Top 10 Wrestlers Blacklisted By WWE
#10: Enzo Amore
The stage was set for Enzo Amore and Big Cass to take the WWE tag team division by storm after their cult following on NXT exploded. However, on the main roster, they quickly fell to the wayside, broke up, and Amore ended up on “205 Live.” Leading the division as the Cruiserweight Champion, Amore was released suddenly by WWE in 2018, and the title was vacated. As it turned out, he was under investigation for sexual assault. Allegedly, Amore didn’t inform management about the case, so they fired him. The investigation was later dropped due to insufficient evidence. Amore even turned up in the crowd at the 2018 “Survivor Series” but was kicked out by security.
#9: Velveteen Dream
Appearing on “Tough Enough” in 2015, Patrick Clark was soon signed to a WWE contract and morphed into the Velveteen Dream. His persona got over with the NXT crowd, and he was expected to quickly move to the main roster. Instead, he vanished. WWE claimed it was due to a back injury, but alleged behavior online was rumored to be the cause. After briefly returning to the ring, Dream was released from his contract in 2021. He was accused of sending explicit photos to underage boys, which he denied. Later, he was accused of sending images to underage girls too, as well as grooming boys. WWE initially said they found no evidence concerning the reports but dropped him nevertheless.
#8: Jaxson Ryker
By the time the former Gunner arrived in NXT, he was already a multi-champion during his time at Impact Wrestling. The renamed Jaxson Ryker led the stable Forgotten Sons on the yellow brand before getting the main-roster call-up. As the world was gripped by the Black Lives Matter movement, Ryker thought it was the perfect opportunity to publicly support then-president Donald Trump online, for some reason. Fellow wrestlers such as Kevin Owens, Mustafa Ali, Batista, and more let their disappointment be known. Ryker was removed from TV in the aftermath and was eventually released. He’d later generate more social media controversy by posting a homophobic and anti-abortion message to the dismay of fans and former co-workers.
#7: Ryback
At one point, Ryback was touted as the next big star of WWE. He had an impressive physique which led to management pushing him, for better or worse, as a kind of Goldberg 2.0. But in 2016, he was sent home suddenly. A few days later, he was released. This stems from a contract dispute. Ryback also claims he was against the unfair pay structure for the roster and pushed for changes. Unfortunately, any goodwill that raised went out the window soon after. Ryback has numerous times Tweeted his negative thoughts about the wrestling industry and Vince McMahon. In one post, Ryback slated McMahon’s mother and referenced abuse before explicitly taking shots at the WWE owner. Yikes.
#6: Alberto Del Rio
In 2014, Alberto Del Rio was controversially released by WWE after an incident with an employee who allegedly made a racist joke. A year later, he was back in wrestling. A year after that, he was gone again. At the time, Del Rio was also in a turbulent relationship with Paige that regularly made headlines for all the wrong reasons. During a Livestream following his release, Del Rio drunkenly threatened WWE's top-dog Triple H. Later, after signing on with Impact and becoming world champion, he was let go after no-showing an event, not exactly looking the most professional. In 2020, Del Rio was arrested and formally charged with kidnapping and sexual assault. The following year, the charges were dropped.
#5: Nailz
In 1992, Nailz was brought in to face his nemesis, Big Boss Man. But he was shockingly released by the end of the year. Bret “The Hitman” Hart spoke about what caused it in his autobiography. Nailz met Vince McMahon in his office. After yelling and a loud crash, staff found Nailz choking the owner. The wrestler claimed McMahon had made sexual advances to him. McMahon was charged with sexual assault, but charges were later dropped. In 1994, the WWF steroid scandal was underway in court, where Vince was accused of supplying the substance to his wrestlers. Nailz testified during the trial that McMahon told him to take steroids to get bigger.
#4: Drake Wuertz
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After making his name as a Deathmatch machine on the indies, wrestler Drake Wuertz signed for NXT in 2014 and transitioned into a referee role. Eventually, he became the brand’s head ref. In 2021, he was released from his contract after a series of controversies. Firstly, while wearing NXT attire, he had appeared via a County Board Zoom meeting spouting unsupported claims against mandating mask-wearing during a pandemic. He later claimed mask-wearing aided child predators. Wuertz also criticized wrestlers that had been vaccinated. During a meeting, Triple H made a point that all religions were welcomed at WWE - which appears to have made Wuertz angrily storm out. All of these incidents made the referee have “nuclear heat” backstage.
#3: Various NXT UK Stars
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The “Speaking Out” movement that began in 2020 resulted in many shocking accusations in the wrestling industry as toxic behavior was rightly called out. And NXT UK’s roster was no exception. In fact, several of their wrestlers were accused of various heinous actions. Travis Banks was accused of emotional abuse by his former student, Millie McKenzie. While Ligero allegedly assaulted and harassed several women. "Gentleman" Jack Gallagher was also accused of sexual assault. He stated that he was drunk and doesn’t remember it happening, but he apologized for the event. All three wrestlers -- along with two NXT UK referees -- were released from WWE and had their profiles removed from the website.
#2: Sunny
Throughout her career, especially after leaving WWE in 1998, Sunny has regularly butted heads with the police. Also known as Tammy Sytch, she’s been arrested for DUIs, burglary, fleeing the scene of an accident, assault, and more. But she was welcomed back to WWE for rare appearances. However, that relationship in 2022 when she crashed her car, which resulted in the death of a 75-year-old man. Sunny was three and a half times over the legal drink-drive limit. She was released on bond, but that was revoked when she was labeled a risk. At the time of writing, Sunny's awaiting trial, where she could get 26 years in prison.
#1: Chris Benoit
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Well, this wrestler is blacklisted in another way. In 2007, the shocking news came out that Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and son Daniel were found slain at home. WWE had a show dedicated to the wrestler’s memory. However, the following day, the facts of what happened came out. It was discovered that Benoit had killed Nancy and Daniel before taking his own life. Vince McMahon made another statement on WWE programming, saying that with the new evidence, the show will be dedicated to everyone affected by the incident, and Benoit’s name won’t be mentioned. Since then, WWE has done their best to distance themselves from Benoit and his horrific actions by avoiding all references to him when possible.
