10 WWE Superstars and their reasons for leaving

No matter which profession you are in, you are destined to come across hurdles. While some of these would be minor, there are a few hurdles so big that they drag you down and force you to leave the company.That applies to WWE too; a lot of superstars have left the company due to some unfortunate obstacles, and the business would have looked completely different if they had decided to stick around.Lets keep the what if question aside for now though, and take a look at some superstars and the reasons that made them leave WWE.

#1 Rey Mysterio

Rey Mysterio’s decision to leave the company created a lot of buzz on the internet. He didn’t get a proper farewell like he should have, and the reason for that was the friction that he had with the WWE.

After facing Bad News Barrett in January 2014, Rey took some time off to heal his wrist injury. While he was out, WWE apparently extended his contract without his consent, and this led to a rift between the two parties. Rey refused to return to the WWE even after he recovered from the injury, reports surfaced that he wanted to return to Mexico.

These rumours were further fueled when he appeared in AAA and Lucha underground tapings. In February 2015, Rey’s contract with WWE ended and he ressumed his career in Mexico after that.

#2 The Rock

It doesn't take a lot to figure out why The Rock left the WWE. After being one of the mainstays of the business during the Attitude Era, Dwayne Jonson made his acting breakthrough with 'The Mummy Returns'. The box office success of the film made him a huge star and soon after that he took up the lead role in The Scorpion King.

The Rock returned to WWE after wrapping up the shooting of that movie, but his new spell was short-lived. After a feud with Steve Austin and Goldberg, The Rock decided to leave WWE to concentrate on his Hollywood career.

In Hollywood, he has starred in many successful films including acting in the Fast and the Furious franchise. He later returned to WWE for a brief stint, but even then his acting career remained his priority.

#3 Goldberg

Goldberg came into WWE after becoming a huge star in WCW. Although he had limited skills in the squared circle, Goldberg went on to become a major draw for the WCW during the Monday Night Wars thanks to some great booking by Eric Bischoff.

When WCW folded, Goldberg decided that he should stay away from the wrestling business, but soon enough, he landed up in WWE.

His run in the company did not produce any memorable storylines or feuds. When his one-year contract with Vince McMahon expired, Goldberg refused to renew it due to a plethora of reasons.

The most prominent of those reasons was his lack of love for the business, the friction that he had with Triple H, and the backstage politics in WWE.

However, Goldberg finally returned in 2016 and had another feud with Brock Lesnar. He crushed The Beast Incarnate in 86 seconds in his return match at Survivor Series and then took part in the Royal Rumble, being unsuccessful in winning. He became the Universal Champion over a month later but dropped it a month later at WrestleMania 33 to Brock Lesnar, putting an end to their feud once and for all.

#4 Bret Hart

There is a common misconception in the wrestling community that it was the Montreal Screwjob that pushed Bret Hart away from the WWE. That is true to an extent, but even if it hadn’t happened, Bret would have left for WCW anyway.

Vince McMahon was so high on Bret Hart back in the 90s that he gave him a 20-year contract in 1996. The gimmick, however, soon ran cold and Vince himself encouraged Bret to open talks with WCW. After successful negotiations with Eric Bischoff, Bret was ready to jump ship to WCW, but there was one problem: he was still the WWE Champion.

Vince assumed that Bret would take the WWE Championship to WCW and devalue it, since the Monday Night Wars were on full throttle. That fear made Vince pull off the Montreal Screwjob, and the bridge was officially burnt.

#5 CM Punk

The reason for CM Punk leaving WWE is not a big secret due to Punk’s public rants, but for the sake of refreshing our memories about all the factors that contributed to his exit, Punk deserves a place in this list.

Punk dreamed of becoming a professional wrestler from his teenage years, and worked really hard to reach WWE. However, once he reached the company, he realised it was not the place that he had dreamt of. There was a lot of politics going on backstage, which slowly made Punk less passionate.

WWE failed to meet the medical needs of Punk and at the same time, pushed the part-timers ahead of him. All these factors frustrated Punk and he walked out of the WWE.

#6 Yokozuna

A member of the prestigious Anoa’i family(big names including Roman Reigns, Rikishi, The Usos, The Wild Samoans,etc.), Yokozuna was pushed as a big foreign monster during his run in the WWE. He had matches with almost all the legendary superstars back in the day and also won the WWE Championship on two occasions. His career, however, was derailed later due to his physical condition.

His weight went out of control, which kept him out of the WWE ring for quite some time. He worked hard and lost nearly 100 pounds but still could not clear the medical tests to compete.

Since Yokozuna was not able to compete in his condition, the WWE decided to release him. He had a brief stint in the independent circuit before passing away in 2000.

#7 Alberto Del Rio

The departure of Alberto Del Rio made quite a few headlines. Del Rio was snatched up by WWE back in 2009 after becoming a big draw in Mexico. He was heavily pushed by the company during his early days, and went on to become a main event player soon.

Del Rio's momentum receded as the years passed though, and in 2014 he was going through one of his most forgettable runs. The incident that triggered his release from the WWE, however, didn’t happen between the ropes, but backstage.

Apparently, one of the WWE employees made a racist joke about Del Rio, which made the Mexican angry. Del Rio confronted and allegedly slapped the employee, and he was fired by the company on grounds of unprofessional conduct.

As time passed, WWE realised they needed a Hispanic star in the mix. Eventually, after working matches for Lucha Underground and AAA, Del Rio returned to the WWE and won the US title from Cena, but left the promotion again in 2016.

#8 Stone Cold Steve Austin

Steve Austin is a name without which the history of the WWE would be incomplete. It was his anti-hero gimmick that made the Attitude Era such a huge success story. But surprisingly, Austin left WWE even when he was able to make appearances for the company.

Why? Well, that is the theme of this whole list so here goes: Austin did a CM Punk; no, not the pipe bomb move, but the walking out move.

Austin was not happy with the direction in which WWE was going and he went public about that while he was on contract with the WWE. He walked out of the company soon after that, which resulted in a public outburst from Vince McMahon.

The company dropped his storylines and stopped marketing him, but the issue was resolved later leading to Austin's return. Although he was retired from in-ring competition, Austin stuck around in the WWE as an authority figure till 2005.

WWE could not negotiate a long-term deal for Austin and decided to part ways with him instead.

#9 The Ultimate Warrior

Just like the British Bulldog, the Ultimate Warrior also had numerous spells in the WWE. His first one was arguably the most successful from the lot, as he captured the Intercontinental title and the WWE Championship.

Warrior's rise made him demand high wages for WrestleMania VII, which the WWE agreed, but they suspended him for his behaviour.

Unhappy with the suspension, Warrior resigned from the company, but would later return a year later. This time around, he was released by the company for receiving shipments of growth hormones.

The last spell of the Warrior in the WWE happened in 1996, and it was Vince McMahon who effected the termination this time around after Warrior missed numerous shows. Rumour has it that Warrior missed those matches due to his father's death, but McMahon countered that by saying that Warrior had no close connection with his father.

He died in 2014, days after being inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame.

#10 The British Bulldog

“The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith had four spells in the WWE, and the first of those is worthy of a mention in this list.

His first run in the WWE came in the late 80s. This ended when backstage friction broke out between the British Bulldog and the Rougeau Brothers over a prank they pulled off on “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig. The prank led to a lot of confrontations and backstage fights between the two teams, and the Bulldogs eventually decided to leave the company.

After a short stint in Japan, he made his return to WWE two years later and this time, he was released by the company for receiving shipments of human growth hormones. His third run ended when he decided to jump ship to WCW and the fourth one, due to his drug addiction.

Unfortunately, just two years after his last release from WWE, Smith passed away after suffering a heart attack.

#11 Honourable Mention: Chyna

Chyna's run as the top woman wrestler in the WWE came crashing down when she found a love letter that Stephanie McMahon had sent to Triple H. Chyna was in a relationship with Hunter back then, and when she realized that she was being cheated on, she visited Vince McMahon to discuss the matter.

Vince however already knew about the Stephanie-Triple H relationship and asked Chyna to go home and cool down. Chyna later received her termination papers through fax.

It is not hard to joins the dots here, is it? Chyna later tried her hand in TNA and other promotions but could not reach the level of success that she had at WWE. The Ninth Wonder Of The World sadly passed away on April 20th 2016.

#12 Honourable Mention: Shane McMahon

Why Shane McMahon is not seen in WWE these days is probably a very common question among fans. Despite being the only son of Vince McMahon, he has been keeping a safe distance from the wrestling business.

Shane was a major name in the company throughout the 2000s but in 2010, he decided that he had to break out of his father's shadow. He started to venture into various other businesses and is now the chairman of YOU On Demand while also serving on the Board of Directors of International Sports Management, which represents golfing talents like Rory McIlroy and Ernie Els.

Crazy Shane OMac shocked the world by making a return on RAW and setting up an intriguing match against the Undertaker at WrestleMania 32. To top it all, Vince made it a Hell in a Cell match. The weeks leading up to WrestleMania just got better after the segment on RAW which was by far the best in a while.