Despite the fact WWE is the largest company in the world, that doesn't mean that everyone wants to work for them. For many, it is the ultimate goal and while most wrestlers love being there, a select few end up finding it tough.
Because of that, or other issues, often with creative, many wrestlers end up making the decision to walk away from the company. While it doesn't always work out for them, taking the gamble is the decision many take-up.
Over the past decade, many wrestlers have decided to leave WWE. Some of them have been minor names that fans have forgotten, but some major names have also decided to walk away.
10 Bully/Bubba Ray
Although WWE no longer needed the Dudley Boyz in the ring, that didn't mean there wasn't a place for Bully/Bubba Ray in the company. A wrestling veteran like Bully is always going to have a home in WWE, but he opted to leave.
Instead of sticking with his tag team partner, D-Von Dudley, who took up a backstage deal, Bully walked away. Instead of retiring, Bully actually continued to wrestle, working independent dates and wrestling for Ring Of Honor.
Bully also took a backstage role for ROH and has remained with the company since. However, it was an interesting decision for him to just bail on the company where he was most well-known.
9 Kenny Omega
Many fans don't even know that Kenny Omega worked for WWE, proving how big of a name he was then. But The Cleaner did work for WWE's developmental system, OVW at the start of the decade.
Sadly, he didn't stick around long enough to be involved with NXT, but he did make the decision to quit the company. Omega wasn't pleased with how he was being treated at the time and packed his bags.
Of course, WWE didn't know what it was losing at that point. But Omega has gone on to become arguably the best wrestler in the world, so it was a huge loss for them.
8 Chris Jericho
Even though Chris Jericho didn't officially walk away from WWE under contract, the fact he left the company to work for direct rivals was a major deal. Jericho has always come and gone from WWE having breaks here and there, but he has never worked for a direct rival since first signing.
However, when he appeared in New Japan it was clear that everything was changing. Jericho then went on to not re-sign with WWE, but actually join the new rivals, AEW, becoming the first-ever World Champion.
This has been a huge deal considering that Jericho always stated he would never compete for another company in America. However, Jericho opted to leave WWE behind and move on to help build a brand new company on his back.
7 Cody Rhodes
Speaking of AEW. Cody Rhodes was always someone who deserved to be booked stronger in WWE throughout his whole run. While he wasn't treated poorly by the company, he never reached his full potential.
When Cody made the decision to walk away from WWE in order to bet on himself, the wrestling world was very interested in seeing what would happen next. However, few could have predicted how successful he would be.
WWE likely now looks back and kicks themselves over what they missed out on. Cody has not only become a main event star, but he has helped build an entire new wrestling company around hype that he created.
6 Neville
Another wrestler who opted to gamble on himself instead of sticking around was Neville. The Englishman is now at the top of the card for AEW, but even when he was with WWE he was booked strongly.
The main issue for Neville is that his big push was restricted to 205 Live. He was putting on some of the best matches of the year but nobody was seeing them. His run as Cruiserweight Champion was incredibly but the same problem occurred.
Neville actually played WWE at their own game and refused to work. While the company wouldn't release him, Neville was more than happy to sit out his contract at home and patiently wait to join AEW.
5 Rhyno
The real reason Rhyno's decision to leave WWE was so shocking is mainly because of what he left on the table in WWE. While he wasn't competing on a regular basis, the company offered him the biggest deal of his career.
Despite the fact he was coming to the end of his career, WWE wanted to keep him that badly. Yet Rhyno still decided to walk away and quit the company in order to wrestle more regularly.
Instead, he chose to re-join IMPACT Wrestling. You can't blame Rhyno for wanting to still wrestle on a regular basis if he is still fit, but leaving such a big offer cannot have been easy.
4 Goldust
As soon as AEW was announced, speculation began about whether or not Goldust would make the decision to join his brother. While it took a little while, he was eventually announced to be facing him at ALL OUT.
Fans were surprised because Goldust didn't leave WWE straight away, instead, waiting a little while. This was mainly so his WWE deal would run down, and while there was a contract on the table it made sense for him move on.
Goldust could easily have stuck around with WWE for life, and deserves credit for taking a risk this late in his career.
3 Batista
Batista has left not once, but twice during this decade, although the second time saw him officially retire from the sport. However, it is the first time he left that is of particular interest to this list.
After coming back, headlining WrestleMania and then engaging in a feud with The Shield and Evolution, Batista seemed to be enjoying himself. However, he made the decision to return to Hollywood and packed up his wrestling gear.
Obviously, he did return several years later and he can't be blamed for leaving when trying to pursue a career in Hollywood. But it was a major deal to see a name as big as Batista's simply leave the company.
2 Dean Ambrose
Nobody saw this one coming. Dean Ambrose had been a heavily featured talent throughout his entire WWE career, always working at the top of the card. However, when his contract expired he made the decision to walk away.
Becoming the first major name to defect and work for AEW once it was established, this was a huge deal. WWE made a very vocal deal about Ambrose leaving as well, which only made him seem like a bigger star on his departure.
He was someone that the company clearly wanted to keep hold of at all costs, but simply couldn't. But as a former World Champion and one-third of The Shield, this was a huge loss for WWE.
1 CM Punk
The fact that there has been such a fanfare about CM Punk joining a FOX related wrestling talk show highlights just how big of a deal it was that he left. Nobody could believe it when he decided to leave in 2014, walking out due to his body being beaten up.
Punk was furious about the fact he wasn't set to headline WrestleMania 30 and was instead going to face Triple H. Punk simply packed his bags and not only left WWE but quit the entire wrestling industry.
For five years he had nothing to do with the sport and has only just returned now to be an analyst. Punk was the top babyface of WWE at the time and had dominated the main event scene for several years, so the fact he walked away from the company was a huge deal.