5 WWE Superstars whose careers ended abruptly

This year is set to witness the end of John Cena's legendary WWE career. We have already seen Goldberg hanging up his boots and passing the torch to Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event 2025.

However, not every story ends with a happy ending, and some stars end up getting cut, abruptly ending their careers. This list will look at five WWE Superstars whose careers ended abruptly despite having major potential:

#5. Karrion Kross

Let's kick off the list with the most recent cut from the company, whose departure from WWE has been making waves on the internet recently. For quite some time, the pro-wrestling community was buzzing about Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux's WWE contract expiring and not being renewed.

Given the massive response Kross and Bordeaux were getting, fans and experts anticipated that the power couple would get an extension. However, the momentum shifted as Karrion and Scarlett went public, revealing that they attempted to align with the company but did not achieve a satisfactory outcome.

Hence, they have not signed a new deal with the company and are free agents, marking the end of their second stint with the promotion in three years, concluding their WWE runs for now.

#4. Ricochet

Ricochet was one of the most talented superstars WWE signed back in 2018. He had multiple jaw-dropping moments in the Stamford-based promotion throughout his career that are registered in the books.

The 36-year-old star held multiple mid-card titles, United States Championship, Intercontinental Championship, North American Championship, Tag Team title, and more. However, despite his groundbreaking talent, The Highlight of the Night never made it to the main event picture.

In June 2024, it was reported that Ricochet's contract with the company was about to expire. He informed the company that he would leave once his current deal was up. He was sent off weirdly after being attacked backstage by Bron Breakker and never returned.

#3. Former WWE Champion Daniel Bryan

The American Dragon had two bumpy stints with the World Wrestling Entertainment before he finally got the push he deserved. Bryan was first signed by WWE in 2000, where he was sent to the company's developmental territory, MCW, and was trained by William Regal.

After having a lower-card run for the company on secondary shows, he was released in 2003. The leader of The Yes Movement returned to the Stamford-based promotion in 2009.

However, he was fired within one year after violating a major rule of the PG Era. He was part of the Nexus faction, and they were supposed to destroy the ringside while being in rivalry with John Cena. Bryan took things a bit far and choked Justing Roberts with his tie. WWE fired him due to sponsor issues. The creatives translated it into a storyline.

Daniel was kicked out of Nexus by the members themselves, and it was announced he would never compete in the stamford-based promotion again. The rest is history. The iconic third reign of the latter changed everything.

#2. Aleister Black

Aleister Black is known for his unique MMA-style wrestling, which is a rare sight in the industry. The Dutchman was always seen as a top-level star, and his NXT run reflected it.

After a successful NXT run, Aleister was drafted to the main roster in 2019, where he had a major feud against Seth Rollins, which caught the attention of fans. In 2021, the company teased a major character change for the latter and even played some dark vignettes building his new gimmick.

Oddly, things never came to fruition as he was released from the company, ending his run abruptly. The former NXT Champion returned this year and is being looked at as a future top star.

#1. Dijak

The former Retribution faction member had a rough WWE career, as he was repackaged multiple times, showing that the promotion had hopes in him, but he never won over the fans.

Dijak had a short success on NXT, but once he was drafted to the main roster in 2024, he was again relegated to a lower-card position. The Stamford-based promotion didn't renew his contract when it expired in June of the same year, concluding his stint with the company.