10 Wrestlers Who Never Recovered From Their WWE Release
10. Braden Walker
The wrestler formerly known as Braden Walker is one of the most-decorated tag team wrestlers in TNA history. As Chris Harris, he won TNA’s Tag Team Championships on seven different occasions (six with James Storm: his partner in America’s Most Wanted), and looked to be on the rise as a singles star following feuds with Storm and Christian Cage.
His TNA career ended on January 11, 2008, and Walker was snapped-up by WWE less than two weeks later. Things looked to be on the up-and-up for Walker, but it was all downhill following his July debut. As if being assigned one of the most generic “Create-a-Wrestler” names in recent history wasn’t enough, Walker looked to have gained several lbs since leaving TNA, and his brief feud with Armando Estrada never got off the ground.
Walker was released from WWE less than a month after his debut, and if you remember him, chances are it’s for his atrocious catchphrase:-
“Knock, knock.”
“Who’s there?”
“I’m Braden Walker, and I’m going to knock your brains out.”
Walker’s weight gain, bad promos, and uninspiring performances saw him become a laughing stock in WWE, and his career went from bad to worse. His reputation was so damaged that he struggled for indy dates after leaving, and an ill-fated 2011 TNA return lasted just one set of TV tapings. Walker is currently lost in the wrestling wilderness, and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
9. Yoshi Tatsu
Yoshi Tatsu’s career has taken a number of extremely unfortunate turns since his 2002 debut. Once considered one of NJPW’s most solid and reliable midcard performers, Tatsu signed for WWE in 2007, and made his televised debut in 2009. Though it could be argued that WWE never used him to his full potential, he struggled to make an impression on a five-year main roster run, and was released in June 2014.
Yoshi returned to NJPW a few months later, and looked set to resume his role as a strong midcard hand with the company. Sadly, disaster struck while wrestling AJ Styles that November: Tatsu’s head and neck were driven into the match with a botched Styles Clash, and after breaking two bones in his neck and being forced to wear a medical halo for three months, there was a strong chance he’d have to retire.
This fortunately wasn’t the case, and Yoshi made his official in-ring return in April 2016. Sadly, Yoshi’s looked a shade of his former self since making his comeback. His in-ring capabilities have visibly regressed, and his current Triple H imitation act is as baffling as it is laughable. Going so far as to copy The Game’s appearance, ring entrance, and moves, Tatsu has become a failed lower-card comedy act with little prospect of ever moving up the card. He has the security of a contract, but Yoshi’s neck injury has dealt irreparable damage to his career.
8. Brad Maddox
Brad Maddox had a baffling WWE career. Starting-off as a referee in 2012, he rose to prominence by low blowing Ryback to help CM Punk retain his WWE Championship at the Hell in a Cell PPV. Maddox later revealed that his actions were self-motivated and driven by the desire to become a WWE wrestler, but he was thrown from pill to post by Ryback and Randy Orton, ultimately failing to win a wrestler’s contract.
A brief “free agent” story followed, before Maddox was appointed Raw’s Assistant Managing Supervisor in 2013, then the show’s general manager a few months later. He was eventually relieved of his duties after months of routine embarrassment, and was released from his WWE contract after swearing at fans during a dark match.
Though he’s generally regarded as one of the limpest authority figures in WWE history, Maddox was featured incredibly prominently early in his WWE run, and through his spell as GM. He has since seemingly fallen off the face of the Earth despite announcing his intentions of touring the indies as “Mad Braddox” (how inventive), and it’s unclear whether or not he even exists in the wrestling universe any more, aside from his prowrestlingtees.com store.
7. Rikishi
In his heyday, Rikishi was one of WWE’s more entertaining upper-midcard acts. His portly (and that’s being kind) appearance belied his surprising agility and nimbleness, and while the dancing gimmick sounds corny in 2016, it was a huge hit with Attitude Era crowds, and Rikishi & Too Cool were massively over in their prime.
Things took a downturn when Rikishi was laughably revealed as the man who ran over Stone Cold Steve Austin at Survivor Series ‘99. His heel turn failed to connect with the crowd, and while Rikishi would later turn face again, it was clear that his popularity had long since peaked. Rikishi was released by WWE in 2004 after repeated requests from WWE to lose weight, and he headed to the independent circuit.
Unfortunately, Rikishi’s WWE reputation didn’t earn him the appearances he thought they would. He made brief appearances for All Japan Pro Wrestling and Mexico’s AAA, but nothing stuck, and his 2007 TNA run barely lasted two months before Rikishi fell-out with TNA management over a pay rise. Rikishi once again fell into the wrestling abyss, and while he’s made a handful of brief WWE appearances in recent years, his career took a massive nosedive after his WWE release, and he never recovered.
6. Kharma
Amazing Kong was a force of nature on Japan’s women’s wrestling scene, and Awesome Kong goes down as one of the most dominant forces in TNA history, regardless of gender. In her prime, Kong’s size, menace, and powerful moveset made her one of the greatest monster characters in women’s wrestling history. Kong was big, mean, and nasty, and she had the in-ring chops and charisma to back it up.
Her WWE signing should’ve been a home-run for both company and employee, but Kharma never quite worked-out. She signed for WWE in 2011 and made an immediate impact terrorising the Divas division, but became pregnant before having a chance to build-up any real momentum, and wound-up taking some necessary time off.
Tragically, Kharma suffered a miscarriage during her time away from the ring. She fell into a deep depression and wound-up gaining weight and falling out of wrestling shape, and simply wasn’t ready to return to WWE when they needed her back. She was released from her contract in July 2012, and while she’d return to both the indy circuit and TNA, she’s never been able to recover her lost magic.
Mounting back issues have severely diminished her in-ring ability, and Awesome Kong was released from her TNA contract earlier this year after backstage altercation with Reby Sky. Once one of the sport’s most important female athletes, she’s barely a footnote in 2016.
5. Ahmed Johnson
Ahmed Johnson looked like a can’t-miss prospect when he signed for WWE in 1995. A gigantic powerhouse of a man, he claimed the Intercontinental Title within his first year, but struggled to keep-up with his opponents in the ring and proved himself to be rather injury prone. Buff, sloppy in the ring, and with a penchant for rambling, nonsensical promos, Johnson was like the Ultimate Warrior reborn, but his push quickly dried-up.
Once thrust towards the main event, fans saw through Johnson’s lack of sheen and polish, and he floundered in WWE’s midcard prior to joining WCW in 1999. The release was the beginning of the end for Johnson, who was rebranded as “Big T,” but ultimately failed through a lack of meaningful stories and creative direction. WCW released him for weight issues in 2000, and Johnson’s wrestling career was effectively over.
Johnson is widely remembered as one of the 1990’s most over-pushed wrestlers, and a prime example of Vince McMahon’s longstanding obsession with green monster characters. He was slow, clumsy, and awkward in the ring, and while his unearned push didn’t help, his WWE release was the real turning point. He’d gone from one of Vince’s favourite prospects to a complete non-entity, and he’s no longer active in the squared circle.
4. Perry Saturn
One of a number of talented technicians to work for ECW, WCW, and WWE, Perry Saturn made his WWE debut alongside fellow “Radicalz” Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Dean Malenko in 2001. Swiped from WCW, their signing was seen as a major coup at the time, but Saturn’s WWE career failed to take-off after a hot start. Long after the cringeworthy “Moppy” angle had obliterated his credibility, Saturn suffered a devastating ACL injury in April 2002 and was released six months later after never returning to television.
He started working the independents and Japan, but Saturn’s life took a near tragic turn in post-WWE life. Saturn completely vanished from the public eye, and fell-out of contact with even his closest friends and family. After being shot in an altercation with two armed men in 2004, it was later revealed that Saturn had developed a drug attention, and became homeless for two and a half years.
Fortunately, Saturn re-emerged in 2010, having resolved his housing situation and overcome his addiction. He made his in-ring return the following year, but sticks mostly to smaller independent promotions across the North American circuit. Though the most important thing is that Saturn has pieced his life back together, his mainstream wrestling career died with his WWE release.
3. Tully Blanchard
A founding member of The Four Horsemen and former WWE Tag Team Champion, Tully Blanchard is pro-wrestling royalty. Regarded as one of his era’s finest technicians, he was a slick, charismatic heel and a cornerstone of the NWA’s success through the 1980s. Though rarely featured in the main event singles scene, Blanchard became synonymous with the NWA Television Championship, introduced wrestling to the concept of the “cool heel,” and was a tag team specialist while working with Arn Anderson.
A pay dispute led to Blanchard and Anderson leaving the NWA for WWE in 1988, and they were soon joined by fellow Horseman Barry Windham, and manager J.J. Dillon. As The Brain Busters, Anderson and Blanchard were paired with Bobby Heenan, and defeated Demolition to win the WWE Tag Team Titles in mid-1989.
Sadly, this is as good as it got for Blanchard in WWE. A break-up angle was teased that November, but Blanchard tested positive for cocaine as it was taking shape, and was quickly released from WWE. This effectively ended Tully’s career as a high-level professional wrestler, and he struggled for appearances throughout the 1990s. Once regarded as the glue that held the Horsemen together, Tully did make a one-night-only WCW appearance in 1994, but his failed drug test deprived the sport of one of its greatest performers.
2. Virgil
Virgil’s post-WWE plight has become so meme-worthy that it now overshadows his actual wrestling career. Best known as the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase’s personal assistant, Virgil found his niche with WWE through the 80s and 90s, and looked set for a big babyface push in 1991. Years of built-up frustration and humiliation saw him turn on DiBiase at the Royal Rumble, but after a year-long feud with his former benefactor, Virgil’s WWE career started to slowly fade away.
He was released by WWE in 1994, and that was the beginning of the end for Virgil. Though he worked for WCW from 1996 to 2000, he was used first as the nWo’s human shield, before becoming a member of the West Texas Rednecks as “Curly Bill.” Virgil was released after four years of near-constant jobbing, but his WCW tenure wasn’t even his lowest ebb.
Virgil has become something of a hard-luck story in recent years. “Lonely Virgil” is a running joke among internet savvy wrestling fans, and the self-proclaimed “wrestling superstar” is often photographed trying to sell autographs and photos at lonely wrestling conventions (and NYC subways, bizarrely). His plight has been immortalised at LonelyVirgil.net, and while there’s a strong chance he plays the situation up as a gimmick following its surprising surge in popularity, the images of him trying to sell scribbles to an empty room are half hilarious, half depressing.
1. Chyna
Few, if any, have ever been as adversely affected by a WWE release as Chyna. One of the Attitude Era’s most notable competitors, Chyna overcame her significant in-ring deficiencies to become a true spectacle athlete. Her “Ninth Wonder of the World” Nickname was well-earned, and she was a trailblazing wrestler who was just as comfortable wrestling men as she was woman, even earning three Intercontinental Title reigns throughout her WWE career.
Say what you will about Chyna’s skill or creative direction, but she made a mark on the industry. Unfortunately, things came tumbling down in 2001 after a situation involving her former real-life ex-boyfriend, Triple H. Chyna claimed that he’d been cheating on her with Stephanie McMahon prior to their own relationship’s dissolution, and after a failed meeting with Vince McMahon, Chyna was sent home and fired.
Chyna’s life took a long, hard fall almost immediately after. She joined NJPW shortly after leaving WWE, but made only a handful of appearances for the company, and her attempted 2011 TNA run was just as short-lived. Her wrestling career was completely obliterated by her WWE release, and Chyna hit rock bottom in her personal life. It’s a well-worn tale by now, but after forays in the adult entertainment business, battles with substance abuse and depression, and a domestic assault charge, Chyna fell off the rails.
Once one of WWE’s biggest talking points, everyone, at this point, knows how Chyna’s story ended. A tragic tale that started-off with her WWE release, even though it would be cynical to tie it all together.
10. Braden Walker
The wrestler formerly known as Braden Walker is one of the most-decorated tag team wrestlers in TNA history. As Chris Harris, he won TNA’s Tag Team Championships on seven different occasions (six with James Storm: his partner in America’s Most Wanted), and looked to be on the rise as a singles star following feuds with Storm and Christian Cage.
His TNA career ended on January 11, 2008, and Walker was snapped-up by WWE less than two weeks later. Things looked to be on the up-and-up for Walker, but it was all downhill following his July debut. As if being assigned one of the most generic “Create-a-Wrestler” names in recent history wasn’t enough, Walker looked to have gained several lbs since leaving TNA, and his brief feud with Armando Estrada never got off the ground.
Walker was released from WWE less than a month after his debut, and if you remember him, chances are it’s for his atrocious catchphrase:-
“Knock, knock.”
“Who’s there?”
“I’m Braden Walker, and I’m going to knock your brains out.”
Walker’s weight gain, bad promos, and uninspiring performances saw him become a laughing stock in WWE, and his career went from bad to worse. His reputation was so damaged that he struggled for indy dates after leaving, and an ill-fated 2011 TNA return lasted just one set of TV tapings. Walker is currently lost in the wrestling wilderness, and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
9. Yoshi Tatsu
Yoshi Tatsu’s career has taken a number of extremely unfortunate turns since his 2002 debut. Once considered one of NJPW’s most solid and reliable midcard performers, Tatsu signed for WWE in 2007, and made his televised debut in 2009. Though it could be argued that WWE never used him to his full potential, he struggled to make an impression on a five-year main roster run, and was released in June 2014.
Yoshi returned to NJPW a few months later, and looked set to resume his role as a strong midcard hand with the company. Sadly, disaster struck while wrestling AJ Styles that November: Tatsu’s head and neck were driven into the match with a botched Styles Clash, and after breaking two bones in his neck and being forced to wear a medical halo for three months, there was a strong chance he’d have to retire.
This fortunately wasn’t the case, and Yoshi made his official in-ring return in April 2016. Sadly, Yoshi’s looked a shade of his former self since making his comeback. His in-ring capabilities have visibly regressed, and his current Triple H imitation act is as baffling as it is laughable. Going so far as to copy The Game’s appearance, ring entrance, and moves, Tatsu has become a failed lower-card comedy act with little prospect of ever moving up the card. He has the security of a contract, but Yoshi’s neck injury has dealt irreparable damage to his career.
8. Brad Maddox
Brad Maddox had a baffling WWE career. Starting-off as a referee in 2012, he rose to prominence by low blowing Ryback to help CM Punk retain his WWE Championship at the Hell in a Cell PPV. Maddox later revealed that his actions were self-motivated and driven by the desire to become a WWE wrestler, but he was thrown from pill to post by Ryback and Randy Orton, ultimately failing to win a wrestler’s contract.
A brief “free agent” story followed, before Maddox was appointed Raw’s Assistant Managing Supervisor in 2013, then the show’s general manager a few months later. He was eventually relieved of his duties after months of routine embarrassment, and was released from his WWE contract after swearing at fans during a dark match.
Though he’s generally regarded as one of the limpest authority figures in WWE history, Maddox was featured incredibly prominently early in his WWE run, and through his spell as GM. He has since seemingly fallen off the face of the Earth despite announcing his intentions of touring the indies as “Mad Braddox” (how inventive), and it’s unclear whether or not he even exists in the wrestling universe any more, aside from his prowrestlingtees.com store.
7. Rikishi
In his heyday, Rikishi was one of WWE’s more entertaining upper-midcard acts. His portly (and that’s being kind) appearance belied his surprising agility and nimbleness, and while the dancing gimmick sounds corny in 2016, it was a huge hit with Attitude Era crowds, and Rikishi & Too Cool were massively over in their prime.
Things took a downturn when Rikishi was laughably revealed as the man who ran over Stone Cold Steve Austin at Survivor Series ‘99. His heel turn failed to connect with the crowd, and while Rikishi would later turn face again, it was clear that his popularity had long since peaked. Rikishi was released by WWE in 2004 after repeated requests from WWE to lose weight, and he headed to the independent circuit.
Unfortunately, Rikishi’s WWE reputation didn’t earn him the appearances he thought they would. He made brief appearances for All Japan Pro Wrestling and Mexico’s AAA, but nothing stuck, and his 2007 TNA run barely lasted two months before Rikishi fell-out with TNA management over a pay rise. Rikishi once again fell into the wrestling abyss, and while he’s made a handful of brief WWE appearances in recent years, his career took a massive nosedive after his WWE release, and he never recovered.
6. Kharma
Amazing Kong was a force of nature on Japan’s women’s wrestling scene, and Awesome Kong goes down as one of the most dominant forces in TNA history, regardless of gender. In her prime, Kong’s size, menace, and powerful moveset made her one of the greatest monster characters in women’s wrestling history. Kong was big, mean, and nasty, and she had the in-ring chops and charisma to back it up.
Her WWE signing should’ve been a home-run for both company and employee, but Kharma never quite worked-out. She signed for WWE in 2011 and made an immediate impact terrorising the Divas division, but became pregnant before having a chance to build-up any real momentum, and wound-up taking some necessary time off.
Tragically, Kharma suffered a miscarriage during her time away from the ring. She fell into a deep depression and wound-up gaining weight and falling out of wrestling shape, and simply wasn’t ready to return to WWE when they needed her back. She was released from her contract in July 2012, and while she’d return to both the indy circuit and TNA, she’s never been able to recover her lost magic.
Mounting back issues have severely diminished her in-ring ability, and Awesome Kong was released from her TNA contract earlier this year after backstage altercation with Reby Sky. Once one of the sport’s most important female athletes, she’s barely a footnote in 2016.
5. Ahmed Johnson
Ahmed Johnson looked like a can’t-miss prospect when he signed for WWE in 1995. A gigantic powerhouse of a man, he claimed the Intercontinental Title within his first year, but struggled to keep-up with his opponents in the ring and proved himself to be rather injury prone. Buff, sloppy in the ring, and with a penchant for rambling, nonsensical promos, Johnson was like the Ultimate Warrior reborn, but his push quickly dried-up.
Once thrust towards the main event, fans saw through Johnson’s lack of sheen and polish, and he floundered in WWE’s midcard prior to joining WCW in 1999. The release was the beginning of the end for Johnson, who was rebranded as “Big T,” but ultimately failed through a lack of meaningful stories and creative direction. WCW released him for weight issues in 2000, and Johnson’s wrestling career was effectively over.
Johnson is widely remembered as one of the 1990’s most over-pushed wrestlers, and a prime example of Vince McMahon’s longstanding obsession with green monster characters. He was slow, clumsy, and awkward in the ring, and while his unearned push didn’t help, his WWE release was the real turning point. He’d gone from one of Vince’s favourite prospects to a complete non-entity, and he’s no longer active in the squared circle.
4. Perry Saturn
One of a number of talented technicians to work for ECW, WCW, and WWE, Perry Saturn made his WWE debut alongside fellow “Radicalz” Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Dean Malenko in 2001. Swiped from WCW, their signing was seen as a major coup at the time, but Saturn’s WWE career failed to take-off after a hot start. Long after the cringeworthy “Moppy” angle had obliterated his credibility, Saturn suffered a devastating ACL injury in April 2002 and was released six months later after never returning to television.
He started working the independents and Japan, but Saturn’s life took a near tragic turn in post-WWE life. Saturn completely vanished from the public eye, and fell-out of contact with even his closest friends and family. After being shot in an altercation with two armed men in 2004, it was later revealed that Saturn had developed a drug attention, and became homeless for two and a half years.
Fortunately, Saturn re-emerged in 2010, having resolved his housing situation and overcome his addiction. He made his in-ring return the following year, but sticks mostly to smaller independent promotions across the North American circuit. Though the most important thing is that Saturn has pieced his life back together, his mainstream wrestling career died with his WWE release.
3. Tully Blanchard
A founding member of The Four Horsemen and former WWE Tag Team Champion, Tully Blanchard is pro-wrestling royalty. Regarded as one of his era’s finest technicians, he was a slick, charismatic heel and a cornerstone of the NWA’s success through the 1980s. Though rarely featured in the main event singles scene, Blanchard became synonymous with the NWA Television Championship, introduced wrestling to the concept of the “cool heel,” and was a tag team specialist while working with Arn Anderson.
A pay dispute led to Blanchard and Anderson leaving the NWA for WWE in 1988, and they were soon joined by fellow Horseman Barry Windham, and manager J.J. Dillon. As The Brain Busters, Anderson and Blanchard were paired with Bobby Heenan, and defeated Demolition to win the WWE Tag Team Titles in mid-1989.
Sadly, this is as good as it got for Blanchard in WWE. A break-up angle was teased that November, but Blanchard tested positive for cocaine as it was taking shape, and was quickly released from WWE. This effectively ended Tully’s career as a high-level professional wrestler, and he struggled for appearances throughout the 1990s. Once regarded as the glue that held the Horsemen together, Tully did make a one-night-only WCW appearance in 1994, but his failed drug test deprived the sport of one of its greatest performers.
2. Virgil
Virgil’s post-WWE plight has become so meme-worthy that it now overshadows his actual wrestling career. Best known as the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase’s personal assistant, Virgil found his niche with WWE through the 80s and 90s, and looked set for a big babyface push in 1991. Years of built-up frustration and humiliation saw him turn on DiBiase at the Royal Rumble, but after a year-long feud with his former benefactor, Virgil’s WWE career started to slowly fade away.
He was released by WWE in 1994, and that was the beginning of the end for Virgil. Though he worked for WCW from 1996 to 2000, he was used first as the nWo’s human shield, before becoming a member of the West Texas Rednecks as “Curly Bill.” Virgil was released after four years of near-constant jobbing, but his WCW tenure wasn’t even his lowest ebb.
Virgil has become something of a hard-luck story in recent years. “Lonely Virgil” is a running joke among internet savvy wrestling fans, and the self-proclaimed “wrestling superstar” is often photographed trying to sell autographs and photos at lonely wrestling conventions (and NYC subways, bizarrely). His plight has been immortalised at LonelyVirgil.net, and while there’s a strong chance he plays the situation up as a gimmick following its surprising surge in popularity, the images of him trying to sell scribbles to an empty room are half hilarious, half depressing.
1. Chyna
Few, if any, have ever been as adversely affected by a WWE release as Chyna. One of the Attitude Era’s most notable competitors, Chyna overcame her significant in-ring deficiencies to become a true spectacle athlete. Her “Ninth Wonder of the World” Nickname was well-earned, and she was a trailblazing wrestler who was just as comfortable wrestling men as she was woman, even earning three Intercontinental Title reigns throughout her WWE career.
Say what you will about Chyna’s skill or creative direction, but she made a mark on the industry. Unfortunately, things came tumbling down in 2001 after a situation involving her former real-life ex-boyfriend, Triple H. Chyna claimed that he’d been cheating on her with Stephanie McMahon prior to their own relationship’s dissolution, and after a failed meeting with Vince McMahon, Chyna was sent home and fired.
Chyna’s life took a long, hard fall almost immediately after. She joined NJPW shortly after leaving WWE, but made only a handful of appearances for the company, and her attempted 2011 TNA run was just as short-lived. Her wrestling career was completely obliterated by her WWE release, and Chyna hit rock bottom in her personal life. It’s a well-worn tale by now, but after forays in the adult entertainment business, battles with substance abuse and depression, and a domestic assault charge, Chyna fell off the rails.
Once one of WWE’s biggest talking points, everyone, at this point, knows how Chyna’s story ended. A tragic tale that started-off with her WWE release, even though it would be cynical to tie it all together.
