The emergence of All Elite Wrestling is leading to a small shift in the wrestling business for WWE. There’s no real threat of AEW ever passing WWE or topping them in a ratings war as WCW did, but the potential is real for unhappy wrestlers to leave WWE and find happiness elsewhere. Neville has already seen the benefit of leaving WWE as one of the first AEW signings reportedly getting an offer too big to turn down. This is the first time wrestlers have the potential to make more than they did in WWE by signing with one company since the Monday Night War. Wrestlers going back and forth between WWE and WCW led to many surprising results.

Quite a few wrestlers leaving WWE for WCW in the '90s would see the company hurting for losing talent. Not only did WCW add new players, but WWE had to make up for the absence of these wrestlers. This is the main reason they struggled for a few years in the Monday Night War before adjusting to regain control. The option for wrestlers to leave WWE again if they are not happy with their pay or role on the show is alive once again. We will look at the past and potential future of competition for WWE. These are ten wrestler exits that hurt WWE and ten current WWE stars that need to leave.

20 Hurt WWE: Hulk Hogan

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Hulk Hogan leaving WWE to join WCW was the biggest move of the era to create competition. Another promotion signing away the top star that was known for his WWE career showed the wrestling fan base that WCW was now for real.

Hogan took some time to take WCW to the next level, but the formation of the New World Order put them on another level. Meanwhile, the influence of Hogan in WCW gave them more coverage from mainstream outlets and led to WCW signing other talents away from WWE. Hogan leaving the company hurt them by opening many doors for WCW to contend.

19 Should leave today: Shelton Benjamin

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Shelton Benjamin was one of the most underrated wrestlers in WWE during his prime years almost 15 years ago. The current role of Benjamin in WWE is as a veteran, but he rarely gets television time. Benjamin is turning 44 this year and only has a few years left where he can compete at such a high level.

There are a few promotions that could benefit from having Benjamin on the roster as a recognizable wrestler. Benjamin could return to New Japan and/or Ring of Honor as both need to add some more talent to replace the ones that left. All Elite Wrestling also needs more depth, and a veteran like Shelton could benefit them.

18 Hurt WWE: Rick Rude

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WWE started to struggle for roster depth in the early '90s after losing a few talents to WCW. This was before the Monday Night War, but the departures still mattered to WWE. Rick Rude was a top heel for WWE in the '80s playing up the arrogant ladies’ man gimmick.

The work of Rude was good enough to have a WWE Championship reign, but the title rarely changed hands and was often dominated by the top faces. Rude made the move to WCW for a bigger opportunity and was the top heel in the company. WWE could have used him in the early '90s, as Rude was better than most the new talent they experimented with.

17 Should leave today: The Revival

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There have been rumors of The Revival requesting their release from WWE already, but that has yet to be confirmed. Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder worked perfectly together to deliver incredible matches in NXT on the TakeOver specials. There was hope for them to find similar success on the main roster.

The Revival have been met with the harsh reality that Vince McMahon just does not care about tag team wrestling unless you prove to draw like The New Day. Dawson and Wilder would be better off working for All Elite Wrestling to truly pay off their social media feud with the Young Bucks. Even if WWE pushes them, it will likely be in the short-term.

16 Hurt WWE: Bobby Heenan

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The career of Bobby Heenan is celebrated for his ability to thrive in any role. WWE benefited from having Heenan on the roster in the '80s and early '90s. Heenan was a tremendous heel manager that helped progress many careers. He also was a consistently superb commentator.

Heenan made the move to join WCW to work primarily as a commentator as WCW tried to present professionalism across the board. WWE lacked a great color commentator for a few years until Jerry Lawler joined the company. Even at his best, Lawler was not close to Heenan’s elite level as arguably the best of all time.

15 Should leave today: Bray Wyatt

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Bray Wyatt is a forgotten member of the WWE roster today given the fact he’s been sitting home for about five months. The former WWE Champion was once viewed as a top prospect in WWE. Triple H used to name Wyatt as the top example of how one could become a success through NXT.

Wyatt’s gimmick started to struggle, with fans viewing him as a joke rather than a threat. WWE had no idea how to rebuild him and still seem to be working towards a solution. Wyatt may be better off leaving and testing the free agent market. Anyone in his spot would have done the same during the Monday Night War.

14 Hurt WWE: Scott Hall

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WCW’s first attempt at competing with WWE by taking their top stars failed due to the wrestlers usually being past their prime. Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage helped, but they had the reputations of being far from their peak. Scott Hall was the biggest example of that change.

WWE was still using Hall as a rising star with his best days ahead of his career. Hall joining WCW made more fans take note that the product was becoming more interesting. The first appearance of Hall teased the New World Order, which made WCW a must-see product. It’s hard to tell if this works if Hall was not one of the wrestlers to leave WWE.

13 Should leave today: Tye Dillinger

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Tye Dillinger showed a lot of potential in NXT with fans loving his Perfect 10 gimmick. Dillinger had a few impressive matches in NXT against the likes of Bobby Roode, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe. He was called up to the main roster a few years ago, yet has done nothing noteworthy since making the jump.

An injury currently has Dillinger on the sideline, but most fans forgot he existed even when healthy. There have been a few tweets to come from Dillinger that expressed interest in leaving WWE for All Elite Wrestling. Cody Rhodes is a great friend of Tye and this could be the ideal scenario for him to say goodbye to WWE.

12 Hurt WWE: Cody Rhodes

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The only huge departure to hurt WWE in recent memory was Cody Rhodes joining the independent circuit. Rhodes was unhappy with the dead-end gimmick of Stardust and wanted a change. WWE did not budge, and it led to Cody requesting his release.

The success of Rhodes in ROH and New Japan led to him becoming a huge star. Cody and the Young Bucks would run the incredible All In show, which inspired the creation of All Elite Wrestling. If WWE let Rhodes ditch Stardust and remained under contract, AEW may not exist today. One small move led to a new promotion starting and inspiring other WWE stars to want to leave the company.

11 Should leave today: Tyler Breeze

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Tyler Breeze is one of the most underrated wrestlers on the WWE roster today. Fans barely get to see Breeze do anything on television, but he was one of the top heels for NXT. Breeze returning to NXT for one night only featured a great match against Ricochet that reminded fans he can still go in the ring.

WWE however just doesn’t feel he is worth the television time, as nothing has changed since the match. Breeze is the kind of wrestler that would benefit from leaving WWE and contributing to another promotion today. Like Tye Dillinger, Breeze's friendship with Cody Rhodes could also give him a shot in All Elite Wrestling right away.

10 Hurt WWE: Ricky Steamboat

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Ricky Steamboat was one of the most underrated stars for WWE in the 80s. Most knew how great he was, but many fans today believe he deserved a WWE Championship run or a main event spot at WrestleMania. Steamboat was always kept one tier below that, with WWE never going all the way with him.

A move to WCW would allow Steamboat to showcase his main event work in the early '90s. Steamboat had great matches against the likes of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Steve Austin. The fun matches from Steamboat, along with his familiar face, gave WCW someone that WWE fans enjoyed watching. This was an early move that helped WCW build momentum for the future moves.

9 Should leave today: Sami Zayn

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Sami Zayn has been an underrated mid-carder for WWE since getting called up. The run of Zayn in NXT showed just how brilliant he could be when used to the best of his ability. Zayn has also delivered some great moments on the main roster during his first feud with Kevin Owens and an underdog story facing Braun Strowman.

Most other moments for Zayn on the main roster feature him doing nothing of importance. Zayn is one of the few underrated WWE stars that could easily become a main eventer and make more money from a promotion like All Elite Wrestling.

8 Hurt WWE: Goldust

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One of WWE’s most important keys to success is having a deep roster. The '80s featured relevant names all over the card. Today has a stacked roster across all brands and all divisions. The Attitude Era’s biggest weakness was the lack of credible mid-carders.

Goldust was among the best mid-carders for WWE at the time. His incredible run to start created credibility and allowed him to shine. When he left for WCW, that left WWE short one relevant mid-carder. There was also the issue of the long GTV angle setting up Goldust as the big reveal. WWE had to cancel it since there was no one else capable of the role.

7 Should leave today: Dolph Ziggler

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The career of Dolph Ziggler has seen huge disappointments after fans expected him to become a top star. Ziggler had great matches in the late 2000s and early 2010s that added momentum. WWE just never pushed him all the way which led to him falling short each time he had a chance.

Ziggler no longer has any shot to thrive in the main event picture. Fans no longer even react to him in upper mid-card matches. The only shot for Dolph to find credibility again would be to leave WWE and become a bigger star in another promotion. Ziggler has reached a point where he will always be in his current role if working for WWE.

6 Hurt WWE: The Steiner Brothers

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The Steiner Brothers were the best tag team at their peak in the '90s. WWE signed Rick and Scott away from WCW to become the centerpiece of their Tag Team Division for a short time. The Steiner Brothers had two WWE Tag Team Championship reigns that still did not elevate them since WWE’s tag team booking always lacked.

Rick and Scott made the call to go back to WCW and find more happiness. WCW was the company that the Steiner Brothers enjoyed working for and excelling in their Tag Team Division. WWE’s Tag Team Division was hurting without a top tag team for a few years after the Steiners left. Meanwhile, Rick and Scott helped WCW’s Tag Team Division boom with a great run against fellow great teams like Harlem Heat and The Outsiders.

5 Should leave today: Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows

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The WWE Tag Team Division is still flawed today with many great duos struggling. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson signed with WWE as huge free agent names back in 2016. They were a tremendous tag team for New Japan and Ring of Honor as part of the Bullet Club.

Anderson and Gallows had a short run of relevance when uniting with AJ Styles as The Club. That ended following the brand split, as Anderson and Gallows were left in the dark. They are currently struggling to get any television time on SmackDown. It would be a better call for them to start with another promotion to show their worth.

4 Hurt WWE: Randy Savage

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Randy Savage leaving WWE for WCW represented a huge change for WCW. It didn’t take them to the next level right away and he wasn’t even the first major signing. Hulk Hogan signed with WCW in 1994 as the first huge move. Savage joining a few months later showed fans that two iconic names coming to WCW was going to make them relevant moving forward.

The run of Savage in WWE would see him remain at the top of the card for the entirety of it. Savage had multiple world title reigns and took part in a few great angles. The presence of Savage in WCW helped make Diamond Dallas Page a star as well. WWE losing Savage helped WCW and hurt them in quite a few ways. Vince McMahon reportedly blacklisted Savage from WWE up until his passing, due to the heartbreak over him leaving the company.

3 Should leave today: Hideo Itami

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WWE has aggressively signed many international talents from the free agent market in recent years. Hideo Itami signed the same time as Kevin Owens and Finn Balor as one of the most hyped classes of WWE "rookies" in recent memory. Owens and Balor moved towards superstar status, while Itami was derailed by injuries.

Itami is now on the 205 Live roster, trying to find the momentum to eventually move to Raw or SmackDown. Even the time in the Cruiserweight Division has seen many ups and downs. WWE doesn’t have huge plans for Itami and many other promotions would be happy to sign him. Itami must make the move while he still has a few prime years left to contribute.

2 Hurt WWE: Kevin Nash

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The departure of Kevin Nash from WWE to WCW in 1996 led to a major shift in momentum. Scott Hall joining WCW was already a big move, but Nash was coming off a lengthy WWE Championship reign as Diesel just a few months prior.

The time WWE put into elevating Nash just helped WCW when he joined to help form the New World Order. Nash took his career to new heights when becoming a WCW main eventer. Fans loved Nash's charisma, and he became a multiple time WCW Champion. WWE felt the pain of losing Nash during the time when WCW took control of the Monday Night War for a year and a half.

1 Should leave today: Cesaro

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The talent of Cesaro has seen fans and wrestlers wanting to witness him in a main event role. Cesaro’s in-ring work is second to none at his best. Vince McMahon just never believed in him, between critical comments and his singles pushes ending soon.

Cesaro is currently finding success in the SmackDown Tag Team Division with Sheamus, but his potential is higher in the Singles Division. All Elite Wrestling, Ring of Honor, New Japan, and Impact Wrestling would all fight to sign Cesaro with the goal of pushing him to the moon. Cesaro is one active wrestler that should consider leaving WWE to become a main event star elsewhere, like many wrestlers of the '90s did.