Sometimes in pro wrestling, a wrestler can be on top of the world, then due to their own outlandish and reckless behaviour, their life takes a downward spiral.

Due to their actions, the wrestler in question becomes blacklisted from the pro wrestling industry, and top companies such as WWE and AEW decide they want nothing to do with the respective wrestler.

So, with that being said, let’s examine 10 wrestlers who had a huge downfall.

10: Lars Sullivan

When Lars Sullivan was called up to the WWE main roster in 2019, screenshots began to circulate of Sullivan’s historical posts on internet forums between 2007-2013.

Unfortunately, the majority of these posts had disgusting comments of a racist, sexist and homophobic nature. Sullivan would take aim at beloved WWE figures such as Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, and even Stephanie McMahon.

Sullivan was quite rightly fined $100,000 by WWE, and a subsequent statement on the controversy was released by Sullivan:

“There is no excuse for the inappropriate remarks that I made years ago. They do not reflect my personal beliefs nor who I am today, and I apologize to anyone I offended.”

WWE in a bold move decided to keep Sullivan around, that was until 2021, when Sullivan departed WWE due to his anxiety issues.

Due to Sullivans’ prior comments, as well as his anxiety issues, it’s likely that Sullivan never steps foot in a pro wrestling ring ever again.

9: Joey Ryan

One of the names disclosed as part of the Speaking Out Movement in 2020 was Joey Ryan. Ryan at one point was one of the biggest names on the independent scene, and although his work wasn’t to everyone’s taste, it certainly attracted an audience.

Ryan was named by over 15 different individuals, and some of the stories that were shared by the brave victims were horrifying and can’t be disclosed on YouTube.

Impact Wrestling, who Ryan often appeared for would terminate Ryan effective immediately, and instead of showing remorse for his actions, Ryan criticised the way Impact handled the situation, and he proceeded to deny all accusations in a video statement:

“I have never had sex with a woman without her consent, I have never acted criminally towards a woman, and I have never acted criminally with sex and unlike these allegations, I have actual evidence that can show you that”.

This so-called ‘evidence’ never seemed to surface, and the wrestling industry seems to be done with Ryan, as he was recently seen working at Universal Studios.

8: Ryback

Upon leaving WWE, there was an expectation that Ryback would venture into a new company such as Impact, or perhaps even have a successful run on the independent scene.

However, in the years since his WWE departure, Ryback has become a laughingstock of the wrestling world. Ryback is consistently making controversial comments that are disgusting in nature, and Ryback would once even take aim at Vince McMahon’s late mother for literally no reason.

Ryback spends his days throwing out outlandish comments and streaming live on TikTok.

As of this video being published, Ryback hasn’t wrestled in a ring in over five-years, and it’s unlikely that any sensible, and reputable wrestling company will ever want to book the former Intercontinental Champion on one of their shows.

7: Ric Flair

Ric Flair is considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, yet in recent years, Flair has been involved in controversy after controversy.

In 2021, Dark Side of the Ring distributed a special episode on the infamous ‘plane ride from hell’. In this episode, a female flight attendant accused Flair of wearing his signature robe and forcing her to touch his penis. It was said that she proceeded to sue WWE, and the two sides would settle out of court. WWE did not disclose if Flair was punished for the incident back in 2002, yet it’s a common belief that Flair wasn’t reprimanded in any way.

Following the airing of the episode, Flair would deny the allegations towards him, and WWE would subsequently remove Flair from their signature at the start of their shows.

In 2023, Tony Khan made the controversial call to sign Flair to AEW. This was a move which received widespread backlash, and Khan was called out on his hypocrisy. Khan would later claim that Flair was brought in due to a sponsorship deal, yet this did little to justify why Flair was now employed in the second biggest wrestling company in North America.

6: Sunny

Sunny is considered by many to be the first WWE Diva, and during the mid-1990s, Sunny was a house-hold name in pro wrestling.

Sunny’s problems with the law are well established, and in the year 2012 alone, Sunny was arrested five times in a single month. Ultimately, in 2022, Sunny was involved in a fatal crash that killed a 75-year-old man. It was determined that Sunny was intoxicated during the crash, and in November of 2023, Sunny was sentenced to seventeen and a half years in prison and eight years’ probation.

Due to Sunny’s inexcusable actions, she will never likely be promoted in a positive manner on WWE TV again, and it would hardly be a surprise if Sunny’s name is virtually erased from the WWE history books.

5: Alberto Del Rio

During his numerous stints in WWE, Alberto Del Rio was pushed as a top, main-event level star. Del Rio was a multi-time World Champion, and although Del Rio was undeniably talented in the ring, whether Del Rio was popular enough to warrant such a consistent push is a topic for another day.

The more sinister side of Del Rio began to surface in 2016, when he began to date fellow WWE star, Paige. It would surface that Del Rio was putting Paige through physical and mental abuse, and in a brave and courageous move, Paige sat down with GAW TV in 2020, to discuss what kind of person Del Rio truly was:

"In the beginning, you're fighting back with this person. But in the end, it becomes a cycle. Eventually, something is happening to you every day. You could be trapped in a room for 6-7 hours, getting you’re a*s beat every couple of minutes. And he's doing all these crazy things to you… Because he's Voldemort to me. He needs whatever is happening to him. Karma is a real thing”.

Also in 2020, Del Rio was charged with battery and sexually assaulting his girlfriend at the time, and after his trial was postponed on several occasions, the charges were eventually dropped in 2021.

Del Rio’s conduct over the past 8-years has shattered his reputation within the pro wrestling industry. WWE wants absolutely nothing to do with the former WWE Champion, and recently, in December of 2023, Del Rio was seen wrestling in a high school gym, marking one of the biggest yet justified downfalls in pro wrestling history.

4: Tessa Blanchard

Just one day before Tessa Blanchard was set to make history, and win the Impact Wrestling World Title, Blanchard’s world completely fell apart. Blanchard would send out a tweet stating that women should support each other, and this tweet was met with clapback’s from numerous top female talent.

Names such as Chelsea Green would call her out for bullying, and she was even accused of using a racial slur, and spitting in a black woman’s face.

Blanchard eventually released a formal statement which read:

“Over the last week I have been accused of calling a fellow wrestler a racial slur. To read this allegation has been personally upsetting. To be clear, I absolutely did not use that word. That word is not in my vocabulary. That word is not in my heart. Racism is not in my heart. Yet I know many people have to deal with racism in a way I will never have to. Racism is an awful part of American history, and it is equally awful that it's still part of our society today. While I did not do what was claimed, I stand ready to use my platform to support the fight against racism however I can.”

In a controversial move, Impact would still proceed to book Blanchard to win the Impact World Title, yet in the summer of 2020, Blanchard would be stripped of the aforementioned Title, and she would disappear from the limelight entirely.

3: Ted DiBiase

At one stage, it appeared that Ted DiBiase was going to be a major player for WWE, yet things didn’t work out how DiBiase or the fans expected.

When DiBiase left WWE, he fell out of the public spotlight, that was until mainstream media picked up a story regarding DiBiase, and a worrying legal case.

In April of 2023, the US Department of Justice released an official statement indicting DiBiase with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud, two counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and four counts of money laundering.

Due to the nature of these charges, DiBiase is facing a prison sentence that could amount to 180-years.

2: Hulk Hogan

Fans across the world were horrified in 2015, when it surfaced that Hulk Hogan had delivered a racist rant on a sex tape back in 2007.

In this racist rant, Hogan would use the N word several times, and once this was made public, Hogan was quick to apologise, yet fans, as well as fellow wrestlers didn’t want to hear it.

Everyone was hurt by Hogan’s comments, as Hogan for decades had been a role model for people young and old, yet it turned out that Hogan was a nasty racist who was always hiding his true colours.

WWE would remove Hogan from the Hall of Fame, yet a few years later, Hogan would slowly be reintegrated into WWE programming.

Hogan’s appearances are always met with fair criticism, and Hogan is often booed, as a racist rant isn’t something fans are just going to forget and forgive.

1: The Velveteen Dream

WWE had plans to make The Velveteen Dream one of the future stars of the company. Dream was super over with the NXT audience, and there were even rumours that Dream was going to feud with John Cena on the main roster.

Unfortunately, in 2020, everything changed. Dream was accused of sending indecent images to underage boys via Instagram. Then, just a few short months later, Dream was named as part of the Speaking Out Movement, where he was accused of having inappropriate contact with underage children.

WWE were called out extensively for how they handled this, as they decided to ignore what Dream was accused of, and the only comment that the company made was when Triple H stated that: “We looked into it, didn't find anything there in the manner of what we're looking for, and we moved on, but it doesn't change the fact that we take it seriously.”

Every time Dream would appear on WWE TV, #FireVelveteenDream trended worldwide, and eventually, WWE decided to release the once promising star from his contract.

Since Dream’s WWE exit, he has yet to wrestle again, likely because not a single wrestling promotion wants to associate with him.