Life after WWE can be tough for wrestlers trying to figure out the next step of their careers. Many wrestlers will continue to work in the industry hoping to make a living in other promotions. Television companies like Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor offer good contracts to top names. The independent scene is where most wrestlers will have to make reinvent themselves as more than a past WWE star. This route doesn’t work out well for most forcing wrestlers to find new paths and different professions outside of the wrestling industry.

We will look at how much has changed for various wrestlers that were forced to leave WWE. All these performers spent some time with the biggest wrestling promotion, but they couldn’t make it last. Fans want to remember them looking like their best in the WWE days. However, the aging process and lifestyle changes causes the appearances of many wrestlers to drastically change. The following wrestlers are nearly impossible to spot these days unless you are seeing them at a show or autograph signing when advertised. Find out if you can still guess what your old favorites look like. These are twenty-five released WWE stars that look unrecognizable today.

25 Kristal Marshall

Former WWE Diva Kristal Marshall has retired from the industry. Most of her career took place in WWE after getting signed out of the Diva Search. Marshall often participated in bikini contests and competitions like that rather than being an active wrestler. WWE tried transitioning her into a backstage interviewer, but it never worked out. Kristal married Bobby Lashley after meeting in WWE and went to Impact Wrestling together.

Following the end of her TNA run, Marshall left professional wrestling to enter new fields. Kristal has since split from Lashley. The current look of Kristal is different from what fans remember. Her path has taken her into the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness as well as trying to become an actress. Wrestling fans will barely recognize Marshall if she gets any roles in movies or television.

24 Zack Gowen

WWE hired Zack Gowen as the first one-legged wrestler to join the roster. Gowen participated in top-level storylines, including matches against Vince McMahon, Brock Lesnar and Big Show. The underdog story of a one-legged wrestler chasing his dreams. However, Gowen developed a negative reputation backstage for rubbing others the wrong way and having a huge ego.

Life after WWE has humbled Gowen as he continued his wrestling career on the independent circuit. Gowen looks like a different person as he has matured physically. Gowen is sporting darker hear and a beard these days. Most fans remember him for his young look as he was signed in his early 20s. Gowen seems to be enjoying wrestling more today as he can appreciate it more following the struggles.

23 Val Venis

Val Venis saw the best years of his career in the Attitude Era as a mid-carder. The talented wrestler played a ridiculous character of an adult star coming to the ring. Venis was primarily a comedic gimmick, but he certainly delivered capable in-ring work. WWE brought back Venis a few times in a lower card role during the 2000s.

Following the final release, Val moved to Impact Wrestling for a short time. Upon realizing he could no longer perform at a high level, Impact let him go. Venis has started a new career selling marijuana legally in Phoenix. The new look of Val is showing his age as he has clearly aged over the past decade. No one will confuse him for an adult star today, unless it’s a grandfather genre.

22 Heidenreich

The potential of Heidenreich was huge in WWE’s eyes when he joined the company. A big man with an intense look and unique personality is something WWE has always desired in their performers. Heidenreich was introduced in a weird storyline stalking Michael Cole. While that didn’t connect, WWE placed him in a storyline with The Undertaker to see if he could hang with the best.

The original plan for WrestleMania 21 was Undertaker and Kane facing Heidenreich and Gene Snitzky in a battle of the legends versus the new big men. However, Heidenreich failed to stand out and eventually got released. Life after WWE has seen Heidenreich leave professional wrestling. He looks completely different today and has been going through tough times. Heidenreich was part of a class action lawsuit suing WWE for brain injuries citing depression and suicidal thoughts as things he is dealing with.

21 Monty Brown

Former NFL player Monty Brown was one of the few homegrown TNA wrestlers to reach the main event picture in the early television years. Brown was reportedly set to become the face of the company before a few huge acquisitions changed plans. TNA changed plans when signing Christian and Sting to become the top faces of the promotion going forward.

Brown lost his spot and left the company. WWE hired him under the new name of Marcus Cor Von, but he left in a short time due to a family issue sending him home. The wrestling career of Brown ended once his WWE career was over. Brown has been photographed with a different look today. The hairstyle change and aging process makes Monty look completely different from the wrestler we remember.

20 Eva Marie

Eva Marie has only been out of WWE for about eight months now, but one big change in her appearance has made a big difference. The stunning bombshell’s look made her a commodity to WWE when joining the company as part of the Total Divas reality show. Eva was a huge part of the show for a few seasons. Fans gave her a hard time for not being a capable wrestler as she joined the main roster without a developmental run.

Following her eventual release, Eva decided to ditch her trademark “All Red Everything” look by losing the red hair. This was essentially part of her branding in WWE and what fans were supposed to first associate with her. Eva is now going with darker hair and is entering the acting industry. Considering she is signed to The Rock’s production company, Eva will have a decent chance to score some relevant roles.

19 Shad

The tag team of Cryme Tyme showed a lot of potential as two jacked dudes with charisma. JTG and Shad became relevant enough to receive a tag title shot against Chris Jericho and Big Show at SummerSlam. However, Shad developed a lot of heat backstage for not showing respect to his peers and showcasing a huge ego. WWE released Shad while keeping JTG under contract for a few years.

Shad is still as jacked as ever but has shaved his head in recent years for a new look. Following JTG’s release, Cryme Tyme reformed on the independent circuit. Both men have been trying to get bookings in WWE or another relevant promotion. Despite it not looking too promising, Shad is still in great shape and believes he has more to offer to the industry.

18 Trevor Murdoch

A forgotten wrestler is former tag team specialist Trevor Murdoch. The duo of Murdoch and Lance Cade received a push as the top tag team in the Raw division. Both men had in-ring skills despite lacking the charisma or microphone skills needed to truly thrive in WWE. Their reign as a team ended sooner than expected and Murdoch was forced to work in singles.

WWE didn’t see enough potential from him leading to his release. Murdoch continued wrestling in other promotions before realizing his best option was changing fields. Today, he is hard to recognize with a change in his appearance. Murdoch’s new job as a fibre optic cable installer is more fitting of his look than the traditional wrestler. Kudos to him for knowing when to leave wrestling.

17 Cherry

Cherry is a forgotten WWE women’s wrestler that worked primarily as the manager of the Deuce and Domino tag team. The gimmick of being wrestlers from the 60s saw them dress like greasers as Cherry rollerbladed to the ring. WWE realized the gimmick didn’t have legs and split them up. Unfortunately, Cherry could not get many opportunities on her own in the women’s division.

Aside from a short feud with Maryse, Cherry mostly remained in the background when the ladies had battle royals or multi-women matches. WWE eventually released Cherry from her contract with rumors of the company not being happy about her weight. Cherry looks stunning today and could be argued as being more physically impressive. Fans are stunned upon finding her new pictures and seeing the changes.

16 Simon Dean

The career of Simon Dean is remembered for two different characters depending on where you saw him. ECW fans loved him as a Nova when he was a part of the Blue World Order parody with Stevie Richards and Blue Meanie. Nova portrayed a comedic version of Hulk Hogan before moving into a normal wrestling role playing himself.

WWE signed him to portray the annoying heel gimmick of Simon Dean mocking fans for being overweight. An office job allowed him to have a decent position in the company. However, WWE eventually cut bait to release him from both on-air and office roles. Dean has a new profession working as a branch manager but still makes some wrestling appearances. Fans to see him perform in the ring are often shocked at how different he looks. Simon may need to find his old gimmick workout supplements to get back into ring shape.

15 Mr. Kennedy

WWE once expected Mr. Kennedy to become one of the stars to lead them into the future. Kennedy was planned to reach the status of John Cena, Batista and Edge as the consistent main eventers. However, injuries and wellness policy violations forced him to move down the pecking order. Something new came up to ruin plans every time WWE was ready to pull the trigger on him.

Kennedy eventually got fired after dropping the ball one too many times. Impact Wrestling used him for many years before getting sick of him as well. Kennedy is now teaching at a wrestling school, making independent show dates and doing boxing ring announcing. The darker hair and aging process makes him look like a completely different person from what you remember in WWE.

14 Charlie Haas

The career of Charlie Haas is most remembered for being half of World’s Greatest Tag Team in WWE. Haas teamed with Shelton Benjamin to become arguably the best WWE tag team of the 2000s despite only being together for a short time. Both men were known for their amateur wrestling skills translating to the in-ring portion of WWE.

Benjamin was viewed as the bigger star leading to a split. Haas would get left behind and eventually released. A few more years on the independent circuit, including a reunion with Benjamin in Ring of Honor, allowed him to continue working. However, Haas has since retired from the business to focus on other career choices. The look of Haas has seen him age more than most of his peers. Haas doesn’t look like the young whippersnapper we remember in Team Angle.

13 Rob Conway

Rob Conway spent a few years in WWE working in different roles. Conway joined the La Resistance with Rene Dupree and Sylvan Grenier to become part of the heel French team. A character change saw him start playing an arrogant singles wrestler obsessed with his physique. Fans never brought him as a threat in either act leading to his release from the company.

Conway has struggled to remain relevant, but he is still wrestling on the independent circuit. The nickname of Ironman is what Conway uses to describe himself. Conway’s social media posts indicate he wants to wrestle for New Japan as the company is growing into a bigger asset in the United States. Fans from WWE likely wouldn’t recognize him given the physical changes he has undergone in recent years.

12 Alex Riley

The failure of Alex Riley in WWE saw him fall from a rising top star to a punchline. Riley received a great opportunity as The Miz’s protégé before splitting up to get a singles push. Fans didn’t react positively to Riley being a threat to the former WWE Champion. Riley ruffled the feathers of John Cena when they worked together leading to a negative backstage relationship. Many reports have suggested Cena’s hatred killed his career.

Riley was fired after receiving another opportunity in NXT. The current life of Riley sees him trying to get his acting career off the floor. Riley had an appearance in season one of GLOW. Riley has cleaned up his look since his last WWE character with a haircut and neater beard.

11 Spike Dudley

One trend here is that wrestlers to work in ECW tend to age faster than their peers. Spike Dudley was an underdog hero in ECW before moving to WWE to align with Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley as the Dudley brothers. The character work of Spike made him standout and achieve a great deal of success for his role. Spike worked for WWE for a few years before getting released in 2005.

Despite not being officially retired from wrestling, Spike is currently working as a financial planner. He does make appearances at conventions and independent shows occasionally when it fits into his schedule. Spike has shorter hair and is sporting an older look as the aging process has hit him. Maybe we’ll get another look at him if he attends the WWE Hall of Fame to see Bubba and D-Von inducted this year.

10 Paul London

Paul London was ahead of his time as a professional wrestler. The success of London in Ring of Honor allowed him to grow a fan base in the 2000s. Unfortunately, the smaller size was an issue for London as WWE had restrictions for wrestlers like him at the time. London would work in the Cruiserweight and tag team divisions still putting on great matches during his WWE time.

The company ended up releasing him and he never got to fulfill his potential like the future ROH signings did. London is still involved in wrestling as an agent for Lucha Underground. The hopes of an acting career are also out there for London. Many fans are surprised to see him rocking the grey beard and enjoying a new look these days.

9 Darren Young

The release of Darren Young in late 2017 took many fans by surprise. Young got the news of being fired just hours after he appeared at a Los Angeles Clippers game with Summer Rae to promote WWE Night. Both were fired the day following the event for a terrible look. Young is still involved in the wrestling industry looking to make an impact under his real name of Fred Rosser.

In addition to wrestling, Young is trying to continue working with organizations to end homophobia and speak out for LGBTQ rights. The post-WWE life of Young has seen him change up his look. He is currently rocking a new hairstyle along with a beard. Life after WWE usually allows wrestlers to change anything up regarding their look. Young clearly is enjoying that aspect of being released by WWE.

8 Rene Dupree

The second member of La Resistance to make the list is former WWE Superstar Rene Dupree. Many fans believed Dupree had the most potential after growing up in the business in Canada. The look of Dupree impressed WWE enough to sign him at a young age. Backstage issues with resident locker room bullies JBL and Hardcore Holly led to his reputation falling apart.

WWE never really gave him an opportunity as a singles performer and his release came in 2007. Dupree has continued wrestling since getting fired and is still working on the international independent scene. Various changes to his look such as dying hair in various colors and getting new tattoos have seen him try to leave his WWE image in the past. Dupree is one wrestler fans would be surprised to spot in person today.

7 Dawn Marie

Dawn Marie was one of the most stunning women in wrestling during her prime. From ECW in the late 90s to WWE in the early 2000s, she always stood out as an entertaining heel personality. WWE mostly used her as the rival of Torrie Wilson on the SmackDown brand. Dawn typically lost to Torrie in wrestling matches, bikini contests, pudding matches and everything in between.

WWE reportedly fired Dawn when she was pregnant in 2005 leading to a wrongful termination lawsuit. They settled out of court, and Dawn has since retired from the wrestling business. Dawn no longer tries to stay in wrestling shape and has changed her look up since her WWE days. The current life of Dawn is being a nurse and mother.

6 Orlando Jordan

WWE placed Orlando Jordan with JBL during the heel WWE Championship run of the veteran. Jordan was a newcomer looking to make a name and found his way as JBL’s protégé. The biggest win of Jordan’s career came when he defeated John Cena to win the United States Championship. Despite defeating a future legend, Jordan could not get momentum and would get fired faster than anyone expected.

The wrestling career of Jordan has continued for many years on the independent circuit. His biggest role came in Impact Wrestling, but he is now primarily working for Australian promotions. WWE fans will have a tough time recognizing Jordan today after changing his look up. The hairstyle of Jordan is drastically different from the look he sported in WWE.