10: Kevin Nash

When Kevin Nash returned to WWE programming following WrestleMania 19, the company had grand-plans for the former WWE Champion. 

WWE were going to have Nash be presented as one of the top babyfaces in the company, and he would enter into a World Title feud with Triple H.

The two had an established history, so it made a ton of sense to explore this storyline.

The two legends had several matches against each other on PPV, and their feud culminated in a Hell in a Cell match at the 2003 Bad Blood PPV. Their matches weren’t the worst thing in the world, yet they weren’t at the level fans wanted out of PPV main events in 2003.

Following a brief feud with Chris Jericho, Nash would finish up with the company at SummerSlam, where he competed in a gruelling Elimination Chamber match. This appearance was notable, as Nash appeared with a short hair style, after having his haircut by Chris Jericho on RAW.

Nash would then exit the company, as he required neck surgery, and just a year later he would sign for TNA. Nash’s absence wasn’t addressed directly on TV, and it was simply implied to the audience that he was off screen nursing injuries. 

9: The British Bulldog

WWE made the bold call to rehire The British Bulldog in 1999. The reason that this call was somewhat controversial was because Bulldog had dramatically regressed in the ring. Bulldog suffered a life-changing injury during his time in WCW, and this drastically hindered Bulldog’s in-ring output.

Bulldog’s Attitude Era run flopped hard, and this was despite WWE putting considerable effort in with Bulldog, as he would be given a main event push shortly after his return to the company.

After being moved down the card, Bulldog would have his last match ever for WWE on Sunday Night Heat against fellow wrestling icon, Eddie Guerrero. The match would end in an anti-climactic way as both men would be disqualified, and Bulldog would be released from the company just a week later. This was an unfortunate end to Bulldog’s WWE tenure, but it was evident at this point in time that Bulldog wasn’t a name that WWE were going to invest any substantial resources into. 

8: Finlay

Finlay was a name that WWE decided to bring to the main roster permanently in 2005. Finlay was previously a WWE trainer, and he was tremendous in the role, yet WWE believed that he had more to offer as an in-ring talent.

Finlay’s main roster run exceeded all expectations, as Finlay managed to get over both as a babyface and a heel, and there was even a push online to see Finlay win the vacant World Title in 2007.

Finlay would begin to appear less and less on WWE TV as the years went on, and in 2010, he had his final ever WWE match at a live event against Drew McIntyre.

Finlay retired from WWE with little fan-fare, which was an unusual move, as Finlay had contributed an insane amount to WWE over the past decade.

One of the potential reasons as to why WWE didn’t seem to make a huge deal out of the retirement, was that Finlay would begin to work as an agent for the company, so he was still very much in the mix. It’s possible that WWE held a celebration for Finlay’s in-ring career behind the scenes, but it would have been wonderful for the fans to be given the opportunity to say thank you to the former US Champion. 

7: Rikishi

In 2004, Rikishi was still incredibly over with the audience. He was one half of the reigning Tag Team Champions with Scotty 2 Hotty; however, everything seemed to fall apart overnight.

Rikishi and Scotty would randomly drop the titles to Rico and Charlie Haas, and Rikishi would then suddenly disappear from TV.

It was reported that WWE weren’t happy with his weight, and they needed him to lose some mass, or they were going to release him from his contract.

Unfortunately, WWE weren’t happy with his progress, and they cut ties with him in the summer of 2004.

This was a sad end to a great run in the company, and this sadly influenced Scotty’s trajectory in WWE, as the master of the worm was predominantly featured in dark matches and he was often booked on WWE’s c-show, Velocity.

 6: Big Boss Man

It was a smart call for WWE to bring back Big Boss Man in late 2001. Boss Man was a consistent worker, and his persona managed to work across multiple eras.

Just a few months into his final WWE run, Boss Man would find himself wrestling on Sunday Night Heat, and he was clearly brought back into the fold to put over other talent.

Boss Man would have his final WWE match in May of 2002 against Tommy Dreamer, and after this match, he would be sent to OVW to train the superstars of tomorrow.

This was such a lacklustre end for the tenure of a name that had been attached to WWE for years. A final program on either RAW or SmackDown which linked to his eventual retirement would have been great to see, but WWE for whatever reason believed that his final match should be on Sunday Night Heat.

5: Tazz

Whilst Tazz’s in-ring run in WWE didn’t exactly light the world on fire, he was an outstanding colour commentator. Tazz’s work alongside Michael Cole was one of the main reasons why SmackDown was so popular during the Ruthless Aggression Era, and it was a huge blow when Tazz decided to leave the company in 2009.

In relation to how Tazz handled leaving the company, he offered an inside look at his departure during an interview on AEW Unrestricted:

"I left on my own terms. My contract was up the week going into WrestleMania, I wasn't there. That was it. I was done at the Dallas TV before that...They offered me a new deal, which was a great deal...I had to get out of there....I saw Vince in Dallas and I officially gave word, shook his hand, said I was leaving in Dallas. He and I were crying and hugging, 'I'm gonna miss you.' I thanked him for everything. It was great…”

In a weird move, Tazz leaving WWE wouldn’t be addressed on screen, and he wasn’t even written off the show. The week after his exit, he would be replaced by Todd Grisham on SmackDown, which was met with a less than enthusiastic response from the fans.

4: Road Dogg

Road Dogg was one of the most popular acts of the Attitude Era; however, as the Attitude Era pushed into 2001, the former Intercontinental Champion began to be used less frequently on TV.

Road Dogg had a ton of personal demons, and this led to WWE suspending him, and eventually releasing him outright from his WWE contract.

Road Dogg would magically disappear from TV without too much attention being drawn to his release; however, in a rare move, WWE did release a formal statement on their website:

“The World Wrestling Federation and Brian James, aka Road Dogg, agreed to part ways today. Brian had been on an indefinite suspension since Dec. 19. The Road Dogg is a tremendous talent and we sincerely wish him the best of luck in the future."

Thankfully, Road Dogg was able to get his life back on track in the proceeding years, and he has been back in WWE for a number of years in a backstage role.

3: Ken Shamrock

It’s a unique circumstance for a wrestler to disappear from TV in the middle of a feud, but that’s exactly what happened with Ken Shamrock in 1999.

Shamrock was in the middle of a feud with Chris Jericho, when suddenly, Shamrock was no longer being mentioned on RAW or SmackDown.

It was explained that Shamrock suffered internal bleeding at the hands of Jericho and Mr Hughes, yet Attitude Era fans were always under the impression that Shamrock was coming back, but he never did.

It’s often been claimed that Shamrock left the company due to him wanting to return to MMA; however, during an interview with Chris Van Vliet, the former WWE star claimed that he had issues with the WWE travel schedule, as well as the creative direction of his character.

2: Gangrel

One of the more creative characters of the Attitude Era was Gangrel. Gangrel was incredibly interesting as a character, and his theme song is still often labelled as one of the greatest theme songs of all time.

Whilst Gangrel never reached the main event scene in WWE, he was always popular, and could have been used in more high-profile programs if he was given the opportunity.

In the year 2000, Gangrel would often be used on shows such as Heat and Metal, and by the time the year came to a close, Gangrel was taken off the roster completely.

The living vampire would be released from his contract in 2001, which was a massive shame, as he had so much more to offer the company, and unfortunately, his removal from WWE programming was never addressed directly on screen.

1: Chyna

2001 was the year in which Chyna finally entered the women’s division. Chyna would win the Women’s Title at WrestleMania 17, and it looked like early on that this was going to be the spark the women’s division needed, as Chyna was a huge influential name.

Sadly, Chyna’s personal life was in total turmoil during her reign, as her ex boyfriend Triple H was dating Stephanie McMahon, and naturally this created an incredibly hostile atmosphere for everyone involved.

Although she was Women’s Champion, Chyna disappeared without a trace when it came to her character on WWE TV. She would wrestle Lita at the 2001 Judgment Day PPV, then never appear on screen again.

Chyna would eventually depart the company on extremely bad terms, and this unfortunate departure wouldn’t be addressed on screen. WWE vacated the Women’s Title until the 2001 Survivor Series event, and the fact that WWE didn’t think of mentioning that Chyna was no longer champion spoke volumes when it came to what they truly thought of the Women’s Title. 

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