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Luke Harper is no longer with WWE. After a solid run with The Wyatt Family and an underwhelming run with the Bludgeon Brothers, Luke Harper announced that he would be stepping away from WWE:
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In this article, I will try and make sense of why this happened and gauge what could have caused Harper to step away from the company. Harper was a lifelong WWE fan and many considered him to be one of the better big men in the company. He could do things in the ring that many men his size cannot.
Luckily, there is more than one promotion where one can earn a full-time living as a sports entertainer in today's age. Harper can find success across many a promotion outside the WWE as well.
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Let's hope him all the best for all his future endeavors
#5 Not really getting any younger
I don't mean it in a derogatory way. Luke Harper said it himself in a statement that he released some time ago regarding his future in the business of sports entertainment. He is 39 years old and he is a family man who loves the business.
So, if you consider the fact that he's been cleared for a few months and he's yet to make TV except for a few special appearances (Axxess and WrestleMania, more on that later), and a few Live Events, you know why Harper may have wanted to leave the company altogether. There is more than one avenue to earn a living and Harper may still be friends with his independent wrestling buddies.
Other people who've left WWE have gone on to thrive outside the company, from Johnny Impact to Chris Jericho. There is no reason why Harper can't do the same as well.
#4 Unceremonious return at WrestleMania 35
For a decorated superstar like Luke Harper to make his return to television should have been a very big deal. And yet, at WrestleMania 35, he was a part of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal as just another performer. If that's not an indication of how much your worth is in the company, I don't know what really is.
Harper is a very passionate individual as we've seen from his Twitter posts. We know that he really cares about the business, but at the same time, there comes a point where you have to care about your own business. If you're benched even though you've been cleared for a few months, there is certainly a problem.
There comes a point when even the passionate WWE superstar believes that enough is enough. Harper may have reached that breaking point and called it quits.
#3 AEW
There is certainly a feeling of anticipation and excitement in the air as Double Or Nothing approaches. WWE isn't the only big player in town anymore and led by Cody and The Young Bucks, All Elite Wrestling is going to give WWE a run for its money very soon.
Because it promises to be a talent-friendly organization that has promised storyline payoffs, I'm guessing that it seems like an enticing prospect for the current roster to make the jump at this point. Chris Jericho and Jim Ross have even spoken about how well they're getting paid, and that could be a big motivation too.
Who knows if All Elite Wrestling will be the promised land like it promises to be. But at this point in time, it is certainly a big draw for the roster.
Harper knows that if he does sign with AEW, they may use his skills far better.
#2 The locker room atmosphere is not positive
Like I've mentioned in all of my articles, the WWE locker room is filled to the brim with talent. So many of the employees in the company have dreamed of working for the company at some point. And yet, a lot of them are also willing to step away from the locker room for greener pastures.
With Dean Ambrose and Sasha Banks being two notable names who've been in the news recently owing to their dissatisfaction with regard to how they're being booked, it's not hard to assume that Luke Harper may want to follow their example. I mean you only need one person to show you the way, for the exodus to really begin. The Revival too was not very happy with how they were being booked.
Harper must have decided to follow in the footsteps of Dean Ambrose. The rest, as they say, is history.
#1 No chance of a Wyatt Family reunion
Luke Harper did have a few ill-fated singles run where he even put on some good matches. However, WWE just could not conceptualize a character for him that would set him apart from his old Wyatt Family persona.
As much as we like him, Harper was at his most relevant back when he was a member of the Wyatt Family. He has not been the same since the unit split up.
And now there's no chance of a reunion of the family. Rowan is now allied with Daniel Bryan, and being the muscle for Bryan seems like the ideal role for him. We've seen many vignettes that point to a Bray Wyatt return and I'm assuming he's coming back as a solo act.
There is literally nothing for Luke Harper to do in a roster that is already stacked to the very brim.
