3 WWE superstars who left the company on bad terms

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstars like CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio and Rusev had a successful run with the company. But all three walked away after having differences with the WWE.

Because they left on bad terms, the chances of any of the three returning to the company any time soon is very scarce.

But why did these superstars decided leave the company despite being so successful?

Here are the reasons:

1. CM Punk: Among the superstars who quit WWE on a sour note, the name of CM Punk will always remain on the top. His exit from the franchise is one of the most talked about. He last appeared in Royal Rumble 2014, and since then he didn’t show up on number of occasions when he was required to.

Punk was released by the WWE in June 2014 after he made it clear that he was not going to return anyway. He had a long dispute with former WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and Paul Triple H Levesque. 

His anger knew no bounds when he was made to lose his title to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a part-timer in Royal Rumble 2013. Punk, in a podcast with Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling in November 2014 had even expressed his frustration over losing his belt to The Rock.

Punk claimed that in a meeting with McMahon and Tripe H, he made it clear that he was never going to return to the WWE because of the “toxic” environment he was made to work under.

2. Rusev: The Russian star had a successful run in the WWE as he won three United States Championships. But a storyline in which he worked in 2019, back-fired and it received negative reviews by the fans. The story involved Rusev’s real life wife and WWE superstar Lana cheating on him with Bobby Lashley. Soon after, he was released by the WWE in April 2020, due to pandemic-induced cost cutting by the WWE.

After his exit, Rusev also vented out his frustration on WWE and the callous attitude of former Chairman Vince McMahon and COO Triple H. Rusev claimed that while he was hospitalized with a shoulder surgery, nobody from WWE called him to inquire about his health and whereabouts. 

"I don’t need to work there at all. My wife is happy. Good for her. I’m done. I am done done,” he said in an interview to Wrestling Inc. 

3. Alberto Del Rio: The Mexican wrestler was a hot heel in WWE. He was a former champion who had a very good understanding of wrestling. In the ring, he was great and competed with the likes of John Cena, Undertaker and Big Show.

But a backstage brawl in 2014 led to his exit from WWE. It happened when a backstage co-worker, whose name was Cody Barbierri, allegedly passed a racist comment on Del Rio. According to an article  by Uproxx, Del Rio punched Barbierri so hard that he fell on the ground. 

Del Rio was suspended over “professional misconduct” and was out of action for a year. He returned in October 2015 but it was only limited to few matches. Del Rio then left WWE never to return ever again.