Top 5 WWE Superstars that were sent back to developmental 

#3. Former WWE Superstar The Big Show

The Big Show

Although The Big Show is a legend in WWE history, he was once punished harshly for his bad habits. In 2000, Vince McMahon himself decided to demote the giant superstar to developmental. McMahon's decision came out of fear that Show's unhealthy lifestyle could end his career, if not his life.

it's not every day you see batista get powerbombed, but here it is down in ovw against the big show when he was better known as leviathan pic.twitter.com/dECXVfz4Jw

— crash and burn holly (@gifapalooza) November 29, 2020

At that time, The Big Show had developed unhealthy eating habits and was also smoking. He gained a lot of weight and was unable to perform at the necessary level. According to Bruce Prichard, McMahon felt the only way to straighten him up was to send him back to OVW, WWE's developmental brand at the time.

Although The Big Show was frustrated by the decision, he confessed it turned out to be a "humbling experience":

"What I had was taken away. It was humbling. I went from walking in Mr. Big s–t – I had a $50,000 Dodge Dually with semi alcoas on it – and Jim Cornette told me to pull the ring. Like, my truck’s worth more than your entire territory (...) I got my education that most everyone gets in the business before they ever get in, mine happened after I had already tasted a little bit of success. And that was a hard pill to swallow, a pill that at that time I think I needed to swallow," The Big Show said on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions.

The Big Show's demotion to OVW served its purpose. He got rid of many of his bad habits before returning to the main roster. He went on to become one of the top guys in WWE for many years.