In WWE, your time is limited. Sure, as we near WrestleMania week and the WWE Hall of Fame, fans are often forced to think about wrestlers who had extremely wonderful careers. These are the WWE Superstars who not only defied the odds of making it in the biggest company wrestling has to offer, but excelled and became recognized for their contributions. Not every wrestler is this lucky.
While some current WWE talents may still be considered Hall of Fame worthy, when WWE no longer has a use for you, the exit is not often ceremonious. The company is so busy pushing their biggest draws — AJ Styles, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman or Ronda Rousey — they forget about some of the talents who got them where they are. Where is the love for wrestlers like The Big Show, Kane, and The Undertaker?
Contrary to that, there are a number of current WWE Superstars who won't be considered Hall of Fame worthy and by many measures, their stays in WWE were not terribly successful. In some cases, it's not the WWE sending these superstars away, it's these talents choosing to leave for greener pastures. John Cena may bolt for Hollywood, Brock Lesnar may return to the UFC, and a talented announcer like Renee Young may go to ESPN if WWE can't keep her busy.
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Below is a list of 20 current WWE Superstars who could likely be headed out of the WWE. Some will simply leave or be pushed out of the company. Others will be leaving the business of wrestling altogether.
20 No Future In WWE: Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler already tried once to leave and WWE gave him a hefty raise to stay and take more losses. The reality is, just because the company doesn't want someone to go elsewhere and be a star, doesn't mean they have a productive use for them and their long-term future isn't secure. Ziggler won't be with the WWE long. His current one-year deal that saw him make an extra $500K is more about not letting him shine than it is about making him a star. For Ziggler, it's about getting some money and having the freedom to pursue other options. This contract was a quick payday and little else.
When Ziggler does leave, expect him to work as an actor, comedian and in other pursuits. We'd say he'd leave wrestling altogether but he's talented and there are a number of independent companies that can give him the light schedule he wants, help him make some extra bucks and actually be appreciated for what he offers.
19 No Future In Wrestling: Kane
Kane has had a wonderful career. After coming back from two failed gimmicks (fake Diesel and Isaac Yankem DDS) he made the character of Kane bigger than anyone could have ever expected. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he calls it a career and that's likely coming soon.
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Kane is aging, but more than that, he's a busy man outside WWE. He's got political aspirations. Glenn Jacobs (Kane's real name) is running for mayor of Knox County in 2018 and there's certainly a chance he'll win. He's also run a successful insurance company and been very smart with his money. It's far more likely he does things outside of wrestling than ever work for a wrestling company that isn't WWE.
18 No Future In WWE: Daniel Bryan
How and when Daniel Bryan exits the WWE is really the question most people are asking these days. There are few who believe that Daniel Bryan will close out his career with WWE because they simply won't medically clear him to wrestle and in the ring is where he truly wants to be. Right now Bryan is doing his best to be a soldier for the company and carry out the storylines written for him as the SmackDown Live GM but it's not where his heart is and those storylines are getting weaker by the episode.
When his contract runs out in WWE, expect them to make a pitch to keep him from going elsewhere but if they don't offer him a wrestling deal, he'll likely not take it. Bryan loves wrestling and he'll go where a company lets him wrestle; even if that means him seriously injuring himself or taking a massive pay cut.
17 No Future In Wrestling: Mark Henry
It's hard to say if Mark Henry is officially retired from WWE or not but there seems to be speculation out there that he is. If so, what happened? There was not a single word by WWE on his status, no press release, no in-ring goodbye, and nothing to suggest he's finished with the company or wrestling? That's a shame.
READ MORE: Mark Henry Officially Retires From WWE
Mark Henry did what few people could successfully do. He came from a different background with no pro-wrestling experience. After struggling, he turned his career around in the face of poor odds and a huge money contract. But, when he re-signed, that money virtually disappeared off the table and while Henry loves WWE, he's also very proud. Any new contract for wrestling these days would be pennies on the dollar and likely enough to make him walk away and try something new.
16 No Future In WWE: Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt should be one of WWE's biggest stars. His character was an absolute goldmine for the company and the WWE threw it all away making him too quirky and losing to wrestlers who didn't deserve the push the way he did. Now, it might be too late to salvage what's left of a fantastic idea.
It's a virtual guarantee that if Wyatt ever left to pursue wrestling in another promotion that he would be that promotion's biggest draw. He's creative, interesting and unique and with the freedom to be himself and not a watered down robot that WWE likes to produce, the sky is the limit for him. On his current trajectory, Wyatt is done within a year or two with WWE. Just thinking about what he could have become is sad.
15 No Future In Wrestling: David Otunga
David Otunga was supposed to be much more for WWE than he currently is. Some of that is his fault and some of that is not. An NXT graduate in the early years of what NXT used to be, Otunga had the look to be an attraction for the company but he didn't have the charisma. Today, he's wound up as an announcer and panelist before pay-per-views and while he's ok, he's not terribly strong at the job.
What really makes us think his time in wrestling is coming to a close is his propensity to want to do movies, use his law degree and his now very public battle with ex-wife Jennifer Hudson. That divorce is going to take a lot of his time. She's using wrestling as a way to try and turn the courts against him in his custody battle. It's silly but it might be enough to make him leave and do something else.
14 No Future In WWE: Neville
Neville may be coming back to WWE, but does he really want to? From everything insiders are hearing, Neville and WWE are about as far apart as any two sides can be and he's just aching for the opportunity to get out of his WWE contract and get back to wrestling for other companies. He could be a huge star in Japan, ROH or elsewhere but he walked out on WWE and they're not about to let him loose while still under contract.
READ MORE: Rumor: Neville To Return To WWE Soon
Neville may live out the rest of his days in WWE sitting out or he may come back to live up to his legal obligation but once either one of those two time frames expire, he's gone and he won't think twice about leaving. Neville is talented but unhappy. He's got a huge future somewhere but it doesn't seem to be in WWE.
13 No Future In Wrestling: The Undertaker
The Undertaker may be the most respected professional wrestler in the history of the business. There may be some more decorated and there may be some who are considered better "wrestlers", but there likely isn't another star who made a bigger impact in one company than The Undertaker made in WWE. That said, he's clearly playing up fairy 18 of an 18-hole round of golf and when he's done wrestling, he'll walk away.
The Undertaker has nothing left to prove. He's already given back to wrestling in a way no one else ever can and he can't move as a wrestler that would make it in another promotion. He's WWE through and through and that means when he's done (which could be now), he'll be done for good.
12 No Future In WWE: Dana Brooke
Dana Brooke has talent but it hasn't been recognized in WWE. She can talk but she really isn't given the opportunity to. She has potential as an in-ring performer but she's inconsistent and for some reason, her best work is with a faction that doesn't have much of a future (Titus Worldwide) and all of the members of the group could be closer to saying goodbye than making strides in their WWE careers.
Brooke just hasn't hopped off the page in WWE like the company might have hoped. When they signed her in NXT, she was looked at as a serious player in their women's division but to date, she's not lived up to the hype. WWE may try one or two more things with her but it's hard to believe she'll get a real shot at anything juicy. Because she's not terrible, another company will pick her up when WWE chooses to let her go.
11 No Future In Wrestling: Big Show
The Big Show is set to make a return to WWE but what can fans expect? More of the same in all likelihood. He's not a serious threat as a big man and he flip-flops his allegiances in an effort to put over WWE's next big thing. He's a company man but the company doesn't have much left for him to do.
Big Show was a fantastic find for WWE and when he came over from WCW, he was one of the WWE's biggest acquisitions (literally). He helped take WWE back to a position of dominance and he's been with them ever since. That said, his time in wrestling is coming to a close. He's older and bigger — which for a man of his size means a lot of pain. It looks like he'll be saying his goodbyes sooner than later.
10 No Future In WWE: Hideo Itami
Hideo Itami has to be considered one of WWE's biggest flops over the past two years. He was arguably NXT's biggest acquisition in its early stages and the red carpet was rolled out for him considering his reputation in Japan. But, he failed to make a mark and was injured often and early in his NXT career. In fact, he was out so much, most of the fanbase forgot about him.
When he did come back, he was out of shape, didn't have the effect he was supposed to because WWE had found other stars from Japan in Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura and they proved to be able to do what he couldn't. He's now on the main roster with 205 Live and no one seems to care. The writing is on the wall and he'll likely wind up wrestling back in Japan again.
9 No Future In Wrestling: Maria And Mike Kanellis
It was great to see Maria return to WWE. With her came a very respected independent talent and her husband Michael Bennett (Mike Kanellis). There was real potential they could be a successful duo in WWE and provide more depth on the roster. But, they, like many before them haven't had success since returning. Given a terrible lovers-guru type gimmick, Mike was immediately jobbed out to other SmackDown Live stars and before they could blaze their own trail, Maria announced she was pregnant. Since their gimmick doesn't really work without both of them on television, neither have been used in months.
The fact that Maria is having babies is wonderful news for them as a family but it might spell bad news for them as WWE Superstars. The likelihood she returns to wrestling is slim and if Mike does, he'll need to come back as a completely different character. WWE might just choose not to bother and he wasn't a big enough star to be a game-changer elsewhere.
8 No Future In WWE: Apollo
Apollo has proved that in WWE, athletic ability and "the look" isn't enough to get you over. Apollo has next to no skills on the mic and in a company that wants its talents to make the WWE "fall in love" with their personalities, Apollo isn't succeeding. He seems like a very nice young man too, so it's kind of a shame.
The company recently tried to give him a minor push in a program that he worked with Sheamus and Cesaro but that came to a close just recently. He's not winning the popular vote and while he's doing what is asked of him by WWE, he's not taking the much-needed step forward. If Apollo doesn't make some strides here, he's likely on the shortlist of being "future endeavored". He's still young though so a company like Impact or ROH would take him in a heartbeat.
7 No Future In Wrestling: John Cena
It could take some time before John Cena transitions out of wrestling and to his credit, he seems to love the business in a way that few others have before him. But, the opportunities he's getting and the speed in which he's becoming a movie star means that a businessman like Cena will understand that sometimes you go where the money is because his shelf life as a movie star may be shorter than the average shelf life of a pro-wrestler.
Can anyone see Cena really ever working for a company that isn't WWE? If Cena leaves WWE, he'll leave wrestling and he'll only do so because he's just being handed too many good opportunities to do movies and other projects. He'll show up as much as he can for as long as he can, but he won't be able to keep up that pace forever.
6 No Future In WWE: Paul Ellering
Paul Ellering has a storied history in the wrestling business but his time in WWE is likely coming to a close. He was an interesting choice when teamed with The Authors of Pain in NXT because prior to that, he hadn't been seen in WWE since working with the Legion of Doom. With the AOP close to being called up to the main roster, what is the likelihood that Ellering comes with them? Probably slim to none.
The Authors of Pain work as a team without Ellering and in his age and seeing as that he doesn't rep any other teams or Superstars, WWE may bring up the tag team but not the manager. If that's the case, Ellering is likely done in WWE. It was great to see him again but his stay was likely never meant to be a long one. He does have enough experience that he could work in wrestling in another capacity.
5 No Future In Wrestling: Renee Young
Renee Young may be one of the more talented personalities in WWE that is not a wrestler. She's also extremely driven to succeed, be useful and stay busy. WWE isn't filling her needs in many of those areas and it won't be long before another company comes calling with an offer she finds too good to turn down.
Since WWE canceled Talking Smack and Unfiltered Young has been mildly vocal about her displeasure over what WWE has for her to do. She loves the business but ESPN has already inquired about bringing her in and she'd love to be the next Kelly Ripa of daytime television. Young will be a big star, but if she does that with WWE or the wrestling industry is still a huge question mark.
4 No Future In WWE: Titus O'Neil
Titus O'Neil is basically one more mistake away from being fired by WWE. He may not be in the doghouse any longer (after joking around during the Daniel Bryan goodbye/retirement segment) but WWE doesn't look at him the same way they used to and he's not gotten a decent push since that day.
He's moving back and forth between gimmicks and ideas and gaining no traction. He's high on the list of wrestlers who will be on the latest rounds of budget cuts when WWE does their annual trimming of the roster. O'Neil is a matter of when and not if in the WWE. He may move onto something completely different but the odds of him getting another shot first with another wrestling company are high.
3 No Future In Wrestling: The Rock
To call The Rock a current WWE Superstar might be somewhat of a stretch but he is on their Superstars page and he does make the odd appearance for the company at large shows. The reality is, for Dwayne Johnson, WWE is now another promotional vehicle for his movies and his acting and producing career is where his future is. He's not a wrestler anymore.
The Rock is one of the busiest men in Hollywood and as such, he's going to move more and more away from wrestling. It's a matter of time before fans never really see him at all in a WWE ring and he's too busy to even show up at a WrestleMania. If he can't make it to the biggest stage in WWE and for the biggest payday, there's nothing left in wrestling for him to do.
2 No Future In WWE: R-Truth
Another member of the roster in WWE who is likely to be a budget cut, R-Truth is way older than people think and been around in WWE far longer than people realize. He's not offering much these days besides some entertainment at live shows and while that has some value in WWE, it's not high on the priority list of those WWE should keep around.
R-Truth also isn't really a risk of going elsewhere and being a star. His exit would never come back to haunt WWE so there's not much to lose by saying goodbye. He never proved to be much more than a lower-card guy and while he was entertaining, he's not in the long-term WWE plans in any way. R-Truth may slowly disappear and few will notice.
1 No Future In Wrestling: Brock Lesnar
Fans are learning just now that Brock Lesnar may be leaving WWE again for the UFC. He's used the tactic of threatening to leave before but something this time feels different. WWE hasn't put much behind him as their Universal Champion and he's apparently threatening to make WWE change their WrestleMania 34 plans because he's not getting what he wants out of his contract demands.
WWE bought into paying him huge money for limited appearances when his draw was at an all-time high but that's really the case any longer. If he wants too much money or he's going to get better money in UFC, he'll probably jump and if he holds up WrestleMania, WWE will likely tell him to go and not let the door kick him on the way out. Lesnar has always been money and comfort over wrestling. He has no real passion for the business but he's a smart businessman who's used it to make a small fortune. When that well runs dry so will his involvement.