There has been an inflow of many wrestlers in the WWE over the years, with the company signing more and more talents from all around the world. With the introduction of NXT and WWE giving focusing on building their developmental program and bringing in wrestlers from other promotions, they managed to sign many promising talents; while some of them turned out to be absolute superstars at the biggest stage, others just crumbled when the pressure got to much for them.

These wrestlers just couldn't make it in the big time when they were given their opportunities and turned out to be complete busts in the company, which forced the WWE to release them. But things really don't seem to be going well for them outside Vince McMahon's company, as these former WWE wrestlers haven't managed to achieve much on the Independent scene and are just fading away from the spotlight with each passing day.

They just can't seem to click even outside the WWE and are slowly turning into massive failures who are just disappearing from their spotlight with each passing day.

15 15. Hornswoggle

Hornswoggle will always be remembered as the mischievous little wrestler who slid on from under the ring to fool around in the ring, as he had quite a lot of years in WWE. From being Cruiserweight Champion to the Anonymous Raw General Manager, Hornswoggle was part of a lot of things before his character became stale in WWE. He was part of some foolish stuff towards the end before being released by the company and it turned out that his character wasn't only stale in WWE, but in wrestling in general. Hornswoggle barely got work on the Independent circuit before being surprisingly signed by TNA, who had him feud with Rockstar Spud in an awful feud. Hornswoggle hasn't been seen in TNA for quite some-time now and there's nothing more he can do in wrestling anymore and it seems that his wrestling career has finally reached the end of the line.

14 14. Adam Rose

Adam Rose portrayed some really different kind of characters in his WWE career as he started off as portraying the scary "Leo Kruger" at NXT which was later discarded. He finally found his gimmick in the "party guy" who loved to party and was soon regressed into a jobber, feuding with his own Bunny at a low point. Rose later became part of the Social Outcasts with some other jobbers but was fired after being arrested for domestic violence. Rose had to take some-time off from wrestling before he announced that he'd be wrestling in the Independent circuit but because of his reputation, no reputed independent promotion wants to be associated with him. Rose's once promising looking wrestling career is slowly coming to a terrible end as this wrestler who looked to be a star one day is now a complete train-wreck who can't even turn it around at this point.

13 13. Jack Swagger

Jack Swagger's regression in the WWE was pretty disheartening to see, as he was once touted as the "Next Kurt Angle" because of his in-ring skills. But Swagger's awful gimmick and lack of personality made for his fall, as he'd have to spend the next years with this American gimmick and was a jobber to the up and coming stars for most the time. Swagger was frustrated with his position at the company and had the request for his release granted a few months back. But going by just how badly he was degraded by the WWE, Swagger will not find his prime form again in the Independent circuit where he's losing to most of the prominent stars and seems to be on the road to becoming a complete trainwreck in the near future.

12 12. Solomon Crowe

Solomon Crowe arrived in the WWE with much hype because of his reputation of being a "crazy" wrestler in the Independent circuit and his great work for many promotions. But he couldn't seem to settle into life in WWE, failing to get over his weird gimmick and not getting into stride at NXT. He did impress in a few matches but was just unconvincing in general, for which he was kept off TV for months and got frustrated with it. Crowe himself decided to leave WWE for his own good in 2015, but he hasn't reached the top of the Independent field after returning to it. Crowe wrestled a few matches in the Independent circuit before signing for Lucha Underground, where he's nowhere near the top. Crowe's stake has been falling after leaving WWE and he's slowly nearing a phase where he'll become an afterthought in wrestling.

11 11. Chris Masters

"The Masterpiece" Chris Masters definitely looked like one when he initially arrived in the WWE, dominating everyone with his "Masterlock Challenge" as he was pushed as a promising individual because of his stunning body. But after some-time, Masters' failure to improve as a wrestler cost him as he was degraded into being a lower-mid carder for many years. He left WWE in 2011 and has been trying to reclaim his "lost glory" ever since in other promotions. Masters wrestled sometime in the Independent circuit but had become a forgotten figure before he turned up in TNA recently. He wrestled at Slammiversary this year where he lost in a match to Moose and D'Angelo Williams and is really going anywhere in the company and Masters seems to be very close to becoming a complete trainwreck of a wrestler.

10 10. Yoshi Tatsu

Yoshi Tatsu was quite the star in Japan which convinced WWE to sign him in 2007, as he was made to go through their routine developmental program before being introduced on the main roster. But Tatsu never really got going in WWE, often switching brands and failed to make an impact on the roster and was mostly used as a wrestler who put other stars over. He left the company after a failed career in 2014 and returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he was again used as a wrestler to put others over. Tatsu formed some tag team alliances with other wrestlers but failed to get his legitimacy back at New Japan and has been on the down ever since leaving WWE as he hasn't been able to find much fame in Japan either and is slowly withering into a finished "superstar".

9 9. Alex Riley

Alex Riley looked like a real potential talent when he was groomed as The Miz's "Rookie" on NXT and later made the main roster jump with him, helping him win the Money in the Bank briefcase and later WWE Title. While he did good work as The Miz's helper, he couldn't really do much as a wrestler in WWE with constant injuries also holding him down. Riley was later degraded to NXT where he did commentary for a bit before returning as a wrestler, but he failed to make an impact there as well. After not doing anything for a long time, he was finally released last year and hasn't done anything since being released. It seems like his wrestling days are past him as he has lost that passion and is slowly just turning into a complete trainwreck who'll probably have to look for a change in work.

8 8. JTG

JTG was part of one of the most entertaining tag teams of the past decade of so in Cryme Tyme when he and Shad just loved to fool around in the company. He was pretty entertaining in segments and while he wasn't really that good of a wrestler, his entertaining skills let him stay in WWE for quite a long time. But things got tough for him after Cryme Tyme disbanded as he had to wrestle as a singles wrestler and was pretty bad at it. JTG was finally released by WWE in 2014 and has since barely made any appearances as a wrestler. He's written two books since and doesn't seem to be that focused on bringing his wrestling career back on track, as even he probably realizes how much of a disastrous wrestler he is and has also faded away from the fans' minds ever since his release.

7 7. Aksana

Aksana looked like a stunning specimen when she arrived at the WWE and with her amazing looks, it seems that she would go a long way in the company. But the bodybuilder failed to make much of an impact in WWE as she was not able to improve her in-ring skills and was held back because of that. She later had an alliance with Alicia Fox as part of "Foxsana" as the two actually looked pretty good together but Aksana was released by WWE in 2014 and hasn't returned to wrestling ever since. She didn't even try to do something on the Independent circuit and has returned back to becoming a fitness trainer as most of her wrestling career was a complete bust.

6 6. Brodus Clay

Brodus Clay was quite the happy-go-lucky, entertaining individual when he was at WWE as the "Funkasaurus" which was a hilarious gimmick if not anything else. But that only stayed entertaining for a certain point of time, as Clay would lose his popularity after it got stale and was degraded into becoming a jobber. He was released by the WWE in 2014 and decided to jump ship to TNA after that where he did get an initial monster push to prove just how good he is but was soon degraded into a lower-mid carder in a place like TNA as well. Clay just doesn't seem to be good enough for any wrestling promotion at the moment and is withering away into a forgotten individual who is slowly turning into complete bust who can't seem take that step further into stardom.

5 5. CJ Parker

CJ Parker seemed like a really interesting talent in NXT many years ago when he debuted as this "Eco Warrior" who protested for himself all the time, but he couldn't climb the ladder in NXT and ended up remaining as a jobber. Parker would get frustrated with his position at the company and left the company in 2015 after spending many months unable to turn it around for himself and he went to New Japan Pro Wrestling afterward. But as it turns out, Parker can't really do anything good for himself at Japan either where he's being used as a jobber to the stars. It turns out that him leaving WWE didn't change anything for himself, as Parker seems to be destined to remain as this jobber forever and is heading towards becoming a complete train-wreck as a wrestler.

4 4. Damien Sandow

Damien Sandow was quite the hilarious entertainer in WWE when he initially debuted as the "Intellectual Savior of the Masses" and even achieved quite a lot of things with the gimmick, but it all started to go wrong after that gimmick was discarded. Sandow was more of a joker than a wrestler in WWE and served the company really well despite his position before he was released last year. Sandow looked to rejuvenate himself in the Independent circuit and quickly joined TNA where he initially received a push, winning the Impact Grand Championship. But Sandow wasn't that good in the ring and with another awful gimmick at Impact, he decided to leave the promotion a few months back as it seems like his career is nowhere and Sandow's wrestling career seems to be nearing a bitter end.

3 3. Bull Dempsey

Bull Dempsey might not have had the looks to wow many, but there were some really promising aspects about him which got him featured on NXT TV for so many months. He was this bully-ish Brawn who was superb as a heel but lost all his momentum as a face. He'd be forced to go through a gimmick of "Bull-Fit" where he'd struggle to control his diet and get fit and quickly lost his place on the roster. Dempsey was also released earlier last year and things haven't really improved for him afterward, as he's struggling to get dates in the Independent circuit. Bull has only featured in a few matches including a few at Ring of Honor but doesn't seem to be a wanted man on the Independent circuit as his inability to control his figure seems to have cost him as he's slowly headed into becoming a complete bust.

2 2. Brad Maddox

Brad Maddox was never really branded as a "wrestler" in the WWE but he did step into the company as one when he signed with their Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) developmental territory in 2008. Maddox spent many years in developmental before he was brought onto the main roster as a "referee" who screwed over Ryback in his match against CM Punk. Maddox would later also be the Raw General Manager for some-time before being degraded into a jobber, teaming with Adam Rose for sometime before being fired for calling the audience "cocky pricks" at a live event. Maddox has seemingly disappeared from wrestling after leaving WWE, only gaining attention when his sex tape with Paige was released earlier this year. Maddox hasn't been seen or heard since as he's withered into an almost invisible individual who is going through a disastrous time since leaving WWE.

1 1. Ryback

"The Big Guy" Ryback looked like a future main-event star for the WWE when he started to receive his mega-push at the company, but he just didn't have it in him to stay at the top for very long. After being involved at the main-event for some-time, Ryback was transitioned into a mid-carder who only just won the Intercontinental Championship during his time with WWE. He later became a guy who put others over which didn't bode so well for him as he didn't like his position with the company and wasn't happy financially, thus making for his departure. Ryback has since wrestled some matches in the Independent circuit but has been extremely bitter towards WWE for releasing him and is seems like his days of dominating are soon to be over as he's slowly becoming a completely train-wreck of a wrestler, with his ego and bitterness holding him down.