Leaving WWE isn’t the easiest these days. The company wants to keep the talent locked under contract despite the fact that several of the employees want to be granted their release. Leaving the company is a lot easier these days with so many options independently. Sure, AEW is an obvious alternative but the likes of Impact, MLW and so many other promotions are also doing great things at the moment.
In this article, we’ll take a look at wrestlers that are both in and out of the business since parting ways. All of these former stars decided to change things up since leaving, rocking a new look. In some cases, the talent look unrecognizable.
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17 Austin Aries
The way his WWE run ended was quite unfortunate. Aries had some serious charisma, not only was the veteran great in the ring but he also did a heck of a job at calling matches.
Behind the scenes though, he wasn’t easy to deal with, which caused his release. He’s out on the indies these days while promoting his plant-based diet.
16 Kenny Dykstra
He finally decided to put the Spirit Squad gimmick to rest and it seems to be working Dykstra over in MLW.
He’s now wrestling under his real name, Ken Doane. The former WWE star also revamped his look, appearing to be shredded to the bone these days.
15 Eva Marie
She isn’t “all red everything” anymore. Eva changed up her look since leaving WWE, rocking the purple hair. At this point, it is obvious, no matter what the hair color Eva rocks the look to true perfection.
She’s still open to a WWE deal but for the time being, Marie continues to crank things up with lots of PR work for various companies.
14 Kaitlyn
Take a side-by-side of Kaitlyn during her WWE days and Celeste Bonin of the current era out on the indie scene and you might think that it’s a totally different person.
She left the wrestling industry for a little while but like so many others, she caught the bug once again following the hiatus. She might end up back in WWE at some point.
13 Alex Riley
Riley is forever remembered as the guy that was buried by John Cena. He had the look to thrive during his WWE days, just the entire package never came together like it was supposed to.
Riley is done with the wrestling business working as an actor these days. He’s in great shape while rocking a killer beard.
12 Darren Young
Known as his real name on the indie scene, the days of Fred Rosser are here to stay while Darren Young was put to rest for trademark purposes since leaving WWE.
Despite his release, both sides are on amicable terms, Rosser was backstage for a recent show catching up with some of the guys and gals.
11 Tye Dillinger
Goodbye Tye Dillinger, hello Shawn Spears. Dillinger made the wise decision to completely drop the “Perfect Ten” gimmick. His WWE days are a thing of the past, he has a new gimmick these days with AEW as a heel.
Shawn is also managed by Tully Blanchard, quite the pairing if you ask us.
10 Rosa Mendes
Look out wrestling world, Rosa is back in the business with a new look and demeanor. She’s a proud mom who recently turned 40 but that’s not getting in the way of her setting an example for her daughter back at home.
That’s what this comeback is a lot about and we can all respect that.
9 Emma
She hasn’t wasted any time since her WWE release. Emma instantly joined ROH under the name of Tenille Dashwood. She’s now a member of the Impact roster, continuing her adventures post-WWE.
In terms of her look, the blonde days are over as she’s now a brunette. We definitely approve.
8 Bull Dempsey
For a bigger dude, he could sure move in the ring. He had some success with the Bull Fit gimmick, though the allure went away pretty darn quickly.
He’s continuing on the indie scene, changing his gear and using the gimmick name of Hoss Daddy.
7 Simon Gotch
Credit the veteran, he took his WWE release like a pro and he continued on independently with the likes of MLW.
Gotch would also change his identity completely, turning into a single’s star under the name of Simon Grimm. His matches since leaving WWE are a lot more aggressive and not PG-friendly.
6 Summer Rae
Her WWE demise was an unfortunate one as Summer Rae had a connection with her fans, she wasn’t the most polished product in the ring but in terms of persona, she always brought her A-game.
She’s still making appearances at wrestling conventions while taking on a shoot interview every now and then.
5 Hornswoggle
He entered the business in the early 2000s, yet he’s only 33 these days. Since his WWE release, Hornswoggle has kept very active both on the indie scene and at various wrestling conventions.
In addition, WWE loves to bring him back for guest spots. That was the case both in 2018 and 2019.
4 Rich Swann
We’ll be the first to admit that we’re cheating a little bit as he looked drastically different during his early Impact run. However, his hair is now grown back and he looks pretty similar to his WWE days.
Swann hasn’t missed a step with Impact Wrestling, still performing at a high level.
3 Santino Marella
He was great fun during his WWE days. In his post-life, Marella has his own MMA gym. In addition, he would also return to the ring on the indie scene.
Over in Canada, he’s working as a panelist over on The Score. He appears on pre-shows prior to RAW and SmackDown.
2 Sawyer Fulton
It didn’t work the way he wanted to as a member of Sanity with NXT. Nonetheless, credit to Fulton for going strong following the release, joining MLW.
He’s continuing the momentum with Impact as a member of Callihan’s oVe faction. He’s yet to hit his 30s with still so much left in the tank.
1 Dustin Rhodes
He’s wrestling under his old gimmick name, “The Natural.” More importantly, Runnels changed his look completely, rocking some cool red and black face paint along with a new bodysuit.
He’s a main player with AEW and deservingly so, somehow the veteran hasn’t missed a step in the squared circle despite the longevity.
Sources – IG & Twitter