Gone are the days where WWE could sign any wrestler they wanted. Many wrestlers these days are choosing to avoid WWE and compete as freelancers with companies such as Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling or for international promotions such as New Japan Pro Wrestling.

As a result of advances in the non-WWE wrestling scene, some of the most talented performers in the world are not signed to WWE. This dynamic means many WWE fans lament over their favorite wrestling company not having the best wrestlers in the world. Even though many of the names listed on this article are talented performers, we believe WWE needs to avoid signing them at all costs.

Why would WWE not want to sign top-names from the independent circuit? There are several reasons. First, non-WWE companies allow their talent to perform riskier moves than WWE does. For that reason, we doubt Kenny Omega or Kota Ibushi would be just as entertaining if they took their careers to WWE. A second reason why WWE might not want to sign any of the wrestlers we discuss here is because they can cause problems backstage. This list is full of peace-disturbers who have caused problems in wrestling locker rooms for years.

Here are 25 signees WWE must avoid at all costs, enjoy!

25 Alberto Del Rio

This entry shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. WWE has already made the mistake of signing Alberto Del Rio to a contract twice. It didn't go well either instance. During Alberto Del Rio's original run with the company, there was an incident's which involved Del Rio slapping a WWE employee backstage. Although most to witness the incident didn't seem to fault Del Rio as the instigator, he was released from a company all the same. He returned to Mexico and AAA Lucha Libre but would leave the promotion abruptly upon being re-signed by WWE.

He was then involved in several ill-received storylines. He was managed by Zeb Colter for a period and they referred to themselves as the Mexican-Americans. Following that, he was put into a stable with Rusev, Wade Barrett, and Sheamus known as the League of Nations. He was then released from WWE again during his tumultuous relationship with the current SmackDown General Manager, Paige.

Del Rio has proven time and time again that he is more trouble than he is worth.

WWE would be well advised never to make the mistake of signing him ever again. Impact Wrestling recently fired Del Rio for no-showing an event over WrestleMania weekend in association with Lucha Underground.

24 Hulk Hogan

via mlive.com

Although there are rumors that WWE might decide to bring back Hulk Hogan sooner rather than later, we believe the WWE should just wash their hands of Hogan and be done with him.

There really isn't much Hogan can offer the company at this point. He can't wrestle and in the past, he's showed that he's only interested in getting himself over. So, what would he actually do on WWE programming nowadays anyway?

The risk-reward ratio, given Hogan's previous comments, is not where the company needs it to be.

If Hogan had made a greater effort to atone for his actions, it might be a different story. When Mark Henry was asked about Hogan possibly being brought back into the company, however, he wasn't too sure Hogan had done enough yet in the community to have earned the right.

Henry had this to say of Hogan:

”There’s gonna have to be more community service and outside work. Support for programs and even creative programs that deal with diversity in the workplace... I don’t process everything like everybody else. I believe that everybody should be given a second chance but I also believe that you have to own your issue, whatever that issue is. You gotta try to make closure on everybody else’s behalf, not just yours.”

23 Dulce Maria García Rivas

via cagesideseats.com

It seems as though nobody likes Sexy Star. She has consistently been a big draw in Mexico, so perhaps the Diva mentality she is accused of having comes from there.

The most significant incident involving Sexy Star and her alleged unprofessional behavior in the ring happened last year in a match involving Rosemary from Impact Wrestling. During the finish of the match, Sexy Star had Rosemary in an armbar and torqued her elbow for real. This resulted in Rosemary's elbow dislocating and needing to be popped back in. At the time, many felt the injury was more serious than it ended up being.

WWE isn't going to want to sign someone who has a history of shooting on their opponents.

Sexy Star claimed in her defense that the two other women involved in the four-way match we're shooting on her so she was simply protecting herself. The counter to this point is that Rosemary wasn't shooting on her and she certainly wasn't shooting on her when she offered up her arm for a worked submission hold.

Many long-time wrestling fans will also note that she's particularly bad in the ring too. Despite this, Sexy Star has continued to be a big star in Lucha Underground and is a former champion in the unique promotion. She's gone off the map since the incident however.

22 Cody Hall

At 6 foot 9 and 270 pounds the son of Razor Ramon is not signed to WWE and likely will not be. The soon to be 27-year-old should be a blue-chip prospect, but for whatever reason WWE has shied away from signing him completely. Considering he is the son of Triple H's former stablemate in the Kliq, there are many who wonder why Cody Hall isn't in WWE already.

Cody went to Japan in 2015 and joined Bullet Club as a young lion in training. There are unconfirmed rumors that Cody rubbed a few in Bullet Club the wrong way, however.

He suffered an injury at Invasion Attack 2016 and never returned to the promotion. He signed with Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2017 and has been receiving more of a push there than he did in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

The real question is, however, how is someone of his size and pedigree not already in WWE developmental?

The only answer to a question such as this must be that his backstage reputation is usurping the potential of his physical tools. Now in his late 20s, if he can't convince the promotion to sign him in the next few years, it'll likely never happen.

21 Matt Striker

via rightcoastpro.com

Current Lucha Underground play by play commentator, Matt Striker, is also a former WWE announcer. If WWE knows what's good for them, Striker will remain as a former member of the announce team.

For fans of Lucha Underground, it sometimes feels as though one has to look passed his commentary in order to enjoy it. Vampiro doesn't offer up much either but has credibility as a former star in Lucha Libre. Where fans tend to be critical of Striker's commentary is his frequent over emotional calls of matches and segments. If Matt Striker's tone of voice was the only thing into consideration, each mid-card match on Lucha Underground is equivalent to a WrestleMania main event.

What Striker does have which adds to the commentary is a long and detailed knowledge of the history of pro wrestling. Lucha Underground was barely a few weeks old when Matt Striker was dropping Superstar Billy Graham references on television every week. There can be no doubt he knows his stuff. It's just that maybe play-by-play commentary isn't his thing. Perhaps if he took an Ambien or something before each show.

There are many commentators and announcers available on the independent scene WWE could pick up. Matt Striker would not be the best choice they could make.

20 Eva Marie

While Corey Graves would be thrilled if Eva Marie returned to his TV screen every week, most WWE fans would not be. For that reason, we feel WWE should never bring back in Eva Marie.

During Eva Marie's four-year attempt at becoming a WWE superstar, she demonstrated a complete inability to learn how to wrestle. She might be a stunning and amazing fitness model, a wrestler she is not, however. WWE fans noticed this and let the company know it wasn't acceptable. Marie was booed unmercifully at every opportunity. The company and Eva finally parted in 2017.

WWE doesn't need Eva Marie. They don't need their female athletes to be drop-dead gorgeous. WWE fans have shown they are more interested in seeing real women and real athletes as opposed to fitness models who can't perform in the ring. Besides, WWE has a fitness model in Mandy Rose who can compete in the ring as well. They definitely don't need Eva Marie now. Rose can be everything WWE wanted in Eva Marie and more.

Why WWE even attempted to make Eva Marie a wrestler is anyone's guess.

She could've been a valet. Even that role in modern day wrestling is tough, however. Lana and Zelina Vega have a way of engaging with fans in the role that we're not sure Eva Marie could have pulled off.

19 Ryback

From 2012 to 2013, Rybak was one of the hottest stars in WWE. He even took an undefeated streak into a WWE championship match against CM Punk inside a Hell in a Cell. Punk would escape with the win and his championship intact only after a controversial fast count from referee Brad Maddox.

Rybak's popularity began to decrease considerably afterward, however. There is speculation that some wrestlers complained to WWE management that Rybak was unsafe to work with. CM Punk has all but confirmed he was one of those wrestlers.

Ryback ended up teaming with Curtis Axel for a time. The Rybaxel team rarely won and Ryback stopped feeling like a big deal permanently afterward. Rybak and WWE ended up at odds when Rybak complained about his decreasing payment. WWE has a system which allows those who are in more important spots on the card to earn more than those who are not. Rybak, who has experienced the highs and lows of this bonus system, complained that he should receive the same money as the more popular stars. His reasoning was lesser known stars still have to do the same travel and still basically have the same job.

In May 2016, after contract negotiations between the two sides were declared hopeless, WWE sent Ryback home. Rybak would later state he asked for his release and the company gave it to him later that summer.

18 Melina

Some fans like Melina and would love to see her back in WWE. We're going to vote a hard "No" on re-signing her, however, even if she can still do the splits during her entrance.

Melina is someone who seems to come off as a little mean-spirited. This was evidenced by the time she decided to embarrass her former boyfriend, John Morrison, by posting out a photo of his prescription medication.

Perhaps the biggest reason why we don't feel WWE should bring Melina back, however, is that her skills like lessened. It's doubtful she got much better in the seven years since she's been gone from the company. When Melina was a big-time part of the WWE Divas Division, the standard for wrestling amongst the female talent was much lower than today.

It's doubtful Melina could hang with the likes of Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, or Charlotte Flair.

Melina has been making efforts to get back into wrestling. In 2015, she debuted in Lucha Underground and helped her former boyfriend, John Morrison, in his match against Alberto El Patron. Morrison wrestles in Lucha Underground as Johnny Mundo.

When the next season of Lucha Underground started, however, Melina was not in the cast. Instead, Morrison's real-life fiancé Taya Valkyrie seems to be playing the role Melina was originally cast in.

17 Adam Rose

via youtube.com

Adam Rose's Exotic Express was supposed to roll on for a much longer time than it did. We don't think it makes any sense at all for WWE to consider re-hiring him either.

To a certain extent, Rose got a rough deal in WWE. There appears to have been some type of miscommunication between Rose and WWE as it concerns their Wellness policy. In April of 2016 he flunked a Wellness test. Shortly after, he released the following statement along with a note from his doctor:

"I did not do anything knowingly wrong and was taking prescribed medication that my [doctor] and I followed all the correct protocol on."

Unfortunately, while he was suspended, Rose was arrested and charged with domestic violence and tampering with a witness. He was released from the company the next month. No domestic violence charges were ever brought against him as the court was satisfied Rose was receiving professional help for his marital issues.

Rose exhibited some bad judgment not long after debuting on the independent scene in 2016, however. Somehow he decided it was a good idea to have t-shirts with his mug shot from his domestic violence arrest printed. He then attempted to sell these. Fans weren't exactly impressed at his attempts to profit off a such an arrest.

16 Ken Kennedy

Considering the fact that numerous wrestlers in the back did not enjoy working with him, we believe WWE would be well advised to never sign Ken Anderson a.k.a. Ken Kennedy ever again. The rumors are that Randy Orton and possibly John Cena went to management and complained that Kennedy was dangerous to work with. In total, his main roster career didn't even last five years.

He was someone the company appeared to have high hopes for as he was pushed in several top-tier storylines. There was even a storyline being planned for it to be revealed that Ken Kennedy was actually Vince McMahon's illegitimate son. The storyline was said to involve him taking over the company as well. Unfortunately, this story was dependent on the controversial Vince McMahon angle which ended under even more controversial circumstances. Even though Vince McMahon had been shown on camera getting into a limo which then exploded, McMahon would be forced to admit he was very much alive after the Chris Benoit incident in 2007.

Kennedy continued his tumultuous reputation after leaving the company as well.

His career in TNA came to an end after he showed up to an event in no condition to perform. Amazingly, however, Kennedy has kept moving forward despite his professional failures. He has now just started a career as a boxing ring announcer and is actually quite good at it. He also helps run a wrestling school along with former WWE alumni, Shawn Daivari.

15 Sami Callihan

via youtube.com

WWE would be well advised not to sign controversial Impact Wrestling star, Sammy Callihan. They previously made the mistake of signing Callihan but he never graduated out of their developmental system during his time there. Following his departure from WWE, Callihan has landed in Lucha Underground, Impact Wrestling and competed in the World Tag League for New Japan Pro Wrestling last winter.

Earlier this year at Impact Wrestling TV tapings, Sammy Callihan was involved in a very controversial moment. Callihan placed a chair on top of his rival, Eddie Edwards, and went to strike the chair with a baseball bat. The chair moved somewhat and when Callihan brought the bat down it made contact with Edwards' face. The result was a broken orbital bone for Edwards but it could have been much worse.

NXT's Kassius Ohno took to Twitter to publicly bash Callihan for the spot. Both Ohno and Callihan would've crossed path several times on the independent scene and in WWE developmental. Ohno expressed quite clearly he thought the spot was horrendous and that Callihan is an unsafe worker. Impact Wrestling has continued to promote the spot during their buildup of the Callihan versus Eddie Edwards rivalry.

14 Michael Elgin

via voicesofwrestling.com

WWE is not going to want to deal with the controversy which currently surrounds New Japan Pro Wrestling star, Michael Elgin.

In addition to being a former IWGP Intercontinental Champion and Ring Of Honor World Champion, Elgin used to own a wrestling promotion in St. Louis. One of his female wrestlers ended up reporting that they had been assaulted by one of the male wrestlers in the promotion. Elgin himself is not accused of assaulting anyone. It can definitely be argued he handled the situation quite poorly, however.

Perhaps the situation ended up frustrating Elgin considerably and the result was he took out his frustrations in the form of several nasty text messages to the female wrestler.

These text messages were then leaked online where social media condemned Elgin for his behavior. Hatred towards Elgin was strong enough that he was booed unmercifully at an independent show in the United States and has kept to wrestling in Japan since. He has also claimed the leaked text messages were heavily edited. Elgin has filed a defamation lawsuit as a result of them. WWE is just not going to want to touch this mess so you can forget about them signing Elgin anytime soon.

13 Brodus Clay (aka Tyrus)

WWE should never make the mistake of signing George Murdoch, a.k.a. Brodus Clay a.k.a. Tyrus, ever again. They originally signed the super heavyweight performer in 2006 and sent him to their developmental territories. They released him in 2008.

WWE re-signed Murdoch in 2010 and once again sent him back to Florida Championship Wrestling. Later that year, WWE rebranded their developmental territory as NXT. He would remain in WWE developmental until his call-up to the main roster in 2012. Despite being popular with fans, Murdoch only lasted two years on the main roster before being let go. There was said to be some concern over his abilities in the ring.

Tyrus would then move to TNA Wrestling in 2014. He performed for the promotion between 2014 and 2017 in an era in which few were watching. He announced last summer he would not be returning to the promotion but then was booked for their television tapings in Orlando this January. Following the January tapings, however, he once again confirmed he was leaving the promotion.

Murdoch is said to have a bit of an attitude in the back while also not being great in the ring. WWE made the mistake of signing him twice, there would be no excuses if they ever signed him a third time.

12 Davey Boy Smith Jr. 

via pinterest.com

The son of the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith, Harry Smith, only lasted five years in WWE. He was considered a top-tier blue-chip prospect and his release from the company in 2011 was considered a surprise to many.

Smith would change his name to Davey Boy Smith Jr and take his career to Japan. He is currently part of a successful tag team along with Lance Archer named the Killer Elite Squad.

Unfortunately, there are several red flags flying in regards to Davey Boy Smith Junior which WWE should be wary of.

It's unlikely they ever choose to sign him again. Over WrestleMania weekend this year, there was an incident where Davey Boy Smith Jr tossed coffee in the face of Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Louisiana police said they were looking to speak with him in regards to the incident. Davey Boy confronted Jake as a result of comments he had made on a podcast in regards to Smith's father the British Bulldog.

There was an also an incident during the G1 tournament last summer where Smith was critical of Toru Yano's inclusion in the event. Smith was dressed down on social media by Kenny Omega for referring to Omega's match with Yano as crap. It seems WWE would rather stay away from the drama which seems to follow Davey Boy Smith Jr.

11 Enzo Amore

WWE will likely never bring Enzo Amore back into the company. We definitely agree that this is the best course of action in this particular case.

Although it was recently revealed that Enzo will not be charged with a crime related to the recent assault allegations made against him, his wrestling career is still over. Some speculation held that the reason he was released was not that he was under investigation for assault but that he didn't notify the company that this was the case.

Recently, however, when it was revealed Enzo would not be charged, his legal team made a public statement that Enzo was not aware of the investigation against him before the allegations were made on social media.

Leading up to these charges, there had been red flags surrounding Enzo for some time.

A backstage rumor held that Enzo had been kicked off a tour bus for being annoying and disrespecting the business while on a cell phone call.

Although no charges were ever pressed against him, it can be said that if Enzo spent more time playing video games with the rest of the roster and less time out partying, he wouldn't have been in the situation he was in. WWE might be better off investing in talents who don't run the same risk of embarrassing the company.

10 Goldberg

via biggoldbeltgroup.com

Now, don't get us wrong here, Bill Goldberg's run in WWE leading to WrestleMania 33 was one of the highlights of his career. Some would even go so far as to say that his memorable rivalry with Brock Lesnar was good enough that it erases the memories of his first run with WWE from 2003 to 2004. Few fans of Goldberg's or WWE's will attest that his first run with WWE went the way either side wanted it to go.

To bring back the 51-year-old Goldberg again, however, would be overkill. As we've learned, Goldberg works best when he can be the unstoppable force that steamrolls through everyone. That's just not something someone in their 50s can do. They played everything just perfect the way they had him squash both Lesnar and Kevin Owens in his last run but doing something like that again would be more harmful to the current roster than it would be helpful to Goldberg's legacy.

Using him as a wrestler again now would undermine the positive send off his last run with WWE gave him.

Goldberg had this to say regarding his last run with WWE:

"It is the most special thing that I have ever been afforded in my entire life. It was and again because of a lot of other people other than myself and I just was cast in the spot to be able to hopefully pull it off.”

9 Kelly Kelly

The current WWE rumor mill states that Kelly Kelly is doing everything she can to get back in the company. She competed in the first-ever women's Royal Rumble and is someone who has been around WWE in the last couple of years but never officially signed back on with the company. We don't think the company should bring Kelly Kelly back on.

For starters, Kelly is said to be something of a drama queen behind the scenes.

While it is not known exactly what happened between the two, Randy Orton publicly bashed Kelly Kelly on a radio program for being promiscuous with the boys in the back. There were also rumors that she was involved with married male members of the WWE roster as well. Most notably, however, is that there seems to be real heat between Kelly Kelly and the Bella twins. Considering the clout the Bella Twins now have in the organization, perhaps it wouldn't be best to bring back one of their all-time rivals backstage.

With an offer from WWE seemingly still not on the table for Kelly, she made a recent appearance at Tommy Dreamer's House of Hardcore promotion. Kelly was managing Chelsea Green on the May 19th, 2017 House of Hardcore 43 show. Kelly had never previously performed for a wrestling organization other than WWE.

8 Joey Ryan

This should not be taken as a shot at Joey Ryan but WWE should never sign him. If they ever were to sign him, there is no way he could run in with the gimmick he does for WWE. Without his gimmick, however, Joey Ryan is worth a lot less money for WWE or any other promotion. It really makes sense for both parties to avoid the other in this particular situation.

It's not that Joey Ryan wrestles women that is the problem. WWE had James Ellsworth wrestle women and it really wasn't that big of a deal. The bigger issue is perhaps Joey Ryan's actions during these matches. Joey Ryan's character will frequently uses controversial gestures acceptable only in the Attitude Era. The moves he gives to Allie on the independent circuit probably wouldn't translate well to either Raw or SmackDown either.

It's doubtful Joey Ryan is too upset that his career will likely never end up in WWE. He's one of the hottest free agents on the independent scene, runs his own promotion out of Los Angeles called The Bar Wrestling, and seems to have a pretty good time of himself wherever he goes.

7 Vince Russo

via youtube.com

Not every signing WWE needs to avoid involves wrestlers or even on-air personalities. Controversial wrestling writer/booker, Vince Russo, is someone Vince McMahon and the WWE would be wise to never do business with again.

Russo has his supporters and they are vocal on social media. The issue is his number of haters far exceeds his number of supporters or at least the level of hate they have towards him makes this appear to be the case.

The chief complaints about Russo's booking involve an over-reliance on swerves, scantily clad female performers, and general low-brow programming. One of Russo's most vocal critics, Jim Cornette, once explained Vince Russo in the following way:

"He watched wrestling and liked angles and liked gimmicks," Cornette said of Russo. "He wasn’t enough of a wrestling fan to watch and understand that all those things he saw as a child, like Piper hitting Jimmy Snuka with a coconut or whatever, those things happened every few months and then you followed up on them, so they made sense when you did them because you told the story leading up to them, telling why these people would do these things."

Cornette would continue to say that Russo didn't get that such angles needed to be built up and then followed up on. So all Russo ever writes is two-hours of television with people getting hit in the head with coconuts.

6 Daniel Richards

via timesnews.net

Wrestler Daniel Richards knows it pays to get noticed. He put together a gimmick which is bound to get recognition but it'll never get him into WWE. He knows this, though. It's an act WWE can't touch no matter how popular it gets.

Richards has created his independent wrestling character based off of the negative stereotypes of Progressive Liberals. Before anything turns into a political debate, of course, its necessary to mention that the extremes of any political ideology have always been fodder for wrestling angles. CJ Parker, JBL, and Zeb Colter all serve as examples of this.

While the gimmick makes light of politics, the wrestler himself holds many of the same views his wrestling character does.

He just doesn't offer them up in the same antagonizing manner. Richards is also adamant that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, is playing a similar character in the White House, just with a different platform.

Richards said this to Rolling Stone magazine recently in regards to similarities between what he and the man in charge do:

"I've said that verbatim. I don't know if that makes us observant or everyone else is just missing it… That’s exactly what he's doing. He's doing what I'm doing, except for he's the President of the United States and has a much bigger platform that I do."