Cain Velasquez and 4 other WWE Superstars whose careers lasted less than 12 months

WWE has released a lot of talent since the COVID-19 pandemic began. While it certainly wasn't the first time they released superstars, it never happened in such big numbers all at once. Since then, there have been batches of releases, while some talents who requested releases are made to stay.

However, over the years, there have been superstars, even big names, whose careers with the company lasted less than a year. This list includes a mix of "recently" released stars, legends of the business, a potentially big superstar, and one whose run with the company seemed longer than we remembered.

Here are five superstars whose careers with the sports entertainment juggernaut lasted less than a year:

---

#5. Cain Velasquez - WWE run ended before it could begin

Cain Velasquez was a surprising WWE signing. It all began on the debut episode of SmackDown on FOX, where Brock Lesnar dethroned Kofi Kingston to win the WWE Championship in just ten seconds.

Although many fans weren't aware, the man who debuted alongside Rey Mysterio was a ghost of Lesnar's past. Velasquez was the man who decimated him in a one-sided contest to capture the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

Fast forward to Crown Jewel 2019, and the match was over in a minute and a half. Cain Velasquez lost to Brock Lesnar in a slightly odd match, after which he assaulted his old rival and F-5'd him onto a steel chair.

While Velasquez was used in WWE's tour of Mexico a month later, Crown Jewel would mark his final televised appearance for the company. There were rumors of a Royal Rumble return for him, but it didn't happen due to the former UFC Heavyweight Champion getting injured. He also happened to be one of the first talent cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, Cain Velasquez's run with the company lasted for all but half a year and a few televised appearances. It isn't surprising that WWE felt as though they didn't need him. He wasn't utilized well, to begin with, but one has to wonder what the potential plans with Lesnar may have been.

If they had retained his services, they could have begun a multi-match program with Brock Lesnar, something that they've done numerous times on the road to WrestleMania (including 2021-2022).

Velasquez showed a lot of respect to the wrestling business and was deserving of more than an 88-second bout. While it was likely done to recapture the "MMA-feel" of an early knockout, professional wrestling is something entirely different.

#4. Diamond Dallas Page - One of the most disappointing WWE runs

Diamond Dallas Page was one of the biggest WCW stars to jump ship to WWE when the company purchased its rival in 2001. While DDP naturally hoped for a better run than what it happened, he was done no favors by debuting as the stalker of The Undertaker's wife.

It was a bad look all around, and he would go on to have a disappointing run with the company. Page suffered an injury in the summer of 2001 and returned with a new gimmick, where he was a motivational speaker. Things wouldn't go well for him and by early 2002, all the signs seemed to indicate that his run with the company would end soon.

DDP retained his European title at WrestleMania X8, and that would be his last moment of glory, as he suffered a career-ending injury in April 2002. He returned to wrestling, but never reached the heights that he did in WCW.

Reflecting on his WWE run over a decade later, Diamond Dallas Page said that he would have only continued with the company if they gave him a "People's Champion vs. People's Champion" match against The Rock.

#3. Taya Valkyrie - Still mad at WWE for her release

Taya Valkyrie was signed to WWE in 2021 with a lot of value in her name. She had been established as one of the top knockouts in IMPACT Wrestling and one of the best female talents in the world who wasn't signed to Vince McMahon's promotion.

All that changed in early 2021 when she signed and debuted in NXT as Franky Monet. By the time she got to the Performance Center, she already had over a decade of in-ring experience.

Her run in NXT itself seemed to be going fine as she picked up big wins and quickly became a title challenger to then-champion Raquel Gonzalez. While she lost in her match to Gonzalez, it was still a good spot to be in.

When her release was announced in early November 2021, it hardly came as a shock. Some huge names from the main roster had already been released, and with NXT 2.0 focusing on pushing talent in their early 20s, Valkyrie didn't fit the bill.

However, she was more outraged when her husband John Morrison was released just two weeks after her. She spoke out against the company and said that fans shouldn't support them as they don't care about that talent.

She even made a comment on Twitter reacting to Vince McMahon's statement on RAW about how firing people made him feel "warm" inside.

#2. Serena Deeb - A surprisingly short WWE stint

If you count her days with Florida Championship Wrestling, then Serena Deeb's run with WWE lasted a little over a year. However, when taking into account her main roster run, then her stint with the company was far shorter than most people realize.

It's interesting because Deeb has been widely regarded as one of the finer veterans of women's wrestling, one who influenced a lot of women. She was recruited by CM Punk to join the Straight Edge Society and had her hair shaved on live TV.

She appeared alongside Punk and Luke Gallows for a while, and in the summer of 2010, she was released. The reason for it was reportedly that Deeb didn't follow the straight edge lifestyle in real life, and thus did not integrate her on-screen persona to her private life.

It seems ridiculous in hindsight, but that's simply how strict the company was about such things. She returned to WWE for an appearance in the Mae Young Classic, and in early 2018, she was signed as a coach at the Performance Center, staying there for two years before she was released in the pandemic.

Serena Deeb's run as a trainer lasted longer than her run as a superstar.

#1. Muhammad Hassan - One of the biggest missed opportunities for WWE

Muhammad Hassan is a name that still draws interest from WWE fans. For the uninitiated, Hassan was a character played by Marc Copani, an American man of Italian origin.

The highly-controversial gimmick saw him publicly call out and condemn the discriminations faced by Arabic people from Americans, and somehow, he became the biggest heel in the company. There was even a story where he had to face the wrath of the locker room for using the camel clutch, a move invented by Eddie Guerrero's father.

Unfortunately for Hassan, he was embroiled in a locker room which still suffered from having a toxic culture - something that was never publicly acknowledged then.

At the young age of 23-24, Muhammad Hassan was in a prime position to become the top heel of his generation. However, the London Bombings in 2005, as well as WWE portraying him and his henchmen as terrorists led to a lot of trouble and controversy.

The company was pressurized to keep him off TV and at the Great American Bash in 2005, The Undertaker defeated him and wrote him off by launching a brutal assault.

Hassan was sent back to developmental to create a new character, but he was released in September and soon retired from professional wrestling altogether. While nobody had ever confirmed it, there was a belief that Muhammad Hassan was planned to be the man to dethrone Batista in the midst of his epic first World Heavyweight title run.

The end of the Hassan character may have legitimately changed the course of WWE's history.