Wrestlers in WWE have become more unhappy than ever before when it comes to how the promotion utilizes talent. WWE signing huge television rights deals and finding more success internationally is making the company more money than any other time in its history. They have used this success to sign as many stars as possible to contracts, despite not having grand plans for most of them.
With the latest change of the wild card rule, we're seeing even fewer wrestlers showcased on Raw and SmackDown, since the top names from each brand move back and forward now. All these factors have led to wrestlers wasting the prime of their careers in WWE without a plan that appeases them. Let's take a look at some of the biggest WWE names that have publicly expressed their unhappiness with the company and their position within it.
10 Sasha Banks
The most popular recent instance of a wrestler having enough of WWE’s plan for her is Sasha Banks. A long journey for Banks and Bayley to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship ended after just a few weeks of the first ever title reign.
Banks decided to request her release following the team’s WrestleMania loss to the Iiconics. We have not seen Sasha on WWE television since WrestleMania and she clearly doesn’t want to wrestle there again.
9 Cedric Alexander
The decision to call up Cedric Alexander from 205 Live’s Cruiserweight division to the Raw roster was met with optimism. Ali had great matches with Daniel Bryan after his call-up from 205 Live, but Alexander has not received the same opportunity.
Aside from a match with Cesaro, Alexander has yet to have a legitimate singles match. He is now just a part of the 24/7 title scene, chasing R-Truth with the other wrestlers failing to get television time.
8 Karl Anderson
One of the wrestlers rumored to be waiting for his contract to expire with WWE is Karl Anderson. The belief is that both he and his tag team partner Luke Gallows will leave the company, to either make a move back to New Japan or to join their friends in AEW.
Anderson was considered one of the best wrestlers in the world for NJPW, but WWE has done nothing to show that.
7 Luke Harper
The underrated Luke Harper was an important member of the Wyatt Family, but WWE has done little with him in recent years. Harper’s solo opportunities featured great matches in the Intercontinental Championship picture, and later in a feud involving Randy Orton and A.J. Styles.
The road to recovery from an injury featured Harper getting cleared before WrestleMania 35 and expecting big plans when returning. Harper instead competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, with zero plans moving forward. Vince McMahon reportedly did not want to use Harper, and Harper responded by publicly requesting his release.
6 Mike and Maria Kanellis
The prior work of Mike and Maria Kanellis featured them working well as an act for Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling and New Japan. WWE signed them with enough confidence to have them skip NXT straight to the main roster.
Maria and Mike have been a part of the 205 Live roster in recent months, with little fanfare. It is very likely the couple will leave WWE to return to an old home or start fresh with AEW.
5 Matt Hardy
WWE barely features Matt Hardy on television after his brother Jeff Hardy suffered an injury, forcing them to relinquish the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Matt is clearly not happy about the lack of use the company has for him on either Raw or SmackDown.
Hardy believes he still has something to offer wrestling after his successful “Broken” character made him a top free agent before returning to WWE.
4 Liv Morgan
Liv Morgan has become one of the most underrated women in WWE, due to the company not using her at all. WWE decided to split up the Riott Squad, with Morgan moving to SmackDown. None of the three ladies have had much of a showcase since the Superstar Shake-up.
Morgan has not even appeared on SmackDown within the first few months on the brand. Liv is young with a lot of potential, but WWE has dropped the ball with countless others to fit that bill.
3 Sheamus
The splitting up of The Bar now sees Cesaro in the Raw mid-card picture, while Sheamus has been sitting at home as part of the SmackDown roster. Sheamus was once viewed as a top name in WWE, in the tier of names like John Cena, Randy Orton and CM Punk.
Fans never believed in him as a world champion and he continued to fall back down to the mid-card. Batista revealed in an interview with Pro Wrestling Sheet that he had a recent conversation with Sheamus, referencing his frustration with WWE’s booking destroying any chance he had. The rumors of retirement for Sheamus certainly make sense if he’s still unhappy.
2 The Revival
WWE is very hot and cold on how to book the tag team of Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. NXT fans viewed The Revival as one of the best tag teams in the world due to their great matches. The main roster run on Raw has been a mixed bag, though.
They have now won the Raw Tag Team Championship on two occasions, but the belts mean very little with the way the tag division is booked. Both Dawson and Wilder have referenced their displeasure for WWE trying to humiliate them in past segments.
1 Rusev
WWE is barely showcasing Rusev on television at all anymore. The tag team of Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura with Lana showed potential, but that has been put on the backburner with the wild card rule limiting spots for wrestlers, especially on the SmackDown brand.
Rusev had a small run with huge momentum, as fans loved the “Rusev Day” chant and slogan. WWE still did not buy into him as a bigger star,though.