Wrestling fans can be a pretty fickle bunch sometimes. There are times when they’re totally in love with a certain wrestler, only to have them fall out of favor sometime after without so much as a blink of an eye. As demanding as they are, it means that only the best of the best can succeed in the WWE for extended periods of time. There have been plenty of one-and-done talents throughout the WWE’s history, and while someone’s career might start off well, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they can keep it up.
On the flip side, a wrestling fans resentment can be a pretty powerful thing. There are plenty of wrestlers on the active roster who have drawn the ire of fans. Either by their subpar performances or tired gimmicks, they don’t exactly sit well with the fan base. There are those outside of the WWE who fans would love nothing more to see come back, but for some reason or another it hasn’t or won’t happen. Now, the WWE doesn’t exactly have to do anything in these cases, but it’s smart to listen to what your fans have to say in these scenarios, at least some of the time. Let’s look at 8 wrestlers we want back in WWE and 7 we want gone.
15 15. Want Them Back: Gail Kim
Some would say that Gail Kim was ahead of her time in terms of talent. Though incredibly beautiful, Gail is also a pretty damn good wrestler in her own right. But unfortunately, her talents weren’t that well appreciated in the WWE. Not one to let an opportunity slip her by, Gail moved on to TNA and found success there instead. While the likelihood of her actually coming back seems low considering how she left in the first place, it’d be interesting to see her compete in the new women’s division, with all the talent those ladies posses. Still, she did once say that she wouldn’t return to the WWE – and while plenty have said that in the past and come back, Gail might just stick to it. Let’s hope she doesn’t though.
14 14. Want Gone: R-Truth
R-Truth us one of the older wrestlers on the roster right now and to be honest, it seems as though he’s well past his prime. Having returned to the WWE in 2008, he’s slowly but surely grown stale as a character and at this point, it’d be better to let him go and bring in someone new who could actually add something new. It’s not that he doesn’t have the talent; it’s just that he’s been involved in some of the worst, cringiest moments in recent years. Compared to the rest of the roster, he’s one of the least valuable members that they can in all honesty afford to lose. But that’s probably not going to happen in the near future.
13 13. Want Them Back: The Rock
Though it seems a little redundant to say this seeing how he manages to pop up every once in a while, having The Rock back full time would be incredible for the WWE and its fans. Though his movie career will most likely keep that possibility a childish dream, having The Rock back in action would be an adrenaline boost the WWE would most likely be all for. He’s great with the crowd, fun to watch in the ring and is an absolutely huge draw. But given how his movie career’s been going it seems as though wrestling isn’t really that high on his priority list – putting his wrestling future in jeopardy. Wouldn’t it be great tough? We can still dream.
12 12. Want Gone: Titus O'Neil
The last couple of years have been pretty strange for Titus O’Neal to say the least. Of course, most will remember the whole controversy with Vince McMahon last year that saw him suspended. Titus putting his hands on McMahon almost got him fired, but after he paid his dues and returned from the aforementioned suspension, he managed to have a pretty nice streak going for him. Since then though, he’s done pretty much nothing of note and just seems to be deadweight on the roster who isn’t really worth keeping at this point. We likely won’t be seeing him go for a while but if this string of mediocrity keeps up then he might very well have to go.
11 11. Want Them Back: Brie Bella
While her sister’s still going strong, Brie is on a whole new adventure as she embraces motherhood and all of its responsibilities. Having had her last match on April 3rd, 2016 Brie is only a short while removed from wrestling. She had her baby this past May and will more than likely be busy taking care of it in the foreseeable future, but down the line, who’s to say we can’t see a Bella Twins reunion happening? Nikki’s been great on her own but what would it look like if those two teamed up again? Though not the greatest wrestler in the world, Brie and her sister made for a pretty decent pair, and it would be awesome to see them together again in the ring.
10 10. Want Gone: Eva Marie
Well, she pretty much already has one foot out the door so let’s just treat this as a formality. It kind of seems inevitable at this point that Eva Marie just isn’t going to be back with the WWE for the long run. Though, it makes sense seeing as after all the effort on bother her part and the WWE’s part to get her over with the fans, she just wasn’t all that well received. It stems from her kind of being more of an old school Diva. She’s more about the look than she is the sport itself. Fans don’t want to see that as much now and would rather quality fights than shameless fan service. In the end, most won’t mind all that much when she’s gone.
9 9. Want Them Back: Goldberg
Goldberg made a brief, one year return last year but is once again of the WWE radar it seems. Last we saw him, it kind of felt as though the writers weren’t utilizing him as well as they could have. Still, he’s expressed interest in coming back being gone for such a short amount of time, it’d be better for the WWE to strike while the iron was hot on this one. An older, quality talent like Goldberg is pretty hard to find and we know that he can still bring in fans and that there are those who would be very happy to see him return. But as it is in most of these cases it’s all about timing.
8 8. Want Gone: Kane
Let’s just start off with this; Kane is a veteran talent on the current roster who’s had his fare share of success in the WWE. He’s pretty much seen and done it all in his career. But at one point, you have slow down and call it quits. Kane hasn’t been all to interesting of a performer for a while now. “Corporate Kane” was bad, which didn’t help matters, and by the time he returned to his old shtick it was too little too late. It just kind of feels like he’s lost in time at this point. A relic of a previous generation that doesn’t really belong. He’s not exactly great as he is right now and it seems better if he’d just be let go.
7 7. Want Them Back: Damien Sandow
The WWE fan base is one of the most fickle, hard to impress out there. So when you see a wrestler connect with them and continually gain support, you recognize it as no easy feat. Damien Sandow was one of those special talents who’s forte seemed to be winning over the audience, which naturally made him a pretty popular performer in the WWE. No matter what his gimmick was, Damien managed to get the crowd going and for a time it seemed like he would hit it big. But he was never given the opportunity in the WWE – much to the chagrin of his supporters – and thus moved on. It might not be that bad of an idea to have him come back and see what he can do in the current roster.
6 6. Want Gone: Goldust
Another aging performer on this list, we now look to Goldust. It might pain some to hear this about some of these old veterans but it seems as though their time has long past, and it might be the right time for them to move on and for us to get younger, fresher talent in the mix. He still looks like a young man in the ring, but the gimmick is boring and dated. The Goldust gimmick is pretty much synonymous with Dustin Runnels. Anything weirder than seeing him continue it well into his 50s would be for him to adopt a new one this late in his career. It might just be time for Dustin and Goldust to take a bow and walk into the sunset.
5 5. Want Them Back: AJ Lee
She’s probably one of the most popular wrestlers not on the roster, and you can’t really go too long without hearing some rumors or speculation of her return. AJ Lee was ahead of her time during her career. A Diva who wrestled more like the modern women’s wrestlers you see in the WWE today, AJ could’ve been wrestling’s top female talent had she stayed with the company. But as we all know, there are reasons as to why she probably can’t return, the biggest of them being her husband. As much as people want to see a CM Punk return as well, AJ just kind of seems like she’d benefit from a return more. Her coming back to today’s WWE would be huge.
4 4. Want Gone: Roman Reigns
Are you tired o f all the bickering? The jokes? The sub bar performances? To say that Roman Reigns is one of the most polarizing wrestlers of his time wouldn’t be doing it justice. Never before has the WWE tried so hard to push a talent the fans so vocally didn’t want. Thigh he has had his supporters, it seems like a majority of the WWE community is sick and tired of Reigns. That or they couldn’t really care less about him. He’s been a little more under the radar recently, which has led to some of the heat on him dying down, but make no mistake – it’ll start again,. You know that the fans just don’t seem to warm up to the guy, so why not let him go already?
3 3. Want Them Back: Hulk Hogan
At one point in time, Hulk Hogan was the biggest name in wresting and was a big reason for the WWF’s success during his tenure. He’s made appearances over the years and it seems as though fans still like him enough to cheer, but Hogan has one huge blemish on his resume now. The controversy surrounding racists comments he made might have subsided, but it’s not been forgotten. Though the WWE initially distanced themselves from him, it seems as though they’re open to a potential return. If we can all put the past behind us and remember how great of an entertainer Hogan is, then the idea of him returning to the WWE in some capacity is a pretty enticing one.
2 2. Want Gone: Paige
Let’s just end this, huh? All the controversy, all the drama – everything. Though it seemed as though she once had an incredibly promising career in the WWE, Paige has seemingly thrown it all away due to her relationship with Alberto Del Rio and the tension that’s caused with management. Then there are some comments made by Del Rio about the WWE that just don’t reflect well on Paige. Between the Del Rio mess and her extended absence due to injury, it doesn’t really look good for Paige. She’s lost most of the momentum she once had and though she might have some of a fan base left, you can’t really picture the rest of the WWE Universe being that welcoming to her considering all she’s been doing.
1 1. Want Them Back: Cody Rhodes
It takes guts to do what Cody Rhodes did when he left the WWE. Frustrated with how things were going for him with the company, Cody left of his own will. He went on to be one of the most in demand wrestlers on the independent circuit – so it looks like things worked out for him, But that doesn’t mean his fans in the WWE don’t want him back. Bringing back Cody makes a lot of sense at this point as he’d be a huge draw and has more than proven himself in his time away. Such a decorated wrestler joining the roster would definitely have its perks for both the fans and the WWE.