The WWE as a business is up and down, and although the current roster is one of the most talented in wrestling history, the main event scene is just as inconsistent. However, there is plenty of talent, and perhaps we should be blaming the bland story-telling on the booking. From young and up and coming stars to veterans of the industry, there is plenty of talent there, but with WWE’s booking and their physical, straining schedule, people are bound to get burnt out. Even though WWE is the biggest game in town, they aren’t the only game in town, and some of these frustrations are going to lead to some stars walking away.
Some people however will choose to stay, similar to Dolph Ziggler, because the WWE is all they’ve known, or perhaps they don’t have the confidence to back themselves in the way Cody Rhodes did. Either way, today we are going to look at both sides of that coin as we explore 8 current main event players in WWE who will stay beyond 2023, and 7 that will walk away from WWE before then.
15 Stay – Baron Corbin
Baron Corbin started off very slowly in NXT, but he developed into quite a good heel, especially when he was trying to take out the indie performers coming through NXT like Austin Aries and Apollo Crews. Once he won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal to mark his arrival on the main roster, it was clear that the WWE had big plans in store for him. Since that point, however, he’s failed to impress on the big stage, and even lost his Money in the Bank briefcase with an unsuccessful cash-in, and it leaves his future up in the air. Fortunately, there are few heels on the roster who draw genuine heat like Corbin, so all he needs is a bit of momentum to start again, and he’ll be back in the good books, and whether you like it or not, he’ll be around for quite some time.
14 Walk Away – Rusev
Rusev came into the WWE as an absolute monster, and he tore through the competition en route to a United States title reign and a big WrestleMania match with John Cena, but since that point, the WWE has clearly not been interested in pushing him. Recently, he became incredibly over with the WWE Universe due to the "Rusev Day" character he’s developed, but it’s unfortunately not enough. If recent reports are correct, Rusev had to threaten to leave WWE just to get a WrestleMania match this year, but knowing how popular and talented he is, he could succeed on the independent scene, and over the next year, he’s going to realize how valuable he is. He should be pushed as a World Champion, but WWE can barely get him on the WrestleMania card, and he’s going to leave and become a huge star in independent promotions around the world. Like EC3, Drew McIntyre and others, he may be back, but it proves that WWE doesn’t always know best when it comes to talent.
13 Stay – AJ Styles
AJ Styles is arguably the greatest wrestler of all time, and he’s the best wrestler in the world today (you can argue Kazuchika Okada, but Styles has a very good claim to that position), and although he’s been wrestling for 20 years at the top level, he’s still just as good as he ever was. While he’ll be nearing 45 over the next five years, he will still be an effective performer, and the WWE is the best place for him to work. He’s stated his desire to become a trainer at the Performance Center following the end of his in ring career, but with the shape he’s in and the performances he’s been giving the WWE Universe over the past few years, that career can definitely extend beyond the next five years, and this will solidify his place at the top of the greatest all-time wrestlers.
12 Walk Away – Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura is one of the best wrestlers in New Japan Pro Wrestling history, but that wasn’t enough for him. After AJ Styles left for the WWE, The King of Strong Style followed suit, and he is now one of the top stars in the WWE, but with him getting up there in age, his post in ring career will be in Japan, not the WWE, and that will likely come about over the next five years. He’s still doing fantastic work as a performer, and with many dream matches left in the WWE, he won’t be going away anytime soon. But when he feels like he’s done in the ring, he’ll no doubt return to Japan, and that will likely come in four to five years' time.
11 Stay – Elias
Down in NXT, The Drifter, Elias Samson just didn’t get over with the crowd, so when he debuted on Monday Night RAW, the fans saw it as just a matter of time until the WWE gave up on him. But through constant effort and trying new things, Elias has become one of the best characters in the WWE, and he’s incredibly over with the WWE Universe, and with limited in-ring skills to back up this great character work, there’s no place he’ll succeed more than in the WWE. He hasn’t amounted to any championship success yet, but Elias is incredibly entertaining, and he often has the WWE Universe eating out of the palm of his hand, so if he can improve that in ring work just enough to make his matches watchable, he’ll be a future World Champion for sure. For WWE giving him a chance to succeed, he won’t walk away anytime soon, as fans keep on Walking With Elias.
10 Walk Away – Big Cass
The WWE doesn't like tag teams, and that’s been proven by the fact that they broke up one of the hottest duos the company has had in quite some time in Enzo and Cass. But like we all know, Vince McMahon is a fan of big men, and Big Cass fits that bill; once he returns from injury, it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see him pushed back into the main event picture. Unfortunately, without Enzo by his side, Big Cass just isn’t that impressive, and once he realizes how tough it is to hang without his mouthpiece, he’ll likely become very unhappy. He has a lot of potential, but with all the new talent coming through, Cass just isn’t going to cut it, and within the next five years, he’ll walk away to pursue another venture, or to try his hand on the independent scene, perhaps reuniting with Enzo.
9 Stay – Seth Rollins
If booked correctly, Seth Rollins could be one of the greatest, if not the best wrestler of all time, and while the WWE have struggled to book his face run with proper consistency, they are starting to realize just how good he can be. If this continues, Rollins will be the man for many years to come, and will have no reason to leave. Out of everyone on this list, Seth Rollins would be the biggest star on the independent scene if he were to leave, with matches against the likes of Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Dalton Castle and Will Ospreay absolute dream matches, but he has such a high ceiling in WWE that there’s just no point walking away. Sure, if he isn’t a World Champion again over the next few years, it may be tempting, especially given the success of a guy like Cody Rhodes, but they can’t be that stupid, and perhaps a move to SmackDown Live will prove to them just how incredible Seth Rollins is.
8 Walk Away – Daniel Bryan
Many fans expected Daniel Bryan to leave the WWE come September 1st when his contract expired, but he was cleared to compete again. Although that will keep him employed for now, his health won’t allow him to wrestle for the WWE for more than the next five years. In the next few years, we need to see D-Bry battle the likes of AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Seth Rollins, Andrade “Cien” Almas, Adam Cole, Pete Dunne, Aleister Black and so many more, but with his age and injury history, there’s no way he can go for another five years with the WWE schedule. With his wealth of experience, we can definitely see Bryan transitioning into a training role down at the Performance Center, but we all need to cherish Daniel’s upcoming performances, because he doesn’t have five years left in him.
7 Stay – John Cena
You might have expected to see someone like Cena on the opposite side of this list, and sure, you’re not going to see Cena in a permanent capacity ever again, but with all the merchandise he moves, and with all the fresh talent that he will want to feud with, there’s just no way that Cena will permanently walk away from in ring competition with WWE within the next five years. We’ve yet to see Cena face Samoa Joe, and all of the top NXT talent that will be promoted within the next year or two, and although Cena will be in his mid-40s by this point, he’s still in great shape and the WWE aren’t going to give up on their top guy. Despite the criticism from the hardcore wrestling fan base, Cena has been performing well over the past few years, and as long as he doesn’t turn into Brock Lesnar with his schedule, the fan base will continue to respect his work as he continues in the main event scene.
6 Walk Away – Sami Zayn
With Daniel Bryan forced to retire, the WWE Universe and experts were all looking for the next top underdog, and the name that everyone came up with was a bright NXT star known as Sami Zayn. With his performances down in NXT, it looked like he was going to live up to the hype, but the WWE hasn’t been interested in pushing him at all, and it’s led to a heel turn alongside his friend-turned rival-turned-friend Kevin Owens. Unfortunately, he’ll never be a top star in the WWE, especially since Bryan has now returned. He’s got the talent as an in-ring performer and as a character, but the WWE has never seemed interested in him in the way that they were Daniel Bryan, and that’s unfortunate. But with his past in Ring of Honor, he has a place on the independent scene, where his talents could truly be appreciated.
5 Stay – Finn Balor
Finn Balor is 100% over with the WWE audience, and that’s because he has everything that the WWE could want in a main event star, but yet they seem reluctant to push him as such, and instead opt to go with guys like Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. But if given the chance, the former Prince Devitt will show just how incredible he is as a performer. It seems like all fans' solutions these days are to turn a performer face/heel, but with Balor, that could actually work, as he was one of the best heels that New Japan Pro Wrestling has ever seen, and alongside Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, this could catapult him to the top. Either way, there is money in The Demon as a heel or a face, and if the WWE begin to push him, he’ll go all the way to the top, giving him absolutely no reason to walk away, especially with him getting up there in age.
4 Walk Away – Dean Ambrose
Dean Ambrose, back when he was competing on the independents as Jon Moxley, was once one of the edgiest and most charismatic performers in wrestling, and although that translated to WWE while he was a member of The Shield, his solo runs saw him watered down quite a lot. As we expected, his lunacy turned into terrible WWE comedy, and it would be better for him if he just walked away. Sure, he makes great money as a member of the WWE roster, but there’s more to wrestling than making money, and Ambrose seems to be one who takes great pride in the creative aspect of his work. As such, rejoining promotions like CZW as well as new places like ROH would be a great fit for his character, and it would allow him to be the talent he truly is. Sure, his wife works for WWE, so that’s a big motivator in him staying there, but he could do so much more outside of the WWE, and it’s clear that he’s no priority to the company, so it wouldn’t shock us if it happened soon.
3 Stay – Braun Strowman
When he debuted as the Black Sheep of the Wyatt Family, not many people expected Braun Strowman to last as long as he did in the WWE, but through hard work and fantastic booking, he’s become one of the top stars in the company, and we have absolutely no reason to believe that WWE will give up on him in the next five years, and he should be a multi-time World Champion by that point. It’s going to be hard for them to continue booking him at such a high level, but he’s talented and entertaining enough to keep his momentum going, and although he’s cheered like a top face, WWE continues to book him as a monster heel. When they finally unleash him as a full-fledged babyface, it will keep him fresh and entertaining for years to come.
2 Walk Away – Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens worked his whole career to get to the WWE, and he’s had a great career so far, but he just isn’t the star that WWE had hoped, because they’ve watered down the edgy Prize Fighter to the point where he’s just becoming boring, and with the success that guys like Cody Rhodes have had since leaving the independents, that is finally a viable option for Owens, or as he’d likely again be known, Kevin Steen. His run in NXT and early on the main roster were just fantastic, but ever since then, he has just been getting worse, and with ROH and New Japan now a way to earn just as much money as WWE, it’s definitely an option. It won’t happen for a year or two, but we certainly expect that Kevin Owens will walk away from the WWE at some point. Although it may be a risk, he is edgy and good enough in the ring to succeed outside of the WWE.
1 Stay – Roman Reigns
This one is quite obvious, but with the sustained push that The Big Dog has received over the past few years, there’s really no reason for him to step away, especially if he keeps improving at the rate he has, because if booked correctly, he really could go down as one of the best heels in WWE history. Whether that actually happens, only time will tell, but Reigns has developed into a fantastic performer, and over the past year, he’s had great matches with everyone from AJ Styles to Braun Strowman, and it proves that he’s ready to be a true top guy in wrestling. Sure, the fans may not have accepted him in five years' time, but he hasn’t let that deter him yet, so in five years, you’ll probably still be seeing Reigns main eventing WrestleMania, whether you like it or not.