It's well known by now that a handful of talents in WWE have become disgruntled with their place in the company, and some of them have tried unsuccessfully to get out of their contracts.

Back in January, it was reported that Mike and Maria Kanellis and The Revival had asked to be released, but WWE denied their requests. More recently, Luke Harper took to Twitter and revealed that he asked to be released.

However, WWE also refused to grant Harper's wishes, and they actually wound up adding six more months to his contract. As for The Revival, WWE took the Raw Tag Team Championships off their belts and the creative team has put them in a series of embarrassing segments ever since.

According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (h/t Ringside News), disgruntled superstars are now "a little less likely to speak out because they don’t want time tacked on" to their WWE contracts.

Related: Tye Dillinger Details How He Was Able To Get Out Of WWE Contract

Sasha Banks is also a prime example about how speaking out won't lead to you getting out of WWE. The Legit Boss was upset about having to drop the Women's Tag Team Championships with Bayley at WrestleMania 35, and she hasn't appeared on television ever since. Rumors have suggested that Banks wants to "quit" WWE, but the Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently reported that WWE could actually "freeze" her contract while she's on hiatus.

AEW figures to land even more former WWE talents over time, and it seems like Vince McMahon and company are worried about losing their superstars to the new rival promotion. That could explain why WWE isn't wiling to let go of wrestlers who have grown unhappy with their place in the company.

What This Means

WWE superstars have indeed learned their lesson; that they have to remain silent about their dissatisfaction if they want to be released. Otherwise, Vince and co. will just add on more time to their contract so that they can't go anywhere. It's obviously not a fair move, but the unhappy superstars have no choice but to remain silent until their deals run up.

Next: Smart Marks of Wrestling Podcast - Ep. 8 - WWE Wild Card Rule