At times it seems like the WWE is a revolving door of talent. So many superstars come and go that it can be hard to remember all the wrestlers who have put time in at WWE. Even more frustrating are the litany of superstars who are cut by the WWE, only to be re-signed a few years later. Sometimes bringing these superstars back can be a huge coup for WWE (Brock Lesnar, Bray Wyatt), but other times it ends up being a huge mistake. There are currently rumors of several superstars returning to the WWE, but should Vince and company bring back all of these wrestlers? The only requirement for making this list is that the superstar at one point wrestled for WWE, but are no longer under contract with the company. With that being said, the majority of our list is made up of superstars who wrestled for the WWE fairly recently.

This article will list 28 Superstars whom the WWE should not re-hire ever again. If you can think of any free agents that didn't make our list, feel free to mention them in the comments. All facts and dates mentioned in this article are from WWE.com.

28 CM Punk

Of all the entries on this list, CM Punk might be the most talented. Despite his incredibly promo skills and the fact that he left the company as one of its top guys, it would be a mistake for WWE to bring him back into the fold. Just like so many athletes in other sports, Punk is too much of a distraction to be of value to the WWE. Punk's tenure with the WWE was a constant roller coaster, and he made enemies with just about everyone he met, from the other talent to even WWE's top brass. While some of Punk's criticisms about the makeup of WWE's programming were warranted, his constant need to be viewed as the "top guy" would not work with how the company operates. Could you imagine Punk's reaction to having the Lesnar-Goldberg and Reigns-Undertaker matches conclude last year's WrestleMania?

27 Gregory Helms

Up until a short time ago, I actually would have recommended that the WWE re-sign Gregory Helms. Helms once held the Cruiserweight Title for over a year, and would have brought some credibility to a division sorely in need of it. But after watching Helms' surprise appearance as "The Hurricane" in the 2018 Royal Rumble, I would be hesitant to bring him back into the fold. Not only was the WWE Universe not excited to see Helms in the Rumble, most of the audience didn't seem to know who he was. Even worse, Helms looked like he was put off of his game by this. If Helms isn't able to bring name recognition with him back to the WWE, he becomes significantly less valuable to WWE brass that already seems ready to abandon the Cruiserweights.

26 Mason Ryan

Many of you might not even remember who Mason Ryan was, and that is exactly why he no longer has a place with the WWE. Ryan was one of the last people to join the CM Punk led Nexus group, and quickly became the stable's dominant enforcer. Due to his monstrous size and similar appearance, he quickly drew comparisons to the Animal, Dave Batista. That was until everyone learned that he had no idea how to wrestle. This was before NXT became WWE's developmental brand and not just a reality show, and I can't think of a superstar who would have benefited more from the current WWE Performance Center. Despite some memorable moments, Ryan's appeal quickly fizzled out, and he was released from the WWE. Ryan never lived up to his potential, a cardinal sin in Vince McMahon's WWE.

25 X-Pac

Unfortunately, since X-Pac is one of Triple H's best friends, and an official member of the Kliq,, I have no doubt that we'll see him again in a WWE ring. Anyone who watched his last appearance on Raw's 25th Anniversary celebration, however, knows that this isn't a very good idea. Despite a surprisingly positive crowd reaction, all X-Pac managed to do was stammer his way through a nonsensical promo before passing the mic off to his more famous DX colleagues. It's sad to say, but I think decades of heavy drug and alcohol abuse have fried X-Pac's brains to the point of no return. His value to the company was limited anyways, but if he can't even cut a simple fluff promo there is no reason for the WWE to bring him back.

24 Melina

Despite not being a big fan of hers myself, I was very pleased when Vince McMahon and company decided to bring Mickie James back to the WWE. The multi-time Women's Champion isn't the huge draw that she once was, but her able in-ring abilities and veteran presence have been very important for the progression of WWE's younger female talent. James was known in the past to cause trouble in the locker room (including an infamous affair with "the face that runs the place," John Cena), but it appears that her troublemaking days are behind her. The same might not be true for Melina, another former Women's Champion who's been known to stir up resentment in the locker room. Why take the chance when WWE already has such an abundance of female talent?

23 Kenny Dykstra

It's hard to believe that a member of the Spirit Squad was one of the up and comers of the WWE, but that is exactly where the company was in the mid 2000s. Kenny was the leader of that peppy stable, and everyone agreed that he was the one most likely to have a successful singles career. His solo run did not go as planned, however, and in a few short years Dykstra found himself released from the WWE. One of his Spirit Squad colleagues would go on to be rebranded as Dolph Ziggler, and have a very accomplished singles career with the WWE. During a rivalry he had with Dolph in 2016, the Miz brought back Dykstra and Spirit Squad Mikey to get in Ziggler's head. This led to rumors that Dykstra was going to be given another full-time contract with the WWE, a move that would have been a big mistake.

22 Santino Marella

It is only a matter of time before Santino Marella is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Despite being turned into a comedy act early in his career, Marella was a trademark of WWE programming, and was involved in several memorable matches and skits. Santino is still young enough (at 43) for a comeback, but that doesn't mean that WWE should be looking to bring him back any time soon. His antics got outlandish at times, and this type of purely comedic character has no place in WWE's current landscape. WWE already has its comic relief in Heath Slater on Raw and Breezango on SmackDown, and their comedy is better suited to the current Reality Era. If WWE were to bring Santino back, it would only take TV time away from other, more impressive athletes.

21 Kharma

There was a time when I thought Kharma was just what WWE's Women's Division needed. She was fresh off of a dominating run with TNA, and the Women's Roster was filled with divas who were known more for their looks than their wrestling skills. Kharma's WWE career was abruptly cut short when she found out that she was pregnant. Ever since there have been periodic whisperings that Kharma might return to the WWE, but I'm no longer sure that they really need her. Since she left WWE, the company has signed several badass women, and the roster have multiple superstars who bring the same thing to the table that Kharma did. Specifically, Nia Jax is in many ways a younger, cheaper version of Kharma.

20 Nathan Jones

I tried to keep most of the Superstars on this list fairly recent, but many young fans of WWE likely won't even remember Nathan Jones. Jones was a strongman competitor and mixed martial artist that WWE signed in the early 2000s and gave a very big push to on SmackDown. Despite being inexperienced, Jones' size and athleticism was enough for WWE officials to set him up with a huge tag team match at WrestleMania where he was supposed to team up with the Undertaker against the Big Show and A-Train. In the buildup to the pay-per-view, WWE officials began to have doubts about Jones' ability to handle himself in the ring, and they decided to pull him from the match. If WWE can't even trust The Undertaker to carry you in a match, then you probably should be kept far away from a professional wrestling ring.

19 The Great Khali

I am conflicted whether The Great Khali ever should have been given the huge push that he was in WWE, but at least in his prime his sheer size made him an intimidating opponent. Now, Khali is little more than a sideshow attraction, and his body has degraded to the point where he can barely walk, let alone wrestle. When the 7-foot-plus Khali debuted and destroyed the Undertaker, he instantly became one of the most intimidating forces on the roster. When his injuries started to stack up, however, WWE cast him in a comedy role that saw him eliminated by Beth Phoenix in the Royal Rumble and teaming up with Santino Marella as a comedy duo. At this point, any value that The Great Khali had as a legitimate wrestler is gone.

18 Virgil

Many of the entries on this list have found themselves on the outs with WWE because of personal events that WWE felt were too disrupting to the company. Such is not the case with our next entry. Virgil was actually a model citizen for most of his WWE career and even after he was released from the company. The reason why WWE should never re-sign Virgil to a contract is how he has behaved in his professional life. It is widely known in the professional wrestling community that Virgil will do an appearance just about anywhere if the price is right. Much like his in-ring persona, Virgil has absolutely whored himself out to whatever organization is willing to pay him. This includes everything from wrestling in high school gymnasiums to showing up at people's weddings and birthday parties.

17 Charlie Haas

When American Alpha made its debut in the WWE, it brought many WWE fans back to the glory days of when former amateur wrestling standouts Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas were part of "The World's Greatest Tag Team." Since then, American Alpha has broken up, and WWE has plugged Benjamin into the spot once held by Jason Jordan (this was a lazy move by the SmackDown Creative team, but I digress). While Shelton and Chad Gable don't have the same chemistry that Gable had with Jordan, it would be a mistake to replace the former Olympian with Charlie Haas, who is now 45 and a couple years older than Benjamin. Despite his small size, Gable is one of the best pure wrestlers on the roster, and the fact that his new tag team hasn't resonated with WWE fans shouldn't be placed on his shoulders. There will be a time for a World's Greatest Tag Team reunion, but that time is not now.

16 Alberto Del Rio

There have been rumors for weeks that management is in serious negotiations to bring Alberto Del Rio back to the WWE. This would be a huge mistake. Sure, Del Rio is a former World Heavyweight Champion, but can anyone remember the last rivalry he was in that was actually entertaining? The last time we saw him, he was a secondary piece of the failing League of Nations stable. Del Rio peaked early in his WWE career on SmackDown, and never lived up to the hype that he brought to the WWE as Mexico's "greatest export." To make matters worse, this current crop of WWE superstars is vastly more talented than the roster that was in place during Del Rio's last run with the company. Not helping is Del Rio's reputation for trouble behind the scenes, and his turbulent relationship with now ex-girlfriend, Paige.

15 The Original Sin Cara

One of the weirdest stories in recent WWE memory is the story of the Sin Cara character. Luis Urive, a famed luchadore, was recruited out of Mexico to join the WWE. Sin Cara was supposed to revolutionize the WWE and give them their first legitimate luchador star since Rey Mysterio. Instead, a series of botches and injuries led to Urive being cut from the WWE. Rather than just abandoning the character all together, WWE slapped the Sin Cara mask on Jorge Arias, then hardly used in the lower card as Hunico, and hoped that we wouldn't notice. Arias has gone on to have moderate success, but nowhere near the level that was expected from Urive. Either way, Urive shouldn't be expecting a return to the WWE any time soon.

14 Rey Mysterio

Admittedly I have never understood the WWE Universe's fascination with Rey Mysterio, but even if I were a Mysterio fan, I don't think that now is the time for the master of the 619 to return to the WWE. The WWE roster is already overstocked with talent and bringing back Mysterio would mean taking TV time away from some of WWE's younger talent. Some people have argued that Mysterio would be a good addition to 205 Live, and I have to admit that having a former World Heavyweight Champion on the show could bolster its reputation with the casual fan. With that being said, Kalisto and Grand Metalik are both already featured on Tuesday nights, how many luchadors can they possible cram into a one hour show?

13 John Laurinaitis

With any luck, we will not see the return of "people power" to the WWE any time soon. After receiving real life heat from the WWE Universe because of his failure to re-sign some of the companies most entertaining superstars, John Laurinaitis was cast as an uber-annoying authority figure on Raw. This included some notable rivalries with CM Punk and John Cena before Big Johnny was finally fired. Laurinaitis' GM character wasn't necessarily bad, but it had very limited possibilities. Despite once being a wrestler, he hasn't aged as gracefully as Triple H, and he has nowhere near the star power of Shane McMahon or Daniel Bryan. Laurinaitis is best placed as an occasional guest star to remind the WWE Universe of a simpler time.

12 Matt Bloom

Some Superstars on this list should not be re-signed because they no longer bring any value to the company, but others, like our next entry, find themselves listed here because they are much more valuable to the WWE in other roles. Matt Bloom is a former professional wrestler who performed in the WWE under the names Albert, A-Train, and Lord Tensai. He was an adept performer, and his career includes memorable rivalries with John Cena and The Undertaker. Where Bloom has helped the WWE the most, however, is as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. He is the head trainer at NXT, and has helped hone the craft of many of its top Superstars. WWE would be foolish to give this up so Tensai could have another run as a WWE superstar.

11 John Bradshaw Layfield

This next entry is somewhat misleading because JBL is still under contract with the WWE. He occasionally makes guest appearances, usually accompanied by his APA partner Ron Simmons. Where WWE should avoid bringing Bradshaw back is at the commentary table. JBL left the broadcast team less than a year ago amid reports that he had bullied several members of WWE personnel. JBL is a company man through and through, so it would not surprise me if his absence from the broadcast table is only a prolonged suspension. Whatever the case, WWE should resist the temptation of bringing JBL back to commentary. Aside from the PR nightmare that having him back would bring, Bradshaw was never very good at calling the matches to begin with.

10 Bret Hart

I have to admit that I am a sucker for when WWE legends return for random storylines. For every superstar like The Rock, however, there is a legend who is so obviously well past their prime. Sadly, this is how I have come to feel about Bret "The Hitman" Hart. There was a time when Bret was the biggest name in professional wrestling, and there were few wrestlers who were better at getting the fans invested into the action going on inside the ring. Bret's strength was never in his promo skills, a fact that hampers his value for guest appearances. He simply isn't as good as a Stone Cold Steve Austin or Ric Flair is at pumping up the crowd. Given the fact that he is no longer able to tough things out in the ring, watching Bret simply isn't as entertaining as it once was.

9 Scott Steiner

Given how popular the return/debuts of former WCW superstars Sting and Goldberg have been recently, I am afraid that WWE will try to sign some of the other stars that helped Eric Bischoff compete with the WWE during the Monday Night Wars. A particular wrestler who it would be a huge mistake for the WWE to re-sign is Scott Steiner. Steiner was part of the great Steiner Brothers tag-team, and went on to have a fairly successful singles career for himself in WCW and WWE. Scott's larger than life character made him perfect for professional wrestling in the early 2000s, but I'm not sure that he would be such a good fit anymore. So much of the WWE anymore is based on athleticism, something that the aging Steiner simply cannot replicate. There's also Steiner's long-running beef with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, and his penchant for going off on former employers on social media, which are more reasons why WWE would not, and should not re-sign him.