It's fair to say that the number of people that have been employed by WWE over the years has to be somewhere in the thousands. In that time they have had plenty of guys who have been loyal soldiers to the company like The Undertaker, John Cena and Triple H. Men like those have steadfastly followed the promotion since arriving there and it is almost impossible to imagine them wrestling anywhere else.
For every Undertaker though, there has been twice as many men and women who have rebelled in one way or another. Justified or not, there have been tons of WWE performers who have had their beefs with company for years with seemingly no chance of ever mending the bridge with their former employer. While those who hate WWE may be numerous, there are few who have actually been blacklisted from the company. For those who don't know, a blacklisting is when a company refuses any contact with a person due to opposing views or being considered untrustworthy and/or dangerous. In short, it's when a company just says "nope, nope, nope" to a person.
Before we get started with the list though, we have to settle a couple of things first. Because the person has to have been blacklisted by the WWE itself, cases like Bret Hart and Wendi Richter are not applicable because while they steadfastly refused to work with the WWE for years, the company sure as hell wanted to work with them. We're also going to exclude any dead wrestlers because well, we know where they are. Finally, these aren't necessarily all wrestlers that are blacklisted right now; they just had to have been blacklisted at some point in time. With that cleared up, here are nine wrestlers who were blacklisted from WWE and where they are now.
18 9. Colt Cabana (Then)
Blink and you would have missed it, but Colt Cabana was actually a part of the WWE at one point in time. Signing with their developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling in 2007, Cabana would work there until he was promoted to the main roster under the name Scotty Goldman in August 2008. He was mainly used as a jobber from there until his ultimate release in February 2009.
17 9. Colt Cabana (Now)
Cabana's blacklisting mainly comes from his role as podcast host when his guest and good friend CM Punk ripped the company apart on his Art of Wrestling podcast. Cabana seems to be doing just fine without a job in WWE though. When he isn't hosting his podcast, Cabana is working with Ring Of Honor, with whom he just got back with after a bitter exit from the company in 2011. Not every wrestler needs the WWE to make a good living.
16 8. Kurt Angle (Then)
Kurt Angle is bar none, the absolute fastest learner in professional wrestling history. Within his first year in WWE he became their World Champion and a man who could stand alongside The Rock, Stone Cold and Triple H and be on their level. Despite his immense talent, Angle left the company in 2006 due to a contract disagreement. Since then, Vince McMahon has refused to sign Angle back to the company because he considers him a liability with his multiple DUIs and long list of injuries.
15 8. Kurt Angle (Now)
After his entire post-WWE career in TNA Wrestling, Angle left the company just this year. His last match with the company was a loss to Bobby Lashley. The Olympic Gold Medalist is now taking independent bookings and taking up matches he has interest in. Angle has faced Rey Mysterio and will face Zack Sabre Jr. and Cody Rhodes later this year.
Angle has also expressed interest in returning to WWE and even suggested that NXT Tag Team American Alpha become his new Team Angle. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Angle comes off the WWE's blacklist for a return of one of the company's finest ever.
14 7. Juventud Guerrera (Then)
During the Monday Night War, Juventud Guerrera was one of WCW's secret weapons against WWE. He was part of their crusierweight division and consistently provided solid matches with opponents like Rey Mysterio and Psicosis.
His ego and overall crappy attitude backstage though led him to being released by the WWE after only being with company for less than a year. How bad was his ego you say? He thought he was on the level of Steve Austin and The Undertaker, according to Wade Keller of the Pro Wrestling Torch. This combined with his disregard for his fellow wrestlers in the ring led to his release in 2006.
13 7. Juventud Guerrera (Now)
Nowadays, this obvious global main event talent similar on stature to The Rock is sticking to wrestling the occasional independent show. More interestingly though, Guerrera has taken up a small music career. Guerrera has said he found this passion in recent years and he now plays at nightclubs in Mexico as DJ Guerrera.
Along with his music, Guerrera also started a TV show called "TV Show La Arena" which covers just about everything from fitness, sports, restaurants and fashion. Even if you don't like him, "The Juice" seems to be doing just fine.
12 6. Madusa (Then)
In an era where women's wrestling was essentially an afterthought, Madusa was one of the few who tried to make it mean something in the WWE. In 1993, she won the Women's Championship (a title that had been retired since 1990) and wrestled various women throughout her near year-long reign.
Madusa was released from the WWE in late 1995 due to rough financial times for the promotion. She earned her blacklisting from the WWE when on an episode of WCW Nitro, she dropped the Women's title belt in the thrash.
11 6. Madusa (Now)
After being blacklisted from the WWE for over 15 years, Madusa was finally welcomed back to the company in 2015 where she was inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame alongside legends Kevin Nash and Randy Savage. She also now spends her time working as a fitness and wellness coach and most amazingly, as a freaking monster truck driver. I mean, I guess once you become a pro wrestler, monster truck driving seems pretty tame in comparison.
10 5. Jimmy Snuka (Then)
While he was never a true blue main eventer in the company, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka was one of the more beloved WWE superstars from the 1980s. He originally came in as a heel but his high-flying style quickly made him a babyface. He is most well known for climbing to the top of a steel cage and jumping off it before it was cool versus Don Muraco in Madison Square Garden. This moment is also important because it was at this moment that a young Mick Foley decided he had to become a pro wrestler. His recent blacklisting stems from a crime he allegedly committed over 30 years ago.
9 5. Jimmy Snuka (Now)
Things aren't exactly cheery for Superfly nowadays. Snuka recently had an old legal case from his past reopened and was arrested in September 2015 and charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter of Nancy Argentino, his girlfriend in 1983. It was just decided recently by a judge that Snuka isn't mentally competent to stand trial but the case has yet to be officially closed. Regardless, he has been completely removed from the WWE's website and it's hard to see a return in the future for Snuka.
8 4. Jeff Jarrett (Then)
The son of legendary Tennessee wrestling promoter Jerry Jarrett, Jeff Jarrett has been involved in the wrestling business since he was an infant. Bouncing around WWE and WCW throughout the 1990s, Jarrett eventually left the WWE for good in 1999. In his departure, Jarrett managed to squeeze some money out of Vince McMahon as his contract actually expired a day before his scheduled championship defense vs. Chyna at No Mercy. While Jarrett was totally justified in doing what he did, his actions resulted in him getting blacklisted from WWE.
7 4. Jeff Jarrett (Now)
Up until 2014, Jarrett was an integral part of TNA was one of their headlining acts since their inception in 2002. Since leaving TNA though, Jarrett has opened up a new promotion called Global Force Wrestling. The promotion has some pretty big names behind it and is now partnered up with A.Smith and Co Productions to distribute their programming. Here's to Global Force and wishing them success as it is never a bad thing for a wrestling promotion to succeed.
6 3. CM Punk (Then)
Wow... has it already been two and a half years since CM Punk left the WWE? Damn...
As I'm sure you all know, Phil "CM Punk" Brooks was one of the greatest pro wrestlers of the 2000s and competed across every major American promotion including Ring of Honor, TNA and of course WWE throughout his career. His real breakout came in 2011 however when he defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship on the last night of his contract.
Now we flash forward to January 2014 where Punk leaves the company (although he wasn't officially fired until June) due to lingering frustrations with the company and especially because of their medical staff's alleged incompetence at treating a staph infection of his. You can check out Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast to hear the whole story.
5 3. CM Punk (Now)
Punk has done anything but rest on his laurels once he left WWE. In December 2014, it was announced that Punk had signed with the UFC to pursue his dream of being an mixed martial artist. He has yet to debut with the promotion though as injuries and the amount of time needed to prepare for a UFC fight have caused many delays.
The Straight-Edge rebel hasn't just been kicking pads at Roufusport Gym though. He's also been fulfilling another dream of his by writing comic books. His first monthly series Drax, starring a character played by Batista in the movies ironically, was launched in November 2015 and has been getting solid reviews.
He also married the smoking hot former Divas Champion known as AJ Lee. Damn, it's good to be "The Best In The World".
4 2. Teddy Hart (Then)
Easily one of the infamous names in wrestling, Teddy Hart has burned bridges with pretty much every major promotion one could think of and has made enemies with at least half of the wrestlers he's worked with it because of his selfish and uber-dangerous style. Even as the youngest person to sign a WWE contract at the age of 18, Hart was released due to attitude problems. These would come back again to haunt him as WWE signed him years later only to release him once again in 2007 due to his poor attitude and stubbornness.
3 2. Teddy Hart (Now)
If anybody thought that Tyson Kidd and Natayla were a little too obsessed with cats, they obviously haven't seen Teddy Hart. Hart is now a Persian cat breeder. When it comes to wrestling, he wrestles south of the border in Mexico and runs the Hart Legacy Wrestling promotion in Canada (whose inaugural show was plagued with issues). While it seems like Hart is slowly improving his rep, it will take a lot more for WWE to even consider looking at Teddy Hart again.
2 1. Nailz (Then)
What's that? Was that a collective "who" I just heard from 90% of readers just now? I don't blame you one bit.
Brought into the company as a foil for Big Boss Man, Kevin Wacholz played the role of an ex-convict who was out for revenge against Boss Man, who Nailz claimed abused him in prison. He would mainly squash jobbers (most high profile being Virgil at SummerSlam 1992) and suffered his first loss to Boss Man at Survivor Series 1992 in a nightstick match.
Wacholz was released by WWE in late 1992 for attacking and choking Vince McMahon in his office over a pay dispute. Wacholz would then accuse Vince McMahon of sexually assaulting him and later testify against McMahon in the steroid trial of 1994.
1 1. Nailz (Now)
While exact information is hard to come by for such an unknown name like Nailz, what we do know is that Wacholz is now living a quiet life in Minnesota. He runs a family-owned garage with his two sons and unlike most wrestlers, hasn't done a single shoot interview since he retired from the wrestling business entirely in 2000. Wherever he is, he will always be known as the one guy who actually decided to physically attack Vince McMahon, despite what WWE tries to tell you about Titus O'Neil.