Why did MVP leave WWE?

MVP was once a top prospect in WWE. During the mid-to-late 2000s, he was featured prominently in the mid-card scene on both RAW and SmackDown, and rubbed shoulders with certified main-eventers on several occasions.

From the way he was being booked at the time, it looked like he was being groomed for a future main event run. Yet the said run never materialized. Why was this?

Initial Run

MVP debuted with WWE in the summer of 2006, as an arrogant, rich-boy heel that had an overinflated ego and thought the entire universe revolved around him. After defeating a handful of jobbers, he was soon thrust into an important feud with Kane, which culminated with MVP being ‘set on fire’ in an Inferno Match.

MVP later entered into a lengthy feud with Chris Benoit and then Matt Hardy. Both of these feuds centered on MVP and his United States Championship, which he had won from Benoit at Judgment Day 2007.

MVP’s feud with Matt Hardy became a central fixture on SmackDown for many months, and it even led to them holding the WWE Tag Team Championships together, effectively making MVP a dual champion for a short period of time.

Once his reign as WWE United States Champion came to an end (at the time, it was 343 days long, which was the longest at that time before it was broken by Dean Ambrose years later), things began to sour for MVP.

His next storyline saw him embark on a lengthy and high-profile losing streak, which saw his relevance on WWE’s programming begin to wane.

He was drafted to RAW in 2009, but that didn’t help his situation either, as he soon found himself in a small pond with several fish much larger than himself (especially John Cena, Randy Orton, and both members of D-X, Triple H & Shawn Michaels).

Departure

MVP’s final year in WWE was equally uninspiring, as he accomplished little to nothing beyond the occasional title challenge. He continued to fall further down the ladder until he was eventually released at the end of 2010.

MVP’s departure wasn’t surprising for many people, as it was seen as something of an inevitability for quite some time. Many people were convinced that he had peaked as a performer, and thus he wasn’t doing enough to grow as a performer.

This was despite the fact that he spent quite some time working with Chris Benoit, which helped him improve as an in-ring worker.

Ultimately, although he had the right kind of gimmick for a mid-card act, that was it, it was mid-card. He lacked that esoteric ‘something’ that was needed for him to make the jump from mid-card to main event, which prevented WWE from spending more time and devoting more creative energy on his character.

Work elsewhere

After his WWE contract ended, MVP went to work for New Japan Pro Wrestling, and didn’t do too badly over there. He did have some trouble getting work there at first since his criminal past caused him several visa issues with the Japanese government.

But once that was settled, MVP did enjoy some success in NJPW, including by becoming the first-ever IWGP Intercontinental Champion.

The future

MVP isn’t likely to appear in WWE on any long-term basis at this point. Although he did make a brief cameo appearance on the 25th anniversary of Monday Night RAW, that’s probably going to be it for him in the WWE.

Both the RAW and SmackDown Live rosters are filled to the brim with top-tier talent, and there are plenty of new wrestlers signing with NXT with each passing week. As a result, there doesn’t look like there will be a spot for MVP on either brand going forward.