Over the years, the WWE has always made superstars out of wrestlers who at first seemed to be nothing special, but gradually caught our attention and won us over. The rising popularity of these superstars not only develops their wrestling personalities, but also brings a cockiness to their attitude as they come to realize how important they are to the product and to the company’s success. Vince McMahon often creates stars out of seeming nobodies, but doesn’t predict how they’ll react to their stardom and is often caught in a compromising position where he has to give in to the demands of his superstars in order to get their services day in, day out.

Vince McMahon has this mindset to “make his own superstars” as he often signs some impressive raw talents from low-key wrestling promotions, puts them into developmental for a while then comes up with a character, which he allows them to run with. The WWE has often created many superstars by starting them from the bottom and gradually moving them to the top of the company. These guys are some of wrestlers the fans can get behind, relating with their hard-working nature and appreciating their devotion to the product. Many of these wrestlers not only get a change in wrestling personality, but start to try to control things upon realizing their importance in the company.

We’ve seen many cases where the WWE is blackmailed by some of the superstars, who want more money and fame in the company as McMahon has often given in to these demands. Many other “superstars” often didn’t get things going their way and decided to bail on the company, often leaving it hanging in an awkward position. Despite getting all the fame and fortune in the company, these superstars tried to replicate the fame somewhere else but really couldn’t be that big outside of something humongous like the WWE. Let’s take a look at some of the most unfaithful wrestlers in WWE’s history.

15 15. Matt Hardy

via wikipedia.org
via wikipedia.org

Matt Hardy is the star he is today because of the WWE, who gave him and his brother Jeff a chance at glory during the Attitude Era when they were paired as the electric “Hardy Boyz”. Matt would go onto greater heights during his time with Jeff, where they would pull off some death-defying stunts and amazing matches to thrill the crowd and win over the fans. After that began an entertaining gimmick of “Matt Hardy Version 1” where he would put out some “Matt facts” and have an impressive run in the Cruiserweight division. Matt would be fired for some personal problems with Edge and ex-girlfriend Lita, but would later be brought back for an intense rivalry with Edge. He was drafted to the ECW brand later on and became ECW Champion, after which he had another intense rivalry with brother Jeff. But soon Matt would be frustrated at his position in the company and be fired after posting some youtube videos about his displeasure at his WWE position. He currently is in TNA where he continuously mocks and trashes the WWE product, as the man who was made by WWE shows no gratitude to the company.

14 14. Rick Rude

via prowrestling.wikia.com
via prowrestling.wikia.com

“Ravishing” Rick Rude was the wrestler who probably jumped ship between WWE and WCW the most number of times, as he couldn’t seem to be loyal to any single brand and went after who paid him more money. Rude would first debut in the WWE in 1987, having an infamous feud with Jake “The Snake” Roberts and becoming a sex symbol of sorts for the WWE at that time, wearing tight pants and showing off his “ravishing” body to the audience. He would leave to join WCW where he had a stint before coming back to the WWE in 1997 where he returned as the “insurance policy” of D-Generation X. He would never wrestle for the raunchy stable, but would be at ring-side during its matches. Rude would apparently be offended at how the Montreal Screwjob was handled, and immediately called Eric Bischoff to jump ship again to the WCW without really informing WWE about it. Rude wouldn’t really get another chance at the WWE, as he had a tragic death in 1999 due to heart failure, but considering how unfaithful he was to the WWE’s product he wouldn’t have gotten another chance anyhow.

13 13. Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka

via faceofmalawi.com
via faceofmalawi.com

Jimmy Snuka might have his reasons for feeling that he wasn’t properly used by the WWE, who never put a title belt on the Hall of Famer but he really wasn’t that passionate about the company either. Snuka rose to fame after his infamous “Snuka Splash” from on top of a steel cage at Madison Square Garden and rode on this fame for quite some time. He had some legendary feuds in the 80s, which led him to demand more from the WWE and even left the company in 1985 in search of better prospects. But after 3 years in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), he returned to the WWE in 1989 where he was given the job of “putting over young wrestlers” like any other veteran. He was the first victim of Undertaker’s undefeated streak, and he then again left the company in 1992. Snuka would return sporadically whenever he needed aid from Vince McMahon for one-off shows, as Vince could never say no to one of his prime athletes. But relationships turned sour with each passing year, as Snuka would recently be part of a class action lawsuit against the WWE for “neurological trauma”. Vince McMahon had shielded him from the murder controversy back in the 80s, and always helped him whenever it was needed, but Jimmy would display his greed through this lawsuit.

12 12. Ken Shamrock

via wwe.com
via wwe.com

Ken Shamrock was brought in for the big bucks by Vince McMahon, who brought the former UFC Champion to get more eyes on his product. Labelled as “The World’s Most Dangerous Man”, Shamrock would crush his opponents with his devastating mixed martial arts style and hard punches and kicks. Shamrock was also made The Corporation’s Muscleman, and went on to win the Intercontinental and Tag Team Championships during this time. After derailing with the Corporation, he would go on to have some weird feuds with the introduction of his “sister”(kayfabe) Ryan Shamrock. Shamrock would then go on to feud with another MMA specialist, Steve Blackman as they would go on to have unorthodox matches, culminating in a “Lion’s Den Weapons Match” at SummerSlam 1999 which Shamrock won. Shamrock would then want to leave the WWE in order to focus on his MMA career, and would be granted the wish. But Ken would later go on to wrestle in the Indy circuit for some matches, as well as joining TNA during its early stages, betraying the WWE’s trust on him as Ken was all about making things about himself.

11 11. X-Pac

via wwe.com
via wwe.com

X-Pac’s eccentric ability in the ring was introduced in the WWE itself, as he debuted as the “1-2-3 Kid” during the mid 90s as an underdog who had the ability to beat the bigger guys. After being in the shadow of Razor Ramon, he tried on his own but couldn’t really make it big. X-Pac then moved to the WCW where he was the 6th member of the nWo, called “Syxx” and won the Cruisweight Title there. He was fired from the WCW because of drug problems leading to issues with management, and was rehired by the WWE who made him a part of D-Generation X. He brought an excitement to the raunchy faction and later on went on to win the Tag Titles twice with Kane after disbanding from the team. After an injury, he returned to be part of the Cruiserweight division, winning the Cruiserweight Title multiple times and later joined the WWE version of the nWo with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. He would soon leave the company after the disbanding, and would go on to wrestle for WWE’s rival promotions in the future years. X-Pac was called back by Vince in 2011 and has appeared at events since then, but his involvement is only because of the money as he’s rarely loyal to the product of the WWE, going on to wrestle for its rivals and also talking smack about it at times.

10 10. Lex Luger

via wwe.com
via wwe.com

Lex Luger had the physique and the body to convince Vince McMahon to make him the successor to Hulk Hogan after the Hulkster had left the company and Vince needed an “American Hero” in the 90s. Luger had a profound run at WCW before coming to the WWE, where he was given a “narcissist” gimmick but later be transitioned into an “All-American”. He was pushed over the roof after body-slamming the massive Yokozuna, but the problem was that his push wasn’t liked by the fans nor the people inside the company. This propelled creative to make him win via countout in a WWE Championship match against Yokozuna at SummerSlam, but this didn’t make him win the WWE Championship. He was slowly moved to the midcard and later formed a tag team “The Allied Powers” with Davey Boy Smith. Luger then shockingly jumped ship to the WCW when his contract expired, without letting Vince know first-hand as he appeared at an episode of WCW without being a part of the promotion. Luger would return to the WWE in 2011 as part of their Wellness Policy program, but his betrayal to the WWE during the heated Monday Night Wars showed how disloyal he was to the promotion.

9 9. Kevin Nash

via wwe.com
via wwe.com

Kevin Nash was packaged as Big Daddy Coolin the mid 90s where he was the bodyguard of Shawn Michaels who later transitioned into a singles competitor. Known as “Diesel” at the time, Nash would go on to win the WWE Championship from Bob Backlund in an eight second squash match. Nash would have a healthy reign as the WWE Champion, but the product wasn’t attracting enough audience for him to remain at the main-event scene for long. Nash would also be offered a bumper amount of cash by WCW for his services, and would leave the WWE after his contract expired to join the WCW with his mate Scott Hall. Nash would become a prime guy of the WCW for quite a while, even aiding in his downfall as he was a booker for sometime too. Nash would return in the WWE with the turn of the century, reuniting with Hall and Hulk Hogan for WWE’s NWO and later feuding with Triple H. Nash would then join WWE’s rival in TNA for some years, before Vince McMahon recalled him back in 2011. The Hall of Famer has been in and out of WWE many times in his career, as his focus is his own self rather than the success of the WWE, which he doesn’t give a damn about.

8 8. The Ultimate Warrior

via wwe.com
via wwe.com

The Ultimate Warrior was an icon in the 80s, running down the ramp and energizing the whole crowd. Always pushed as a strong face, Warrior went on to defeat the Honky Tonk Man in a 27 second squash match to win his first ever Intercontinental Championship and later went on to win a Survivor Series elimination tag match, being the last man standing in the match. His popularity would propel him to the top of the ladder, as Warrior soon burst onto the main event scene and had a match for the WWE Title at WrestleMania VI. He would defeat Hulk Hogan for the title, being the first wrestler to hold the WWE and Intercontinental title simultaneously. Warrior would later have some classic feuds with Randy “Macho Man” Savage and then Jake “The Snake” Roberts. His rising popularity made him cocky, as he demanded for McMahon to pay him $550,000 for performing at WrestleMania VII, a granted number of working days and other perks. He was threatening to walk out and no-show for the company, but his offer was accepted. Warrior was then suspended by the company following SummerSlam for his earlier conduct, and later on would have mediocre feuds before finally leaving the company after a bitter relationship with McMahon. Warrior would return in 2014, but his cockiness derailed his path onto becoming more popular and having a bad relationship with the man who made him who he was.

7 7. Kurt Angle

via wwe.com
via wwe.com

Kurt Angle might be one of the most technically gifted athletes of his time, but he became pretty cocky as the years passed by. After being signed by the WWE, the Olympic Gold Medalist would live up to his name and be given a big push as he would soon go on to win both the European and Intercontinental Championships, holding them simultaneously. Angle would then win the WWE Championship in 2000, when he was in the main event scene. After that, he became a prominent member of Team WWE during the Invasion Era. He then became the 5th Grand Slam Champion in WWE history when he won the World Tag Team Championships with Chris Benoit. Angle would be put on SmackDown during the extension, winning another WWE Title and later losing it to Brock Lesnar. After losing relevance for a while, he shot back to prominence with an intense feud with Shawn Michaels culminating in a match at WrestleMania 21 which he won. Angle then later became “The Wrestling Machine” but would want out of WWE because of the stacked work-load, but soon would join TNA and continue to wrestle there for almost 10 years. Angle might have fulfilled his 8 years (which was in his contract) for the WWE, but backed out when his loyalty was really needed by the WWE, who needed a top level star like him back in the day.

6 6. Randy Savage

via sea.ign.com
via sea.ign.com

Randy “Macho Man” Savage was probably one of the most charismatic wrestlers of his era, as his irresistible personality and brilliant entertainment skills soon elevated him to great heights. After being signed by the WWE after being the “Top free agent in pro wrestling”, Savage soon got a good push when he won the Intercontinental Championship from Tito Santana. He would then feud with the likes of George “The Animal” Steele, before his iconic match with Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat elevated him to the top of the company. Savage would be pushed to the main event, as he won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania IV and held the title for over a year. Savage turned heel on Hulk Hogan after a feud over Miss Elizabeth, as the frustrated Savage lashed out on Hogan, culminating in a match between them at WrestleMania V where he dropped the title to Hogan after a 371 day reign. He would then become “The Macho King” and have some feuds before retiring to become a color commentator for the company for a while. Savage would then make the shocking choice of moving to WCW as he was frustrated with his position at the WWE, as this move at the heat of the Monday Night Wars was the ultimate act of betrayal for Savage. He would have an underwhelming career at WCW and later a short stint at TNA, and would never be mentioned by the WWE until his death in 2011.

5 5. Batista

via wwe.com
via wwe.com

Batista is one of those wrestlers who were made famous by the WWE, who put him through the developmental process and then transitioned him into the beast who was the muscle of Evolution. His time at Evolution turned him into an intimidating figure, as he soon decided to go his own way by challenging and defeating Triple H for his World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 21. This feud implemented him into a main-event star, as he was drafted to Smackdown where he became the top star of the Brand. He went back and forth with the World Title during this time, making Smackdown a show to be glued too. He was later drafted to RAW during which he won the WWE Championship from Randy Orton in 2009, before having a feud with John Cena after which he stated that he quit. Batista really quit the company, as he didn’t like where it was headed and went onto try his hand in movies and in MMA. He returned in 2013 but was booed off by everyone, yet again leaving as his cockiness was above the roof at this point. Batista states that he won’t be returning to the WWE for the time being, as the lack of gratitude to the people who made him into a superstar goes to show how narcissistic he truly is.

4 4. Brock Lesnar

via wwe.com
via wwe.com

Brock Lesnar was pushed so hard from day 1 by the WWE that it’s rather obviously that he would become cocky, as “The Next Big Thing” soon realized how valuable he was to the product. After having a stint at OVW, Lesnar arrived in the main roster and started to absolutely destroy everyone with his freakish strength and agility. After winning the King of the Ring tournament, Lesnar went onto defeat The Rock to win the WWE Championship, cementing him as the top start of the Smackdown Brand. He continued to main event shows, defeating the likes of The Undertaker and The Big Show, before having an amazing feud with Kurt Angle which culminated in a classic match at Wrestlemania XIX. Lesnar would then continue to win major feuds, not losing much and looked like the top dog of the company and the undisputed future as well. But this was until Lesnar decided to leave the WWE to pursue a career in the NFL, but would go onto wrestle for New Japan Pro Wrestling after failing at football. He would win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his debut match, after which he’d also go to UFC and would win the UFC Championship. He settled with the WWE in a lawsuit after he’d breach a non-compete clause by competing at NJPW. Lesnar would return in 2011 in the WWE after leaving the UFC, and would become a part-time wrestler who main-evented shows and broke Undertaker’s streak at Wrestlemania 30. Lesnar also became WWE World Heavyweight Champion in 2014, and continued to have top level feuds. He also recently fought in UFC as he’s someone who knows his value and continuously blackmails Vince to get what he wants, and is someone who just does what he does for the money and not for the love of the product or the WWE, as he could again leave the company whenever he wants.

3 3. The Rock

via wwe.com
via wwe.com

The Rock’s rise in the WWE is quite admirable, as this wrestler who once performed as the hilarious Rock Malvia soon became an icon for the fans and a force for the WWE during the Monday Night Wars. After having a successful stint at the Nation of Domination, Rock would become a heel for the Corporation and one of the top guys of the company who had the WWE Belt around him various times. He then transitioned into the “People’s Champ”, electrifying the people and having some memorable feuds which continued to push the WWE to the top. The Rock was then a major part of the Invasion era, before having a “once in a lifetime” match at Wrestlemania X8 against Hulk Hogan. Rock took a sabbatical from wrestling to shoot his “The Scorpion King” movie and returned to win his 5th WWE Championship, which he’d lose to Brock Lesnar. After some feuds, The Rock would finally defeat Stone Cold at Wrestlemania XIX and then left the WWE to focus on his film career. He continued to make sporadic appearances before returning in 2011, where he would have a feud with John Cena which culminated in 2 Wrestlemania matches, during which he won the WWE Championship from CM Punk as well. The Great One continues to return to WWE for sporadic appearances, but is too into Hollywood to pay heed to wrestling as his transitioning from WWE to Hollywood is impressive for him but he failed to stay completely loyal to the company who made him into a world-class superstar.

2 2. Ric Flair

via richestcelebrities.org
via richestcelebrities.org

“The Nature Boy” Ric Flair might be one of the best wrestlers in the history of the sport, but his faithfulness to the WWE has often been questioned. Ric signed on with the WWE in 1991 as “The Real World Champion” with the Big Gold WCW Belt. Ric would be pushed for his name and soon won the WWE Championship and had some compelling feuds, but couldn’t seem to stick to the WWE. He went back to WCW for the Monday Night Wars, before returning to the WWE with the turn of the century in 2001. After losing his “ownership” to Vince McMahon, he started to manage Triple H and eventually formed Evolution with him. He continued to do the dirty-work for HHH, before parting with him after almost 2 years together. Ric would then almost be forced to retire and be put through some grueling matches, before losing his retirement match at Wrestlemania XXIV after which he had a teary appreciation night. When everyone thought he’d retire, he went onto sign on for WWE’s rival in TNA and even wrestled a few matches in his 3 years in the promotion. He was eventually brought back by the WWE, recently managing his daughter Charlotte but his unpredictability towards WWE doesn’t make him the most faithful servant as he could again leave the company if a more lucrative offer comes.

1 1. Hulk Hogan

via unilad.co.uk
via unilad.co.uk

Hulk Hogan might be the reason why the WWE reached to new heights in the 80’s, but he’s also turned out to be a stiff competitor for the company in the same time. Hogan reached incredible popularity in the mid 80’s when he pushed his “Hulkamania” movement and became a world-known star when he defeated Andre The Giant at Wrestlemania III. He then formed “The Mega Powers” with Randy “Macho Man” Savage after which he had an intense feud with Savage, culminating in him winning the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania V. He continued to dazzle audiences and main event for the company, before leaving the company with the beginning of the 90’s. He later on signed on for WCW, soon becoming “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan and forming the NWO with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. He continued to rule WCW before it’s downfall led to him leaving it, and yet again ended up returning to the WWE, where he had a classic match with The Rock at Wrestlemania X8 before going onto win the WWE Championship. He would then go onto get a “Mr America Gimmick” which was short-lived, as he again left the company due to issues with his payment. After getting into the WWE Hall of Fame a couple of years later, Hulk would then join their rival in TNA getting a prominent managerial position in the company. He changed TNA for the worse, as Vince yet again recalled him for sporadic appearances but then banished him after his sex and racism scandal. The Hulkster is what he is because of the WWE, but he seems to be more into money and fame rather than putting the show ahead of himself and is probably one of the most unfaithful servants for the WWE, inspite of ironically being the one which put it on the map.