Despite what some wrestlers might say, it is everyone in the sports main aim to one day be able to work for WWE, the number one wrestling company in the entire world and that is what they are all working towards.
However, with so many wrestlers in the entire world working for various promotions, there are only so many spots available on the WWE roster and those spots aren't given away easily.
Wrestlers have to impress a variety of scouts and coaches but ultimately the decision all boils down to a select group of people and one of those is Triple H who is gaining more control and power as each day goes by. While Vince McMahon still has final say over everything, including who gets a contract, it's Triple H who lobbies for certain stars to get signed and his opinion goes a long way in getting a star signed to either the main roster, or NXT.
The Game gets to make the call on a lot of new recruits, especially now that he is in charge of NXT and eventually he will decide on all talent when he takes Vince McMahon's place in the future. So if a wrestler has a fan in Triple H, he's very well off.
With so many people pushing and attempting to impress, Triple H isn't going to allow everyone the opportunity to call themselves a WWE Superstar for a variety of reasons, and within this article, we will look at 20 wrestlers that The Game won't sign.
20 Simon Gotch
Simon Gotch is a talent that Triple H had a lot of confidence and belief in, giving him a major push during his time in NXT, becoming an NXT Tag Team Champion and pushing him to the main roster, but then his own reputation came back to bite him.
Gotch quickly became known for having a bad attitude behind the scenes and managed to get himself into several altercations during his time in WWE, a situation that Triple H will be well aware of as it was one of the reasons for his release.
Given the high number of talent that WWE now boasts, Triple H isn't going to allow someone to come back to the company just for the sake of it, especially when they have a bad attitude.
19 David Arquette
The actor might be a former World Champion after a stint working for WCW back in the day but that doesn't mean he is someone that Triple H is going to allow back into the wrestling world, at least not at the level of WWE.
David Arquette has been making moves in the wrestling world once again recently and clearly would like a return to the biggest stage possible, even if it's for one night only with Arquette back training and competing on the independent scene.
However no matter how passionate he is about the industry, his time wrestling in WCW was despised by wrestling fans and he's not a celebrity name that anybody wants to see back soon. Triple H is certainly aware of that.
18 Rich Swann
Rich Swann at one point seemed to be the biggest name in 205 Live and had a huge future ahead of him in WWE, but that was all brought to an end when personal issues surfaced and he was gone from WWE.
Swann and his partner eventually worked things out and he has continued to wrestle, despite initially retiring, and he has proven that he is still one of the most popular talents in the sport right now.
However, his history and that one incident is going to be a black mark on his name throughout his career, at least as far as WWE is concerned and Triple H isn't going to be offering him a return deal anytime soon because of it.
17 Brian Cage
One thing that Triple H has done a brilliant job at is helping to get rid of the idea that only giants can thrive in WWE, signing people of all different shapes and sizes helping the likes of Kevin Owens, Adam Cole, and Ricochet become stars.
Because of his work in creating a new landscape in WWE, it's unlikely that he will be in a hurry to sign Brian Cage who is more of a throwback to the 80s and 90s when only people with certain physiques would be pushed to the top.
Whilst Cage certainly has talent, he is still fairly new into the game and The Game will likely wait to see if he is good enough to be a major WWE Superstar before gambling on him simply because of his muscular look.
16 Melina
Triple H has been one of the biggest reasons for the recent rise in women's wrestling as the COO of the company gave them plenty of opportunities in NXT and that has had a ripple effect all the way to the main roster.
Throughout that time he has brought several legends back to the company for different major moments such as the Royal Rumble and the Evolution PPV, but one name that has never returned has been Melina.
The former Women's Champion has made it clear she wanted to come back but she is one name that Triple H isn't allowing back. Melina has a reputation for serious backstage issues and because of that, The Game is being very careful to keep her away.
15 Mr. Kennedy
At one stage in his career it seemed like Mr. Kennedy was destined for huge things, potentially a World Championship run but in the end, his career fell foul to backstage issues as he had heat with various top names.
One of those names was Triple H himself. While he was still a top WWE Superstar at the time, he had begun focusing on a career behind the scenes and because of the tension between them he isn't going to be looking at bringing him back.
Signing Mr. Kennedy would likely just annoy various top talents that work in the company and Triple H won't be wanting to upset so many major stars just for the sake of a talent coming towards the end of his career.
14 Alex Riley
Alex Riley is another name that experienced backstage problems as he had a big fallout with John Cena which caused him to lose his spot and fall down the card, eventually all the way to developmental.
However Triple H saw something in Riley and wanted to give him a chance, putting him on NXT as a commentator and then eventually transitioning him into a wrestler again. Despite getting in great shape, Riley was never able to pay back Triple H for his trust.
Eventually, Hunter released him and it's not likely that he will re-hire him ever again. Given that Riley never managed to prove himself as a top star, despite Triple H giving him plenty of chances, he isn't going to go out of his way to give him one more chance.
13 Billy Gunn
The former DX member is someone that has had a very interesting relationship with Triple H over the years with the two of them being friends, enemies and everything in between, with Gunn even working as a coach in the Performance Center for a while.
He might get brought in for special events every now and then with anniversary shows seeing DX often brought out together, but he won't be getting signed as a wrestler again, despite the fact he is still working in Japan.
Gunn's personal issues with Triple H and the fact he violated the WWE's wellness policy is a clear reason for Triple H to never offer him the contract and therefore Gunn will just have to stick to his random returns.
12 Paul London
Paul London is an incredibly underrated talent who many fans often forget about for some reason as he is a great worker and is still competing to this day, and could be open to a return especially to team with his former tag team partner, Brian Kendrick.
London let WWE on bad terms with Vince McMahon but not with Triple H, however, The Game likely now shares the same feelings as London hasn't exactly been complimentary about him in interviews.
With Triple H now in charge of 205 Live, he has the say on who joins the roster and who doesn't and that is why London is not going to get a return to the company.
11 Ken Shamrock
The former MMA and WWE Superstar recently announced on social media that he is making a comeback in the wrestling world and isn't going to stop until he is a World Champion.
However, for Shamrock he needs to hope that he is hoping to be a World Champion outside of WWE as Triple H isn't going to bring him back for several reasons.
Shamrock and Triple H didn't exactly get along during their time working together as Triple H resented the fact he had to put over Shamrock during their feud so it's unlikely that he will give him one more run in the company.
10 Big Cass
Unfortunately for Triple H, not all of his NXT projects work out the way that he hopes and one of those that didn't was Big Cass. The 7-foot wrestler seemingly had all the tools to be a big hit as a singles star but his backstage attitude cost him.
Big Cass was released from WWE and even he admitted that he would have fired himself, proving that the decision made was justified. Triple H advocates for a team vibe backstage which can be seen at the Performance Center.
On top of that, since leaving WWE, Big Cass's ring conditioning has been in question, adding another reason for Triple H not to let him back.
9 Ryback
Ryback had a fairly successful run in WWE, often being used in featured spots and although his time in the company wasn’t littered with championship gold he was certainly treated as a big star and managed to get over with fans.
The Big Guy would likely be more than up for a return, as he still feels he has unfinished business, but Triple H won’t be offering him a contract anytime soon as the company doesn’t need someone who spent most of their career in the mid-card.
On top of that, Ryback has become very outspoken against the company, so WWE likely wants to stay as far away from as possible.
8 James Storm
There was a time when Triple H really wanted to sign the Cowboy, bringing him in for several appearances in NXT, but in the end, he decided to return to the IMPACT Zone.
Since then, Storm has left the company again and has been pushing for a potential return to WWE on social media, but the question is whether or not Triple H would welcome him back for a second time after being rejected.
The answer, sadly for Storm is likely to be no. It has nothing to do with his talent but more the fact WWE doesn’t need someone coming to the end of their career who isn’t going to be a major star in NXT. On top of that, WWE has given up on Bobby Roode, meaning there is no need to sign Storm to potentially reunite with him either.
7 Adam Rose
Adam Rose recently returned to the wrestling business after claiming he was retiring and if he indeed wants a few more years in the business then obviously a WWE contract would allow him to maximize whatever years he has as a wrestler left. However, given the way his last WWE run ended, compounded with personal issues, he's likely someone WWE will stay away from. While he was once one of Triple H's pet projects in the company, Hunter has plenty to work with in NXT and given that he never really got over on the main roster, Vince won't have much interest in him either.
6 Batista
It's unclear as to whether this decision falls more on Vince or on Triple H, but Batista has made it clear over the past year that he wanted to make a WWE return, but his request had fallen on deaf ears. The WWE finally brought him in for SmackDown 1000 and even teased a future match. However, with Triple H's pectoral tear at Crown Jewel, any potential match between the two is on hold. If Batista really just wants one more match with Triple H, obviously any contract will have to be on hold until Hunter is 100%.
5 Scott Steiner
Triple H has a real love for the old-school elements of professional wrestling and truly appreciates everyone that helped make the sport what it is today with his office being a shrine to the past with old titles on the wall.
Because of that, The Game is always looking for ex-talent that he can bring in as a way of giving respect to them and popping the fans but one name he will not bring back is former WWE and WCW star, Scott Steiner.
Steiner and Triple H are two people that just don't see eye to eye and Steiner has made it clear in many interviews that he doesn't like the man behind NXT and the heir apparent to Vince.
4 James Ellsworth
The chinless wonder is someone that WWE has brought back several times ever since he first made a small appearance to be squashed by Braun Strowman during his initial push and while some runs have been longer than others, James Ellsworth has returned plenty of times.
However, that is unlikely to ever happen again, considering the recent news surrounding Ellsworth.
Given that Ellsworth is never going to be a top star and would only be used for comedic purposes, it's almost impossible to believe that Triple H would allow him to come back to the company in any form.
3 Austin Aries
Austin Aries was someone that Triple H had big hopes for in WWE, giving him a push in NXT and then helping him become a featured talent on 205 Live but in the end, Aries' temper and attitude got the best of him and he decided to walk away.
Aries might be a fantastic in-ring talent but backstage he is apparently difficult to work with and that is something that he proved by the way he behaved in IMPACT Wrestling where he returned following his WWE career.
Aries decided to no-sell the main event of a major PPV, walking out on the company while the show was still on and because of that someone as professional and serious as Triple H is not going to give him the time of day.
2 Alberto Del Rio
For some reason, Vince McMahon has a strange affection to Alberto Del Rio with the chairman rating him very highly and it's believed that he wants him to return to the company to finish up his career.
However, Triple H, like most people in the business does not feel the same way about the former World Heavyweight and WWE Champion.
If The Game has anything to do with it, Del Rio will never be working in WWE again and Del Rio can hardly blame him for that. He has taken shots at Hunter every chance he gets in interviews and caused problems for Paige outside of the ring and Triple H will be keen to keep him away.
1 Enzo Amore
The former Cruiserweight Champion was released from WWE in January, but he has since done everything in his power to hurt his own reputation and provide nothing but negative attention.
This was never more clear than at Survivor Series when he decided to show up at the event in the second row, buying a ticket and then dressing up in disguise in an attempt to invade the show and desperately prove he is still relevant.
However, all this did was make himself look ridiculous and saw the WWE Universe turn against him while annoying everyone in the office of the company; including Triple H. The Game will not have taken kindly to Amore trying to make a scene at a major PPV so fans can expect him to not be appearing anytime in the future.