The WWE has one of the most talented rosters in the history of wrestling, but unfortunately, it’s not always perfect, whether that be due to the performers themselves or the WWE’s very inconsistent booking and poor storylines. It leaves us thinking about what changes we’d love to see between now and WrestleMania 35. Sure, there are plenty of trades between brands, storyline adjustments and just the overall aesthetic of the WWE that we’d love to see, but with Vince McMahon in charge, most of those are incredibly unlikely to happen. For the purposes of this list, we will look at purely personnel changes we’d love to see over the next 12 months.

So sit back and relax as we look at 12 WWE superstars we’d love to see gone from the company over the next 12 months, and 9 stars that we’d love to see back in the company, whether it be permanently or for a brief, final run. 

21 Gone – Rusev

Via Wrestling-Edge

Rusev is one of the most over performers that WWE have had in quite some time, but for some unknown reason, the WWE wants absolutely no part of it, and instead decides to push the same old guys like Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal. For his own good, Rusev needs to move on, and give the independent scene a try. His merchandise sales are absolutely fantastic at the moment, and that would help him quite a lot on the indies, and with his combination of fantastic character and great in-ring performances, he could be a star anywhere. It would be unlikely that we see him in New Japan, but wrestling in the UK’s top independents and either ROH or Impact would be fantastic for his career. It’s understandable if he wants to stay in the WWE for the money, but for his creative direction and in-ring performances, the independents are the best place for the Bulgarian Brute.

20 Gone – Rhyno

via wwe.com

Rhyno has wrestled for every major wrestling company in the United States since WCW, and that means he’s been around for quite some time, and put his body through quite a lot of punishment, and with the way he’s been used over the past year or so, there’s just no point in keeping him around anymore. Alongside Heath Slater, these two were absolute hits on Smackdown Live at the beginning of the brand split, but the WWE don’t like to push people that they aren’t interested in, even though they were so over with the WWE Universe, and it’s time to finally move on from the past generation. He’s another wrestler who has political aspirations, and he may transition into a backstage role, but either way, it’s time for Rhyno’s days as a wrestler in the WWE to come to an end.

19 Want Back - Emma

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Emma is one of the most impressive females to have ever stepped foot in a WWE ring, and depending on whose opinion you seek, she was one of the driving forces behind the current Women’s Revolution in WWE, but for some reason, the WWE never treated her as a star on the main roster, even though she could have been a valuable rival to the likes of Sasha Banks, Bayley and Charlotte. Since returning to the independent scene, Tenille Dashwood has put on some fantastic performances in ROH and other smaller promotions, and she’s been proving what a valuable heel she can be. If the WWE is smart, they’ll bring her back into the fold and push her as the megastar heel that we all know she can be.

18 Gone – Mojo Rawley

via onlineworldofwrestling.com

As a solo act in NXT, Mojo Rawley didn’t have much of a future beyond being an undercard act, but he joined with Zack Ryder to form the Hype Bros. Although they didn’t look like a top tag team, they had some potential, but the unfortunate injury to Ryder and poor booking didn’t really help their momentum at all on the main roster. Since that point, Rawley turned heel on his former partner, but the story wasn’t given the time it deserved, and now Mojo is wasting away, cutting great heel promos on social media, but beyond that, it seems that they’ve just got nothing for him. He has the potential to be an undercard performer still, but he’s never going to be a top heel, and with so many others doing great work, it’s time the WWE cut their losses, and move on from Mr. Hype.

17 Want Back – John Morrison

via popculture.com

John Morrison has the look, the charisma, the athleticism and the in-ring talent, all the things that you need to become a World Champion in the WWE, but for some reason, they didn’t push him to the top, and he was released with little to no fanfare. After a substantial amount of time out of the wrestling business, he’s returned to Impact and Lucha Underground looking like the same star we knew, and it’s about time that he returns to the company he joined almost 16 years ago. He’s expressed an interest in returning, and while he’s happy out on the independents, it’s only a matter of time, and perhaps this time, Morrison/Mundo/Nitro/Impact, whatever he chooses to be called, can be pushed to the World Championship, and hopefully he brings along his soon to be wife, Taya Valkyrie.

16 Gone – The Big Show

The Big Show has been around for so long, and while he’s been a great, loyal servant for the WWE all those years, we’ve all just moved on from him at this point, and with so many character turns over the years (to the point where it’s become a joke online), we just can’t get invested in him anymore, especially when we’ve got the likes of Braun Strowman and Lars Sullivan. For the past few years, he’s been hearing “please retire” chants from the fans, and while that’s quite disrespectful, especially considering the shape he’s got in over that time, it’s probably time that he listens to that advise. Sure, he would be a fantastic figure backstage in helping the new stars, but as an active performer, we just don’t need to see anymore of The Big Show.

15 Want Back - Kaitlyn

The game show edition of NXT wasn’t very good, but it gave us stars like Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett, so overall, we can’t really complain. Although the women’s season wasn’t as successful, it did give us two fantastic performers, in Kaitlyn and AJ Lee, the latter of whom is also in this list. Sure, the real-life Celeste Bonin didn’t last in the WWE as long as we expected (or hoped), but she was a great character, and in her short time in the WWE, grew into a fantastic wrestler, and along with Lee, she helped usher in the current generation of incredible female talents. Like AJ, we’d love to see her come back, purely to see how the character would exist in today’s female wrestling climate, and even if it’s only for a short run or a Women's Royal Rumble appearance, it needs to happen soon, because she’s in incredible shape, and the fans would absolutely love it.

14 Gone – Zack Ryder

zack ryder
Via markinout.com

Zack Ryder was once one of the hottest performers in the WWE, with fans selling out arenas all across the US to chant his name, but the WWE actively worked against that, and pushed him back down to the undercard, and these days, it’s just pointless having him around, as he hasn’t been involved in a meaningful storyline in years. He’s still quite a talented wrestler, but he’s been pushed and held down for so long, that the WWE Universe just don’t care about him, so there’s really no point to keeping him around. The WWE has had to cut costs with things like pyro and Network shows over the past year, so having such a huge roster just doesn’t make too much sense anymore, and Ryder should be one of the first to go when they start cleaning house soon.

13 Want Back – AJ Lee

Much has been made of the current Women’s Revolution in the WWE, and it’s certainly something we’ve been enjoying. There have been plenty of arguments about who actually started this, and you can talk about Emma and Paige down in NXT, but the shift from "Divas" to "women" or just plain "Superstars" started with AJ Lee. Her efforts to be not like all the other "Divas" in the WWE made her incredibly popular, and she had some of the most entertaining matches and stories in the WWE at the time, regardless of gender. These days, she’s a best-selling author retired from in-ring competition, but rumors are that she is missing the ring, and with the transition from "Divas" to "Superstars" complete, it’s the perfect time for her to come back, as she could genuinely cement her place as one of the greatest female wrestlers of all-time.

12 Gone – Dolph Ziggler

via dailyddt.com

Dolph Ziggler is one of the best in-ring performers the WWE has seen in quite some time, but the WWE has always been against the idea of pushing him as a top star. Although he’s coming to the end of his in-ring career, we’d love to see him leave the WWE and hit the independents for a year or two before he finally retires. There were reports going around that he signed a huge new contract at the start of 2018, but Ziggler himself has shot those rumors down, claiming that his deal actually ends later in the year, and if he really wants to make the most of his talent, he’ll finally step away from the company he’s been with for over a decade. There are so many dream matches awaiting Ziggler out there, so it needs to happen, as he will probably be replaced by someone like Drew McIntyre or Andrade “Cien” Almas either way.

11 Gone – Baron Corbin

via givemesport.com

Baron Corbin was once a prized young star for the WWE, and although he’s never been a fantastic in-ring performer, he’s been adequate, and with a great character, good in-ring presence and one of the coolest finishers we’ve seen in quite some time, it looked like he’d be a top heel in WWE in no time. Unfortunately, that hasn’t exactly panned out since he made his transition to the main roster, and with the backstage heat he acquired in 2017, he was treated terribly on screen, and it’s just taken a lot of the shine off of him. Sure, he could build it all back with time, but he’s just another boring guy at the moment, and it’s unlikely that that will ever change.

10 Want Back – Rey Mysterio

Rey Mysterio made a huge return in the 2018 Royal Rumble match, and the commentary team made note of the fact that Mr. 619 looked in better shape than he had in his entire career. Despite a recent injury, it’s almost a certainty that he returns to the WWE in the near future. The rumors have been spreading that the two sides are in negotiation, and despite Rey’s New Japan adventures, in which he vowed to wrestle for the company soon, he’s going to return to the WWE, and we can only imagine how many fantastic matches he’s going to have. AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Shinsuke Nakamura and the entirety of the Cruiserweight Division are all dream opponents for the Lucha legend, and although his career is coming to an end, with good booking, this could be one of the greatest runs of his entire career.

9 Gone – Jinder Mahal

via Sportskeeda.com

Jinder Mahal was in the WWE for several years, but no matter what he did, fans just didn’t care, and he was released, but the WWE brought him back as a part of the latest brand split and pulled one of the most shocking moves we’ve seen in quite some time, as they pushed him to the main event, even giving him the WWE Championship, but he’s terrible, and we’ve all just had enough by this point. His matches are all slow, methodic and quite boring, and although he’s no longer in the main event, he’s being pushed as a big part of SmackDown, and he needs to go away. With so much talent waiting down in NXT, Mahal is just taking up a spot that someone else could use, and he needs to be released before WrestleMania 35, because I simply can’t take another Mahal vs. Orton match.

8 Want Back – Trish Stratus

TrishStratusRR2018

Until Charlotte Flair retires, Trish Stratus will always be considered as the greatest female wrestler in WWE history, and after her return in the firs- ever women’s Royal Rumble, she proved that she’s in as good a shape as ever, so one final run to give us dream matches against the entire current roster would be incredible, especially if it culminated in a huge singles match at WrestleMania 35. Trish is now living a happy life after wrestling, but the ovation she received at the Rumble has to be tempting to her, and with such an emphasis on women’s wrestling these days, we need to see her return for one final run. It may or may not happen, but the fans would be incredibly receptive to some more Stratusfaction, and quite frankly, Vince McMahon would be a huge fan of the idea too, so if they push hard enough, we may be seeing Trish yet again.

7 Gone - Kane

via wwe.com

Kane has been around the WWE for so long, as someone who was once one of the biggest parts of the Attitude Era, but these days, we just don’t care about the character, and with his ventures into politics well under way, it’s time for the character to officially retire. He doesn’t perform at a full-time level anymore, due to these political aspirations, but when he does return, like he did before WrestleMania in a segment with John Cena, it just falls flat, and with plenty of monsters in the WWE, they no longer need him. It’s unlikely that he’ll be fired, as he’s been such a loyal performer for the WWE, but a retirement and transition into a backstage role is a must, because we just don’t believe in him at all anymore.

6 Want Back - Batista

Batista is one of the biggest stars of WWE’s Ruthless Aggression Era, and although his last return didn’t exactly go to plan, he’s discussed the possibility of another return and subsequent retirement run, and with both he and Triple H (Dave’s preferred opponent for this one final run) getting up there in age, WrestleMania 35 is the time to do it. Hopefully Batista can enjoy his run this time, and perhaps give us some matches against the likes of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles and others, but one thing is for sure, Batista needs to come back. Sure, we didn’t always get along last time, especially after he won the Royal Rumble, but he’s been great for so long, and a goodbye letter in one final run for the WWE Universe would be a fantastic way to finish a great career in the WWE, so he can continue giving his all to Hollywood.

5 Gone – Brock Lesnar

via whatculture.com

We all thought that WrestleMania 34 would be the final match in Brock Lesnar’s WWE career, but he shocked the world by defeating a bloody Roman Reigns. It’s now been confirmed that he signed a new contract before the big show, but thankfully for all the fans that are sick of a part-time Universal Champion, it’s unlikely he’ll be with the WWE for much longer. He’s got a bout planned with Reigns at the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, and beyond that, there are rumors of a contest with the returning Bobby Lashley at SummerSlam, and then finally, it seems Lesnar will be returning to the UFC. Sure, he’s had a fantastic career in the WWE, but as of late, it’s quite obvious that he just doesn’t care, and that the fans are starting to turn on him due to his schedule and poor performances. Hopefully we’ll get our wish of no Lesnar and a full-time Universal Champion before WrestleMania 35.

4 Want Back - Cody

via triplem.co.au

Cody Rhodes is the son of one of the greatest wrestlers to ever grace a squared-circle, and he came to a fair amount of success in the WWE, but it wasn’t enough for him, and he bet on himself, heading to the independent scene, where he’s become bigger and better than ever. Despite all this success, there has to be temptation to return to the company that made him famous. Right now, Rhodes is one of the best heels in the entirety of independent wrestling, and he’s just getting better for promotions like Ring of Honor and New Japan, and he’s making fantastic money as a member of Bullet Club, but the WWE have always given second chances, and this time around, they have to treat Cody like a star. It may not happen for another few years, but Cody is going to return to the WWE, and we’d love it to be now while he’s in his prime.

3 Gone – Titus Worldwide

via wrestling-edge.com

The team of Apollo and Titus O’Neil should have been stars in the WWE, akin to what Titus once was as part of the Prime Time Players, but the WWE just aren’t interested in giving them anything significant to do. Despite their talent, they have barely any charisma or crowd support, and the WWE doesn’t value tag teams at all anyway, so they might as well move on from them. In backstage segments, they can be quite entertaining at times, but beyond that, they have no future or potential in the WWE, and with all that Apollo achieved on the independents, he could again be back in WWE in the future as a star. As for Titus, he’s been with the WWE for quite some time, but he hasn’t improved as an in-ring performer much at all, and with the likes of Bobby Lashley, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, etc. on the roster, he just doesn’t have a place at all.

2 Want Back – CM Punk

via mmamania.com

This one should be obvious, although it’s very unlikely to happen, due to his career in the UFC and his disdain for Triple H and the WWE. But if there is any big name that we’d love to have back for WrestleMania 35, it’s the Straight Edge Savior, CM Punk. Sure, he may have a bit of ring rust by now, but Punk seems to be in the best shape of his life, and with so many dream matches now in the WWE (AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Aleister Black, Adam Cole, Shinsuke Nakamura, etc.), it has to be somewhat tempting for the man who made his name on the independents before becoming a huge star in the WWE. It’s very unlikely as we said, as the more likely option would be seeing him join The Young Bucks and friends with their All In show, but from all reports, Punk doesn’t miss the WWE, so we can all just pray that something changes between now and then.