The Royal Rumble.

The former North American Champion was put into a storyline with Grammy Award winner Bad Bunny heading into WrestleMania. The two stars emerged victorious following their match with The Miz and John Morrison but then Priest went on to have a sketchy few months with WWE.

There were rumors that Priest was absent from RAW because of a back injury but this was never confirmed. Fightful reported that the star was unavailable due to "undisclosed reasons."

“We have heard that will be available as soon as next week if WWE has creative plans for him. He was said to have been unavailable the past couple of weeks for other, undisclosed reasons.”

Whatever the issue, Priest has been able to make his return since and is the current United States Champion heading into Extreme Rules.

#2. Former WWE Champion Randy Orton

Randy Orton has been one of WWE's most dependable stars for a number of years. Despite being a 14-time World Champion, the star has recently been pushed into the tag team division.

The Viper has been a part of a storyline with Riddle in recent months, but earlier this year after failing to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match, Orton went missing for several weeks.

The former World Champion was scheduled to be part of a last-chance qualification match on RAW following his loss a week earlier, but this was later changed, and Riddle was added. Orton was missing in action for several weeks following the absence without any kind of update from WWE.

Orton has since returned and been part of one of the most entertaining storylines on RAW. That being said, the company still hasn't revealed any details regarding The Viper's absence and it is not expected to be addressed.

#1. Current WWE Superstar Sasha Banks

Sasha Banks was scheduled to face Bianca Belair at SummerSlam a few weeks ago, but the former champion's match was seemingly canceled and it's now been more than a month since she was last seen on WWE TV.

WWE are keeping the reason for Banks' absence a secret and at present, all that is known is that the former SmackDown Women's Champion isn't medically cleared to compete.

This isn't the first time Banks has been missing from WWE without reason. A few years ago The Boss went on hiatus and later revealed that this was because she was burned out and was ready to quit the company.

Vince McMahon later gave Banks some time to rest up and she was able to return better than ever. She went on to put up great matches against the likes of Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Bayley and many more.

Given that the former champion has now been missing for quite some time now, it has led to various speculations that whatever's holding Sasha Banks from returning might be a personal matter.

Despite her absence, as seen above, she has continued to update her social media accounts.