The wrestling industry always changes, with new stars coming in and older stars eventually phasing out. Many new stars were made this past decade, but there are also the names that disappeared. And the wrestlers who fell from having relevant positions at the start of the 2010's to losing their relevance have various reasons to explain the big changes. They range anywhere from retiring, to only working smaller shows, to personal changes.
We will look back at just which wrestlers most fans have not thought about in quite some time. All these performers had runs in WWE, with some even having rumored plans to main event pushes. None would completely hit their full potential as things trended downwards when they left. Find out just what happened to them since departing from WWE. These are ten wrestlers that completely disappeared this decade.
10 Alex Riley
WWE had high hopes for Alex Riley, as he had the ideal look the company wanted from young prospects at the time. Riley even had chemistry with The Miz in the second season of NXT to land him a full-time main roster spot as Miz’s apprentice.
The eventual face turn for Riley gave him a noteworthy push that never went anywhere. Riley struggled to break out before being transitioned into a broadcaster. The desire to get another chance in the ring saw Riley flop and get released. Riley would become a forgotten man with his new path in acting, not finding much success.
9 Chuck Palumbo
The wrestling career of Chuck Palumbo saw him emerge as a top prospect of the 2000's. Palumbo was one of the young stars pushed by WCW towards the end of the company’s run. WWE kept Palumbo under contract and used him for many years.
The 2010s would see Palumbo leave WWE and start a new journey outside of wrestling. A passion for fixing up cars and customizing motorcycles landed Palumbo a reality show, along with other projects in the automobile industry away from wrestling.
8 Chris Masters
WWE believed Chris Masters would be a huge star for them when giving him the Masterpiece gimmick. Masters’ opponents struggled to break the Masterlock submission, which gave him instant heel heat to become a rising star.
However, the push would end when Masters always fell just short of breaking out. A suspension for violating the wellness policy put him in the doghouse until his eventual release. Masters still wrestles on smaller independent shows, but the average fan has not seen him in years.
7 Jillian Hall
Jillian Hall was a fixture in the women’s division for WWE throughout the latter half of the 2000s decade. The gimmick of an intentionally bad singer made her a hated heel for a short time. Hall would eventually get released from WWE after never hitting the top level of the women’s division.
The post-WWE career of Hall would see her struggle to reinvent herself in the first few years. Wrestling seems to be her past as she disappeared from the industry. Jillian has only had one match since 2013 with fans not seeing her in quite some time.
6 Charlie Haas
The WWE run of Charlie Haas saw him find his greatest success in the World’s Greatest Tag Team run with Shelton Benjamin. Haas would never get over on his own when WWE split them up to push Benjamin in a singles role.
The two wrestlers reunited in the early 2010s when they reformed the tag team in Ring of Honor. This run had its ups and downs before the time ended again. Benjamin found consistent work in Japan, while Haas transitioned out of the business to start a new career path out of the spotlight.
5 Vladimir Kozlov
WWE tried everything they could to make Vladimir Kozlov a major heel in his early years on the main roster. Kozlov had noteworthy storylines with Triple H, Jeff Hardy and The Undertaker with no success coming against the three biggest names on the Smackdown brand.
A face turn would see Kozlov start the decade in a comedic tag team with Santino. Kozlov would eventually get released from WWE once the company realized their original goal would never be fulfilled. The release would see Kozlov disappear from wrestling to start an acting career.
4 Ezekiel Jackson
Another failed project of WWE would see Ezekiel Jackson get a noteworthy push with multiple opportunities. Jackson defeated Christian to become the final ECW Champion before that show completely ended showing how much faith WWE had in him.
Other opportunities, like winning the Intercontinental Championship and joining Nexus, would each do little in raising his profile. The lack of in-ring skills and star power held Jackson back. A few stints in Lucha Underground and Impact would see him continue to struggle before disappearing from the wrestling world.
3 MVP
The decade started with MVP making a huge decision regarding his wrestling future. Unlike most other wrestlers, MVP’s dream was to become a star for New Japan rather than WWE. This inspired him to request his release to chase his bigger dream of making it in Japan.
MVP did a solid job in NJPW, helping the company expand in the United States, but the run ended faster than expected. A lackluster TNA stint was the last time he featured on television. MVP still wrestles regularly, but his appearances mostly come on second tier independent shows.
2 Carlito
The run of Carlito in WWE had many fans expecting him to have a main event run after an impressive first few years. WWE eventually lost faith in Carlito with backstage rumors that he was viewed as lazy and unmotivated to progress in his career.
Carlito doing poorly in feuds against Triple H and Ric Flair moved him lower down the card, setting the stage for his release. The post-WWE career of Carlito has not seen him work for any companies with television like Impact or Ring of Honor. Carlito still wrestles, but fans only see him if stumbling upon a secondary local indie show.
1 Ted DiBiase Jr.
WWE wanted Ted DiBiase Jr. to become a major superstar after his run in Legacy. The impressive tag team run teaming with Cody Rhodes under the leadership of Randy Orton helped DiBiase find relevance early during his WWE career.
A singles push was where it all fell apart for him. WWE gave DiBiase his father’s Million Dollar Championship and added Maryse as his manager. The rumors of him getting a main event run ended when he flopped with the mid-card push. DiBiase left WWE faster than expected and disappeared from wrestling to find a new career path.