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WWE is the juggernaut in the business of professional wrestling. Every year, the company signs a ton of aspiring and established wrestlers. It has led to the company having a stacked roster where some wrestlers are pushed to the top while others are pushed down the pecking order.
Along with new signees, the company also releases a number of wrestlers from their contracts every year with Big Cass being the most recent example. These wrestlers are released for a variety of reasons including unprofessional conduct and behavior, the creative team not having anything for them to do or the wrestlers themselves asking for their release.
A WWE contracted when released has to serve a 30 day No compete clause. during which they are unable to compete for any other promotion. Some of them fail to stay relevant in the industry and become obscure while others go on to achieve success in another promotion and become greater stars than they were before leaving the world's biggest wrestling promotion.
Here are five Such Superstars:
#5 Johnny Mundo/Impact ( Johnny Nitro/John Morrison)
John Hennigan, also known as Johnny Nitro aka John Morrison aka Johnny Mundo (God, this man has had a lot of ring names) was the co-winner of the Third Season of Tough Enough. He debuted on the main roster on April 2005 along with this then-girlfriend Melina and Joey Mercury, collectively known as MNM. He won the WWE World Tag Team Championship with Mercury.
After splitting with MNM, he had a solid singles run capturing the ECW Championship and Intercontinental Championship on multiple occasions. He also held the WWE Tag team Championship with The Miz in 2007. Despite winning numerous tag team and singles titles, Morisson was never built as a top star in the company and was eventually released from the company in November of 2011.
After leaving the WWE, Morrison went to Mexico where he competed for AAA becoming the promotion's first triple Champion holding the AAA Mega Championship, AAA Latin American Championship, and AAA Cruiserweight Championship simultaneously. He has also been the part of Lucha Underground since it's inception and has also held the Lucha Underground Championship. He currently works for both Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling.
#4 Jack Strong (Jack Swagger)
Billed as the next Brock Lesnar, Jack Swagger quickly rose through the rank in the WWE. He won the ECW Championship a mere three months after debuting on the main roster. Swagger would go on to win the Money in the Bank at WrestleMania 26 and would cash in his contract on Chris Jericho to become the World Heavyweight Champion but he wasn't able to hold on to the title for a long time and lost it to Rey Mysterio at the Fatal Four Way in 2010.
Swagger would go on to win the United States Championship once and would have a decent run as a face run alongside Zeb Colter as part of The Real Americans but wasn't able to reach the main event spot again. He asked for his release from the company in March 2018.
After leaving the company, Swagger would start working for various Indy promotions like 5 Star Wrestling and House of Hardcore. He is currently working for Lucha Underground where he is the current Lucha Underground Champion and has also signed to Bellator MMA, where he will be competing in the Heavyweight division.
#3 Juice Robinson ( CJ Parker)
Juice Robinson's WWE run was largely forgettable as the main never got past the developmental system in the company. After signing with the WWE in 20011, Robinson was sent to Florida Championship Wrestling ( WWE's Developmental territory at that time) and would then go on to NXT where he was used as a glorified jobber and getting squashed by the likes of Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens, and Roman Reigns.
Juice asked for his release from the company on March 31, 2015, with WWE officially confirming the same on April 3, 2015. Juice would then sign with New Japan Pro Wrestling in August of 2015 and has one of the top foreign stars in the company winning the IWGP United States Championship recently.
WWE has certainly taken notice of Robinson's rise in New Japan with rumors of the company potentially looking to re-sign the former CJ Parker surfacing a week ago. But this seems highly unlikely given the fact that Juice has himself stated that he wasn't keen on going back to the WWE and even cutting a ranted promo on the company after winning the IWGP United States Championship.
#2 Matt Sydal ( Evan Bourne)
It is entirely possible that you might not even remember Matt Sydall ever being in the WWE. His only memorable moment in the company besides winning the Tag Team Championship with Kofi Kingston was getting RKO'ed by Randy Orton. But much like the other great high flyer Jeff Hardy, Sydal's vices got the better of him. On November 2011, Sydall was suspended for 30 days for violating WWE's wellness policy and was handed a 60-day suspension for a second violation in January 2012 before being released by the company in June 2014.
Sydall would then return to the independent circuit working for promotions like Pro Wrestling Guirella, Evolve, Dragon Gate and Ring of Honor before debuting for New Japan Pro Wrestling in September 2015 where he would win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship and the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship once. Sydall is currently signed to Impact Wrestling where he is the former Impact Grand and X-Division Champion.
#1 Cody ( Cody Rhodes/Stardust)
The Son of the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes, Cody was destined for greatness inside the WWE Ring. A second generation superstar, the grandson of a plumber had everything one would want in a WWE Superstar. He was good-looking, he could talk and was an excellent in-ring performer. It was quite evident that the company was keen on pushing Cody as the next big thing when they placed him Legacy which comprised of Ted Debiase Jr. and Randy Orton. The faction dominated the main roster from 2008 until 2010.
After splitting from Legacy, Cody would have a singles run as Dashing Cody Rhodes where he would win the Intercontinental Championship twice. Rhodes turned face in 2013 by speaking out against the Authority and was fired in the storyline. Upon his return, Cody teamed with his real-life half-brother Goldust and even won the tag team titles. On June 2015 Cody debuted a new character called Stardust which would end up being the death knell of his departure from the company. In May 2016, Cody was released from the Company.
Cody has been a revelation on the independent circuit winning Championship in various promotions and has proven that there is life outside of the WWE. He is a former Ring of Honor Champion and WCPW Internet Champion. He is currently one of the hottest stars in the independent circuit today and is currently promoting the biggest independent Wrestling show, ALL IN, which he has financed in conjunction with the Young Bucks. The Bullet Club has a bright future and his chances of coming back to the WWE seems very bleak at this point of time given the kind of money he is making working in the independent scene.
