The life after WWE for wrestlers can play out in various directions. WWE loves when their top stars retire and stay away from other promotions. These stars are represented as WWE legends living their lives outside of the ring and can return every once in a while for a big pop from the fans. Unfortunately, not everyone can have a “where are they now” story similar to Shawn Michaels or Steve Austin. There are plenty of stories of the current life of a wrestler that WWE want to keep quiet for different reasons.
The most obvious wrestler tales WWE wants hidden are the ones that paints them in a negative light. Wrestlers in bad financial and physical shape after a stint working for WWE is not a good look for the company. Other stories WWE want to hide actually are the successful ones. The fact that some wrestlers are way better off without WWE is not a narrative they want out in the public. There are also the wrestlers that still trash them publicly with vicious allegations. We'll take a look at all of the categories mentioned as we break down fifteen “where are they now” stories of wrestlers that Vince McMahon doesn’t want fans to know about.
15 15. Sabu - GoFundMe Campaign
WWE employed Sabu for a short time period during the ECW brand but still profits off his work with the WWE Network airing old school ECW content as one of its main draws. Sabu is in horrible physical and financial states today. The hardcore wrestling legend is still forcing his way to independent shows as a way to make money.
Sabu sadly needed help from fans to get hip surgery last year. The surgery was badly needed after years of trying to fight it off. Sabu still needs help for the post-op costs that come from it as well. WWE not helping him out doesn’t look good since Sabu is one of the top ECW stars on all those shows they advertise on the Network. Vince McMahon doesn’t want you to know one of his former talents is struggling to afford surgery and putting himself through more pain.
14 14. Cody Rhodes - Indie Star
A positive wrestling story WWE can’t be happy with is Cody Rhodes shining on the free agent market. Rhodes made the bold decision to leave WWE on his own and request his release because they refused to use him in a credible manner. The Stardust character was going to be his future and he didn’t want that to become his legacy.
Rhodes has become a massive star in ROH, New Japan and various other promotions since the decision to leave. As the current ROH Champion, Cody is loving life outside of WWE. The claims of Rhodes are that he's now making more money than he did in WWE. Considering Cody was very well paid in WWE, this is a great statement for life outside WWE. The company can’t be happy with everyone knowing how much success you can achieve without them.
13 13. Sunny - Rehab Center
The train wreck of Tammy “Sunny” Sytch has become one of the saddest stories in wrestling. Sunny was a massive star as a manager and personality for WWE in the 90s. A bad attitude, poor decisions and personal demons caused her brush with relevance to end and her life to go downhill. Sytch has been in and out of jail over the past few years.
Most of her worst moments came after she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Sunny actually went as far as to cash in her little remaining fame to film a low budget adult film. WWE can’t be thrilled with her spewing racist comments on social media, getting arrested every other month and wearing her HOF ring for adult videos. She's currently once again checked into a rehab facility.
12 12. Alberto Del Rio - GFW Wrestler (Anti-WWE Attitude)
So many things can change in a year, and Alberto Del Rio’s career shows that. Del Rio was released from WWE a little less than a year ago after he violated the Wellness Policy and requested to leave the company. The comments of Alberto following his departure have seen him accuse them of lying about his drug test failure and claims they released Paige’s personal property to the public.
Del Rio and Paige have been in the news consistently for all the wrong reasons. Each person was accused of being the guilty party in a domestic abuse case. Everything makes Alberto look badly from potentially hitting his girlfriend to constantly cursing out WWE. Del Rio even trashes WWE at live shows by demanding the fans chant swear-filled chants about his former employer. Vince McMahon can’t be thrilled with a recent star being responsible for so many terrible headlines today.
11 11. Teddy Hart - Indie Wrestler (Terrible Public Image)
Teddy Hart may very well go down in history as the biggest waste of wrestling talent ever. History was made by Hart back in 1998 as the youngest person to sign with WWE at just 18 years old. WWE viewed Teddy as a potential Superstar thanks to his ridiculous athleticism and pedigree in the business growing up in the Hart family.
The bad attitude and addiction issues doomed Teddy in WWE causing them to release him after he continuously screwed up. Hart wrestled on the independent circuit for years doing his cool moves but his track record of being a disaster lived up to reputation. In recent years, Teddy has been accused of rape, driving while intoxicated and evading authorities. WWE has to be happy that they never used him on television given the negative press he would get them.
10 10. Jim Neidhart - Recovering Addict
Another Hart family member that WWE appears to be trying to keep out of the memories of wrestling fans is Jim Neidhart. Jim is the father of current women’s wrestling star Natalya, but we never see him with her on WWE television. In fact, WWE has gone out of their way to bring in Bret Hart as the relative to represent Natalya in various situations.
Neidhart has gone through various controversial stories in recent years. The track record of the Anvil saw him charged with trafficking illegal drugs and burglary. Neidhart is reportedly turning his life around for the better and that is great news. WWE however seems hell bent on keeping away from being associated with Natalya. Bret is the relative they want fans to think about when Natalya discusses continuing the family tradition.
9 9. Ryback - Podcast Host (Anti-WWE Attitude)
The story of Ryback is one WWE can’t be proud of. Following years of trying to make him a star, Ryback chose to leave the company after his contract expired. Ryback however went out in dramatic fashion by trashing WWE publicly in a blog claiming the wrestlers are treated poorly. Things haven’t changed and Ryback has actually doubled down on his vendetta against WWE.
Ryback’s podcast features him insulting WWE talent and sharing controversial stories in hopes of download clicks. From attempting to paint Seth Rollins in a negative light to claiming Vince McMahon wanted him to bury A.J. Styles, there are many quotes from Ryback that make WWE look bad. The company is hoping he continues to burn out to the point of complete irrelevance.
8 8. Scott Steiner - Anti-WWE Attitude
Another wrestler that has not stopped making insulting comments about how WWE is run is Scott Steiner. The WWE career of Steiner ended back in 2003 and he held nothing back after leaving. Steiner claimed Triple H tried to sabotage his push and WWE completely catered to the son-in-law of Vince McMahon. Thirteen years later, Steiner is still making headlines with critical comments about WWE.
Big Poppa Pump clams he turned down a WWE legends contract and claimed these contracts were horribly unfair to the wrestlers. Steiner also doubles down on his hatred of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. The recent comments see him imply that Stephanie slept with Randy Savage back in the 90s as the controversial urban legend lives on. Vince McMahon clearly wants fans to not acknowledge or even realize Steiner is saying these things.
7 7. Jeff Jarrett - GFW Founder
Jeff Jarrett is one of the most hated wrestlers of Vince McMahon due to his controversial departure in 1999. Jarrett made the decision to hold up McMahon for a big pay day after his contract expired while he was still the Intercontinental Champion. McMahon paid Jarrett his request to drop the title to Chyna but vowed to never do business with him again.
Since then, Jarrett has tried to create competition against WWE with TNA and now Global Force Wrestling. Jarrett is back in the news for merging GFW and TNA along with trying to claim ownership over the Hardys “Broken” characters. McMahon definitely doesn’t want anyone knowing Jarrett is still around being a thorn in his side. You know Vince wants the GFW/TNA to fail in even more dramatic fashion than it has.
6 6. Virgil - Wrestling Conventions
Virgil has not been a full-time wrestler for WWE since 1994 but he remains a name in the wrestling industry for all the wrong reasons. The reputation of Virgil is one of a panhandler trying to pressure wrestling fans into giving him a lot of money for pictures or autographs at conventions. To make matters worse, Virgil has been caught setting up operations in New York subways trying to sell his merchandise.
The visual of a former wrestler asking for money inside of a New York City train station is not something Vince McMahon wants associated with WWE. Virgil continues to embarrass the entire business with his actions but the worst moments will always get linked back to the bigger company. “Former WWE star Virgil” is how most major outlets refer to him as and McMahon wants to erase any attachment between the two sides.
5 5. CM Punk - MMA (Anti-WWE Attitude)
The career of CM Punk in MMA has been a disaster. Punk was decimated in his first and only fight. Despite still training, it seems like a safe bet that Punk will never have another professional MMA fight. There are rumors of Punk starting to get the wrestling bug again. Punk frequently interacts with NJPW’s Bullet Club members Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks on social media.
There is a realistic possibility of Punk coming back to the ring outside of WWE to work for their biggest competitors. WWE is very petty regarding how Punk left. The idea of a top star walking out in such public fashion is not one Vince McMahon likes associated with his brand. McMahon’s main reason for not wanting fans to know what Punk is doing today is that he wants fans to stop caring about the former Superstar in case he makes a huge move.
4 4. Darren Drozdov - Disabled
One of the most tragic WWE in-ring moments featured promising talent Darren “Droz” Drozdov seeing his career end in a single moment. Droz suffered a career ending injury in a match against D-Lo Brown. The severe neck injury caused Droz to become a quadriplegic. WWE employed him for a few years in different roles writing articles for their website among other thing following the injury.
Drozdov has regained the ability to use most of his upper body and arms since the injury, but it's still a tragic tale in WWE history. The incident has become a distant memory that Vince McMahon wants out of the minds of the fans. A former WWE wrestler being wheelchair bound from an injury suffered in the ring is definitely one of Vince’s least desirable “where are they now” stories.
3 3. Vader - Podcast Interviews/Convention Appearances
The legendary career of Vader saw his best years in WCW and Japan, but many fans remember him best for WWE. Vader has revealed some unfortunate news in recent times as he stated his doctor told him he has less than two years left to live. The heart issues of Vader apparently have caused serious health issues that could end his life in the near future.
Vader has stated one of his final wishes would be to get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The desire of Vader to get celebrated on the big stage one more may not be something Vince McMahon wants. According to various reports, McMahon didn’t like Vader and would not want him in the HOF. The variables in play add another story Vince doesn’t want fans to know about.
2 2. Batista - Actor (Anti-WWE Attitude)
Batista has become one of the most successful wrestling stars to leave WWE. Following his WWE career, Batista wanted to make it in Hollywood as a big time actor. WWE laughed at this notion and actually refused to put him in their WWE Studio films. Batista ended up becoming the biggest movie star from the wrestling industry since The Rock.
Marvel placed Batista in the mega successful Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and everything has taken off from there. WWE makes zero reference to one of their legends starring in such a popular film but will go out of their way to reference The Rock in B list movies. Batista also trashes WWE for how they used him during his recent run. WWE getting proved wrong and being insulted makes Vince McMahon want fans to not realize how truly successful Batista’s story is.
1 1. Perry Saturn - GoFundMe Campaign
One of the sadder stories in wrestling features the recent years of Perry Saturn. The talented wrestler was a member of the Radicalz but saw it all fall apart after leaving WWE. Saturn developed very dangerous drug addictions that ruined his life. It became a story that Saturn was “missing” because no one in the industry heard from him in years, and that was due to him being homeless.
Saturn is trying to get his life back on track with help from fans on GoFundMe. According to the listing, Saturn suffers from dementia and various physical ailments that negatively impact his life daily. The story of one of Vince McMahon’s former wrestler being in such bad shape and desperately needing help is not good for the WWE perception. Many want the company to step in and help out, but McMahon is hoping the story fizzles out with the bigger audience not hearing about it.