4 Recent WWE Releases You Didn't Know Have Retired

As we have mentioned countless times before, the WWE and professional wrestling, in general, is an absolutely cutthroat business, and only the "cream of the crop" make it to the top. With so much competition these days, wrestlers are trying harder than ever to stand out from the rest of the pack, and the WWE, in turn, has far superior talent to choose from for their rosters than ever before. With that being the case, if a WWE Superstar fails to catch fire and is floundering on Raw or SmackDown, Vince McMahon will waste little time in releasing that said talent during the WWE's annual "spring cleaning" -- even if it's the WWE creative's own fault for the Superstar floundering to begin with.

Aside from the competitive aspect of WWE, the company has some strict rules in place to keep their image clean and "advertiser-friendly", so any rules broken instantly places a Superstar in the dreaded dog house -- quite often, eventually leading to a release or firing from the company. Despite the fact that the Independent wrestling scene is hotter than ever, quite a few former WWE stars have failed to make an impact elsewhere once gone from the bright lights of World Wrestling Entertainment, and many have actually hung up the boots quietly following their WWE firing. Today, we are going to be taking a look at 4 recent WWE releases you didn't know have retired from the business.

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#4 Summer Rae

Summer Rae was undoubtedly one of the most attractive women's wrestlers in the company during her six year stay with the company (including developmental), and she was fantastic as Fandango's infamous dance partner. While Summer didn't end up making a huge impact as an in-ring wrestler (partly due to WWE's creative team as well as Rae's multiple injuries), Summer Rae was still a memorable female performer who added some spice and "Diva-like" flair to the division.

However, Summer Rae's lengthy run with the WWE would come to a close in late 2017, as Summer was released from the company following a year of inactivity. Although Summer Rae tried wrestling outside the WWE on the indies, after a couple of brief appearances, Summer ended up quietly retiring from the ring to instead pursue a career in modeling -- so far, Summer Rae has done well in her new field with many high-profile modeling gigs.

#3 Damien Sandow aka Damien "Mizdow"

Damien Sandow is unquestionably one of the most underrated WWE Superstars in recent memory...

When you think of recent WWE releases who had all the tools required to be a top star in the company, Damien Sandow's name will likely come to mind. "The Intellectual Savior Of The Masses" had everything required to be a main event level talent, as Sandow could wrestle, he had charisma, presence and certainly last but not least, mic or promo skills. For a period of time, the WWE ran with Damien Sandow as a legitimate "star in the making", as Damien went as far as capturing the Money In The Bank briefcase -- unfortunately, the WWE lost faith in Sandow for whatever reason and nixed any World Title plans...

Damien Sandow would soon find himself falling down the ranks in WWE and eventually becoming a comedy act, hence why his release or firing wasn't very surprising. Following his release from WWE in 2016, Damien Sandow would continue to wrestle on the Indies and in Impact Wrestling for a period of time (in hopes of revitalizing his career), but things didn't pan out as Sandow had expected, and he has recently retired from the business to focus on his budding acting career.

#2 Eva Marie

Eva Marie chose a similar career path compared to Summer Rae following retirement...

The relationships between wrestling fans and Eva Marie is definitely love and hate, because fans despised Eva considering she was very bad in the ring, yet adored "All Red Everything" for being incredibly attractive -- likely one of the reasons as to why Vince McMahon kept giving Eva Marie chances to succeed on the main roster and down in NXT. However, it was clear right from the start that professional wrestling was not a very suitable career for Eva, and she eventually parted ways with the WWE back in 2017.

The reasoning behind Eva Marie's release from WWE stems from the fact that Eva desired to pursue other career aspirations, and since she left, Eva Marie has retired from the business. Although some of you may have believed this was inevitable, it's probable that at least a few of you believed Eva would continue wrestling on the Indies here and there. Regardless, aside from her modeling work, Eva Marie has launched her own clothing line NEM Fashion which has seemingly been a success thus far...

#1 Enzo Amore

Enzo Amore may not go down in the sports entertainment history books as being one of the most gifted wrestlers of all time ring-wise, but he was undoubtedly one of the best mic workers in recent memory. Paired alongside the 7-foot tall Big Cass, Enzo Amore was primed for a successful career in WWE despite his shortcomings in the ring. However, both Big Cass and Enzo Amore have found themselves released from the WWE for two different reasons -- Big Cass for his backstage attitude issues, and Enzo Amore for the rape allegations.

Regardless, Enzo's WWE career and Cruiserweight Championship reign was abruptly ended in early 2018 following the controversial accusations, and without a doubt, the WWE will not be bringing back Enzo Amore to the company anytime soon, if ever. Since his release, Enzo Amore has spent a lot of his time clearing up his name from the allegations, as well as pursuing a career in hip-hop. Despite making a few wrestling convention appearances, Enzo Amore has surprisingly permanently retired from the ring -- Enzo claims he will never wrestle another match no matter the pay check.

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Edited by Rohit Nath