As wrestling fans, we should all bow down to the people we see perform in the ring each week. A job that necessitates them sacrificing their bodies for our entertainment, considering they slam their bodies around and take bumps, them doing this means that we owe them a debt of gratitude. That said, there are some of them that continue to ply their trade which we have to admit we’d be happy if they no longer were around. We’d prefer it if they were still given plenty of opportunities to make a living but if that didn’t mean we had to sit through tired segments with them over and over again we’d be all too happy. That is what inspired us to put together this list of the fifteen wrestlers wrestling fans wish would go away.

In order to keep this list somewhat concise, we have chosen to limit those we considered to people who work for WWE or TNA. That is because there are so many wrestling companies these days that people follow, that we felt like we needed to cut it off somewhere. We’ve chosen to consider anyone on the roster of either company who has ever taken part in a match even if they are prominently known for another job these days. Aside from that, everyone who collects a paycheque from either entity or in the case of TNA is owed money for their services due to a per appearance deal, is up for grabs. So, without any further ado, let’s get to the list.

16 15. Stephanie McMahon

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via wrestlingphoto.tumblr.com

Stephanie McMahon is best known as the Commissioner of Raw but since she is someone who has been in several matches in the past means that she finds herself here. We have to give Vince’s daughter credit for certain things, she is pretty good at controlling a crowd, she shows a great deal of confidence in the ring, and she fully commits to being hatred while on-screen. Still, as good as she is at all of that there are a number of things she does that makes fans wish she would disappear. First off, there are those people who hate her because her character is designed to be thought of in that way. Beyond that, however, she consistently makes wrestling stars look like kids being scolded by their mother, which does nothing for their careers as the guys will never have an opportunity to get back at her. On top of that, she tries hard to be hated on television and then tries her hardest on social media to convince us all that she is actually a giving and caring people who is beloved the WWE’s employees. However, she uses corporate speak which is something that rubs a lot of people the wrong way.

15 14. Kane

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via wrestlingphoto.tumblr.com

First thing's first, we feel the need to praise the impressive career that Kane has had in the WWE. Brought in as the brother of The Undertaker, a lot of people would have wilted under the pressure of being compared to one of the best characters ever but the Big Red Machine thrived. A former WWE Champion who has feuded with some of the biggest stars in company history, he is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Still, fans around the world groan whenever an authority figure threatens a wrestler with punishment and Kane’s music hits. Not nearly as spry in the ring as he once was, nor should he be considering his increased age and wear and tear, his matches are often tedious and he is used in high profile spots too often. For instance, the fact that when Daniel Bryan prevailed in the main event of WrestleMania then was put into a feud with Kane was incredibly frustrating and while he sticks around they can’t resist doing things like that.

14 13. Dana Brooke

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via wrestlingphoto.tumblr.com

Dana Brooke is a huge testament to NXT’s ability to showcase their talent properly and accentuate their positives while hiding their negatives. Working as a tandem with Emma for much of her time there, she came off as someone who was far better in the ring and on the mic than her level of experience should have allowed her to be. When she was called up to the main roster and her pal went away due to an injury she was put with Charlotte. Another villainous character, the hope had to be that Dana would come off as well but that hasn’t been the case at all. Instead, more often than not she was a distraction who was put into a position she wasn’t ready for yet. Still, a member of the Raw roster, she is barely seen with her former mentor these days and Charlotte feels fresher because of it, which is a testament to her absence making the show stronger. She has shown potential but she is one of several people on this list that just isn’t ready for the role she is in yet.

13 12. Nia Jax

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via wrestlingphoto.tumblr.com

Speaking of people who aren’t ready for WWE television yet, Nia Jax has to be the most obvious example of that. A woman who has a look that could easily work for the industry and whose past as a model shows that she can survive in a cutthroat business, had she been given more time she could be great. Instead, probably due to the company lacking any women of her size and her relation to The Rock, she finds herself on the main roster and thrust into feuds with the company’s biggest female stars. Worse yet, she is supposed to be a vicious heel who brutalizes her foes but anytime fans get a look at her eyes, which the WWE regularly focuses on, she looks scared and unsure of herself. The same holds true when she speaks on the microphone as you can practically hear her trembling. Please WWE, take her off of our TVs and give her the opportunity to work in front of smaller crowds and gain some confidence.

12 11. Al Snow

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via impactwrestling.com

A man with an interesting career, Al Snow certainly was able to create a memorable character in the midst of the Attitude Era, his crazy manikin head toting one, and has a long history of training people. Clearly, somebody who deserves a heapful of respect because of those two things and his years of running up and down the roads, we’re happy for him that he has a role in TNA. However, the fact that he was thrust into an on camera spot has been frustrating. Involved in two storylines, as an enemy of Grado’s and an angry manager, neither did anything good for the product, as best evidenced by his charges abruptly beating him up and showing him the door. Currently off television for a few weeks, the fact of the matter is we could easily see TNA’s new owners bringing him back due to his previous notoriety. On behalf of most fans, we’re begging Anthem Sports & Entertainment to use him backstage only.

11 10. Alicia Fox

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via wrestlingphoto.tumblr.com

A former WWE Divas Champion, when Alicia was brought onto the company’s television she didn’t have any experience on the independent circuit but she grew to become pretty good in the ring. While we would never put her on par with workers like Lita, Trish Stratus, Charlotte, Paige, AJ Lee, or others of that ilk, she worked during an era dominated by models and did better than most of her peers. However, times have changed and the women’s roster is dominated these days by women that are amazing who Alicia has fallen behind. Furthermore, she has become a one-trick pony who is constantly seen freaking out and while it was interesting at first, it quickly became tedious hearing her scream and carry on.

10 9. The Ascension

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via pinterest.com

When this team was in NXT they were a gothic pair with an entrance and look that brought to mind The Brood which made them able to get over with a certain part of the fanbase. While there were some who were unimpressed with their act and wrestling abilities, we could see why they’d opt to bring them up to the main roster where image oftentimes takes more of a precedence. What we never saw coming was that somebody had the brilliant idea (sarcasm intended) to change up their gimmick and force people to compare them to The Road Warriors and Demolition, which made them look awful. Failing pretty much from the second they were introduced, they’ve never overcome their introduction in any real way. Now anytime they make their way to the ring we know that we’re in for a throwaway segment where the interviews and matches are likely to be bad and who wants to see that?

9 8. Brandi Rhodes

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via wrestlingnews.co

When Cody Rhodes decided to leave the WWE because he was sick of the frustration his lack of a push garnered in him he didn’t rest for a moment and started appearing all over the world. An accomplished wrestler with a long history of getting over with fans, he has shown that he could have done far more for his former bosses. When he signed with TNA his real life wife, Brandi Rhodes, came along with him and while we’d seen her in the past as an announcer she was signed as a wrestler. We were interested to see what she could do right up until the bell rang and it was abundantly clear that she is not a good worker yet. Having trained some in NXT, they shifted her focus to introducing others on their way to the ring and now that we’ve seen her stilted movements, mistimed moved and botched spots we think they were onto something.

8

7 7. Bob Backlund

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via wrestlingphoto.tumblr.com

This one makes us really sad. The man who has the second longest World Heavyweight Championship reign in WWE history, Bob deserves all of our respect for that alone. Coming back in the early nineties, he completely remade himself from the ultimate good guy into a crazed villain and proved that he was very good in his new role, even regaining the belt he’d worn years earlier. Used as a manager by several companies off an on since, his trademark passion has been extremely entertaining in the past partly because he is mostly sincere but seems unhinged. Back under WWE’s employ these days, for the first time in years, when he was reintroduced we were very excited to see him at his best yet again. Instead, he was cast as Darren Young’s life coach and while his charge has been good in the past, this pairing shows zero chemistry, the storyline has gone nowhere and we just can’t stomach it any longer.

6 6. D’Angelo Dinero

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via twitter.com

Known by many as The Black Pope, D’Angelo Dinero was once named Elijah Burke in the WWE’s version of ECW where he seemed like he had all the potential in the world. Clearly possessing an awful lot of charisma and competent in the ring, to say the least, when he was released we were shocked. Brought in by TNA in 2009, we were excited to see what he would contribute but in reality nothing he has done there has been any good. His most memorable feud involved him faking charitable acts like giving away dogs and was atrocious and then he made the switch to the commentary team. The latest in a long line of horrible TNA commentators, his voice is all over the telecast and makes a lot of matches and moments worse because of it.

5 5. Roman Reigns 

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via wrestlingphoto.tumblr.com

We know, we know, Roman could be great as a bad guy and a lot of the faults of his character aren’t his fault. We also realize that there are legions of younger fans who’ve totally gotten behind him and would be heart broken if he was gone. On the other hand, when he comes to the ring a good percentage of the time he has arenas filled with people booing him with all of the passion they can muster. His promos have shown some improvement but are nowhere near being good enough in their current form to win those people over. If Vince McMahon would only give in and switch his character around and play into the boos, Roman could be one of the most over wrestlers on the roster but he is a stubborn man and we can’t expect that to happen. Since the necessary changes to make the people who want him gone feel differently don’t seem to be coming anytime soon and those people are passionate in their dislike, he finds himself here on this list.

4 4. HoHo Lun

via WWE.com
via WWE.com

Poor, poor HoHo Lun. A wrestler from Hong Kong who the WWE signed in 2016, prior to coming to the biggest wrestling company in the world his level of experience was far less than many of the other people that they choose to bring in. That is because he began his wrestling career in China, which is a large part of the reason he was signed as the network was trying to get a foothold in the country, and there the sport hasn’t caught on much yet. As a result, even though he has been working since at least 2012, he hasn’t been able to have that many matches against high caliber talent. Thrust into the Cruiserweight Classic, probably because they were going for an international feel, he was quickly named the least qualified to be taking part in it by many viewers. Included in the official roster of 205 Live, he even appeared on the debut episode of the show, despite it seeming obvious that he isn’t ready for it yet. As a result, fans want him to go train and greatly improve before appearing on such a platform.

3 3. The Big Show

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via wrestlingphoto.tumblr.com

When thinking of wrestlers who are constantly brought out as punishment for wrestlers who raised the ire of authority figures, Kane’s main competition for that role over the years was The Big Show. A wrestler who has shown incredible staying power, especially considering the fact his size typically makes people’s movements difficult (we’re looking at you, Great Khali), he deserves oodles of respect. A former world champion in WCW before making the jump and working for Vince McMahon, Show has been around in the WWE off and on since 1999. Despite the long years of work and several periods in which he was great at his craft, these days fans are prone to chant please retire at him while he is in the ring. That is largely due to forces outside his control, like a cartoonish amount of character changes, but speaks volumes that fans want him gone.

2 2. Mahabali Shera

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via YouTube.com

Mahabali Shera seems like a sweet guy who really enjoys getting in front of the fans and doing his thing but that doesn’t mean we like it when he is on our TVs. Involved with The Revolution, an awful cult storyline involving James Storm, remarkably his career since then has actually managed to mostly go downhill. Ultimately thrust into a feud with his leader and overcoming him, it was clear that the company was planning to give him a big push and in fact, there was a time where he was in the mix for World Title contention. According to insider reports at the time, that was because they were preparing to tour his home country, India, but thankfully wiser heads prevailed and he never wore the big belt. Recast as a comedy character since then, even in that role he is out of his depth and every time we see him we can’t help but groan and fast forward or change the channel. Judging by crowd and internet reactions we are far from the only ones who want to pretend he isn’t a part of the TNA roster.

1 1. Eva Marie

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via wrestlingphoto.tumblr.com

If you are a paid to take part in wrestling matches and fans loudly chant “you can’t wrestle” at you, things are not going well. While Eva Marie has spent a lot of her career being portrayed as a villain when fans scream things like that at you, it isn’t representative of you doing a good job of getting them to dislike you. Sure, they hate you but words like those get yelled at a wrestler because the fans think that they are bad at what they do and want don’t want to sit through them performing. To her credit, she has improved a great deal from where she started, arguably one of the worst wrestlers in the history of WWE TV, but her first impression was largely toxic. There was one time where we thought things may improve for her, after the debut of her over the top Smackdown entrance, but she was suspended and all that momentum is long gone.