WWE has this knack of buying of buying talent from around the world, as snatching away or buying out the competition is what has made Vince McMahon’s mammoth company so successful. Their own development program wasn’t underway before the late 2000’s, so WWE had to rely on buying talent from other promotions and make them into the stars they are today. Legends like The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan were all signed from other wrestling promotions and made into the stars they are today, much to Vinny Mac’s credit. But if WWE has constantly reminded us that if they can make a star, then they can break one as well, as many ‘superstars’ who arrived in the promotion with much promise and hype were ‘degraded’ and wasted, as the company discreetly tries to push away their WWE reign under the mat.

Only a low percentage of the signed talent are actually catapulted to the very top of the WWE, as the others are given weird roles after a slight push in the beginning of their WWE run and then it’s mostly downhill from there. We’ve seen so many talents being signed and then released by the WWE over the years, as things don’t seem to work out at times plus talent can’t blend in with the hectic schedule of the company. Some of the loyal talent who stick to the promotion inspite of being treated horribly manage to get a role in the production process, while some of the more unfortunate guys have to manage to fend for themselves by doing odd jobs in order to make their ends meet, and a lack of an educational degree for most of these pro-wrestlers hampers their career’s beyond the mat.

40 20) Snitsky (then)

via wwe.com

Gene Snitsky was this maniacal ruthless wrestler who was built as a proper monster heel during his time in WWE, having memorable rivalries with Kane and destroying smaller opponents in his path. Snitsky's feud with Kane included him being responsible for Lita miscarrying her baby, only for Snitsky to go around persisting "it wasn't my fault!". Following that, he was saddled with a foot fetish gimmick. Wow, that's rough.

39 20) Snitsky (now)

via uproxx.com
via uproxx.com

Snitsky had short runs in TNA and World Xtreme Wrestling after being released by the WWE, and tried to make a career as an actor trying his luck in commercials and film. He became a pitchman for a Youtube cooking show where he made dishes using advertising a pressure cooker. Well it’s safe to say that taking a weird choice of acting is Snitsky’s fault after all. Needless to say, it definitely has been a bizarre transition for Snitsky after wrestling.

38 19) Matt Morgan (then)

via tumblr.com
via tumblr.com

Not many actually remember watching Matt Morgan in WWE TV, but he was there for three years, mainly as a part of the SmackDown brand. Morgan was part of some tag teams (once with Brock Lesnar) and given an odd gimmick after that. The gimmick involved him stuttering, which not only was insulting to those with speech disorders, it ruined his WWE career. Due to that, he failed to really make his mark in the WWE, in spite of his intimidating nature.

37 19) Matt Morgan (now)

via TNAwrestling.com
via TNAwrestling.com

He was snapped up by TNA, who gave him some good years of stardom until he left the sinking ship towards the end to do some indie dates and focus on his ‘acting’ career. Morgan is now a regional manager for a medical device company. Some might say he's way better off holding a job like that over the grind of a professional wrestler but in recent interviews explains of his love for the profession of wrestling. Either way, he definitely found more success post WWE.

36 18) Chris Masters (then)

via allwrestlingsuperstars.com
via allwrestlingsuperstars.com

‘The Masterpiece’ was hot stuff after debuting in the WWE as he was treated as such during his first year in the company. With his Masterlock challenge and muscular looks, he was like Vince McMahon’s fantasy coming true as he was handed opportunities at the WWE title as well, but was toned down in his second year. He was still booked quite strong, but was fired for substance abuse and violating WWE’s wellness policy. Masters returned to the company in 2009 but couldn’t really find his ground again with his stale gimmick.

35 18) Chris Masters (now)

via huffingtonpost.com
via huffingtonpost.com

Masters is now a part of the Global Force Wrestling (GFW) roster trying to help Jeff Jarrett’s promotion rise with his ‘masterpiece’ looks. As part of The Global Force stable in TNA, Masters appeared a few times on Impact, where he participated in a King of the Mountain match for the vacant TNA Heavyweight Championship. Alongside Jarrett, Brian Myers, Eric Young and Sonjay Dutt, the GFW stable lost to Team TNA, featuring Drew Galloway, Bobby Lashley, Eddie Edwards, Bram and Davey Richards in a Lethal Lockdown Match.

34 17) Muhammad Hassan (then)

via wwe.com
via wwe.com

Being part of a life-threatening story-line in his three years in the WWE, you wonder if the Italian-American Mark Copani realized what he was getting into when donning the gimmick of Muhammed Hassan. Booked as an Arab-American looking to change the public's stereotype of Arabs, it gathered genuine heat for the man. He was booked in an angle involving masked men attacking The Undertaker that was eerily similar to a terrorist event. It coincided with the London bombings as well which forced WWE to take him off TV and out of the company.

33 17) Muhammad Hassan (now)

via fultoncsd.com
via fultoncsd.com

Once can't help but feel some sympathy for Copani, as it was unlikely he had anything to do with booking that tasteless angle. Copani considered pursuing an acting career after professional wrestling but that never came to fruition. He is now enjoying life with his family, being a high school history teacher and never wants to go back to the dark hole of wrestling ever again. He is also a Vice Principal at the high school in Fulton, New York.

32 16) Billy Kidman (then)

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

Kidman was among the hoard of wrestlers which jumped ship after WCW was bought by Vince McMahon, but his technical prowess made him quite an entertaining watch. He was a hit in the cruiserweight division, winning the title four times in the five years he spent in the WWE before being released in 2005. Kidman stated the reason for his release was an argument with officials over their decision to stop booking wrestlers on first class flights overseas.

31 16) Billy Kidman (now)

via wwe.com
via wwe.com

After a short stint on the indie scene, Kidman returned to the WWE as a trainer for the FCW promotion. He soon became a producer/road agent for the company, where he now times matches and segments in an event to make sure they don’t go over the allotted time. He's made some on-screen appearances you may not have noticed, including breaking up a brawl between Brock Lesnar and John Cena during their 2012 feud. He also played Paul Heyman's doctor on a European tour under the name "Dr. Weisenburg".

30 15) Gail Kim (then)

via wikimedia.org / fanpop.com
via wikimedia.org / fanpop.com

Gail Kim had one of the weirdest runs in WWE. She was reportedly hired after Jim Ross compelled to a hesitant Vince McMahon that many guys like Asian women, on the account that there’s a lot of Asian adult film stars. She had a stunning beginning by winning the Women’s championship in her first televised match, but creative couldn’t find anything for her after dropping her title. She spent two years in the company before she was released because the WWE ‘wanted to take the division to a new direction’.

29 15) Gail Kim (now)

via business2community.com
via business2community.com

Following her release, she joined TNA and quickly became a focal point of their impressive women’s division. She would actually return to WWE in 2008, but after a few years, she got herself released. During a battle royal on RAW, Gail Kim eliminated herself and informed management she was quitting. She has since returned to TNA and found even more success, as a five-time Knockouts Champion. She has said that she has no intention of ever going back to WWE.

28 14) Vader (then)

via pinterest.com
via pinterest.com

Big Van Vader arrived in the WWE with tons of experience wrestling in Japan and WCW as he was promoted as this dangerous heavyweight who could crush any other wrestler. He was put into prominent rivalries and matches at first, even receiving a WWE title opportunity which he lost and then matches against The Undertaker. But after a defeat to Kane, Vader lost his marbles and in a post-match interview made some degrading comments which resulted in him jobbing to others in the next weeks. He soon found himself released from the WWE.

27 14) Vader (now)

via youtube.com
via youtube.com

Vader fell on some hard times, including his wife leaving him in 2007 over his alcohol abuse. Following complications from a knee replacement surgery, Vader was in a coma for over 33 days, losing 112 pounds. He has since recovered well, and has worked with other promotions, even wrestling to this date in TNA and other indie promotions. He recently inducted his old rival Stan Hansen into WWE's Hall of Fame.

26 13) Mason Ryan (then)

via wikimedia.org
via wikimedia.org

Debuting during the Nexus days of CM Punk as the powerhouse of the group, Mason Ryan was built as a very strong man in his early days as he was the brute force of the new Nexus. After the Nexus angle was removed, Ryan found it difficult to maintain any persona for himself and creative couldn’t draw together a promising outlook for him. He was released in 2014.

25 13) Mason Ryan (now)

via allwrestlingsuperstars.com
via allwrestlingsuperstars.com

Mason Ryan moved on to the independent scenes over the world, but recently he announced to WWE.com that he would be working in the Cirque du Soleil, as his muscular body seems to be the only moneymaker for him. Just what is his role in the Cirque du Soleil? He is the chief archer of Kà. Ryan may have had the look, but clearly he just wasn't cut out to be a professional wrestler. Let's hope he's now found his true calling.

24 12) Gangrel (then)

via onlineworldofwrestling.com
via onlineworldofwrestling.com

Gangrel had a genuinely creepy gimmick during his infamous ‘Brood’ days with Edge and Christian as the three terrorized and dominated the tag team division for a short period in the Attitude Era. After some years in the indie circuit, Gangrel was called back to the WWE where he had a short stint before being fired for not tucking his shirt in (you heard that right).

23 12) Gangrel (now)

via zimbio.com
via zimbio.com

Gangrel has one of those stories that will catch your attention. If things couldn’t go anymore crazier for him, he signed on to direct 12 pornographic films. All of those films were set to be vampire themed. His last appearance on WWE television was back on the 15th anniversary of RAW in late 2007 where he participated in a battle royal. He attended the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015 in support of his friend Rikishi, who was being inducted.

22 11) Raven (then)

via wwe.com
via wwe.com

A highly decorated superstar in wrestling, Raven has held gold in almost every promotion he has gone too, but with WWE it was something special for him as he won the Hardcore Championship a mammoth 27 times in his time at the company. Unfortunately, after the hardcore championship was removed, so was Raven. He was probably one of the most underused stars in WWE history. He never really got a chance to shine above the hardcore division.

21 11) Raven (now)

via wikimedia.org
via wikimedia.org

Raven returned to other promotions and is still a prominent figure in the indie scene despite being 51 years old and this spooky master of extreme has shown over the years his ability to put on some classic matches. He has essentially gotten himself blacklisted from WWE by attempting to sue them back in 2010, although the case was dismissed. In any event, it doesn't really look like he needs WWE's help anymore.