5 WWE Superstars who were released for non-wrestling reasons
WWE has become one of the biggest breeding grounds for professional wrestlers from all across the globe.
Some WWE superstars carve a niche for themselves in a praiseworthy way. After they reach the pinnacle of success, they retire on their terms.
Having said this, several superstars did not have the liberty to be released per their wishes. This article looks at five such superstars who were released from WWE for non-wrestling reasons.
#5 WWE Superstar - Mickie James
Mickie James has been one of the biggest names on the WWE women's roster for the last two decades. The former five-time Women's Champion has had memorable feuds with established names like Trisha Stratus and Lita.
Mickie had two stints with WWE, the first one from 2005 to 2010, in which she won her first Women's Title by beating Trish Stratus at WrestleMania 22. James also won her maiden Divas Championship by defeating Maryse Ouellet at Night of Champions 2009. Her second stint came in 2016, which lasted until earlier this year.
On April 15, 2021, Mickie and a few other superstars were released from WWE owing to budget cuts. Her departure was a big shock for fans.
In a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Mickie James expressed her true feelings after being let go by WWE:
"Nothing surprises me really anymore. It's hard to have expectations because nothing ever goes according to your plan but I thought I would wrap my career there. I was like so grateful to be able to go back and have the opportunity to kind of wrap up my story there and kind of bow out in a good graceful kind of way because I felt like the first time I left was on such weird terms and I did some amazing stuff when I came back. I really did, but it wasn't shocking because I kinda was in this space where I felt it coming. I kind of felt it already coming but it was just disheartening. It was disappointing, I should say, moreso than anything," James said.
Excited to have @MickieJames back on the show! 🔥
She talks about her WWE release, the trash bag incident, her new role with @nwa & and their first all women’s PPV, @thegawtv, her husband @RealNickAldis and more! 🙌
🎧: bwpod.co/CVV
📺: youtu.be/Sy67tEzaiDc https://t.co/MzCBMsN087
As part of the same interview, she also recalled the differences between her first release and the latest one:
"Mickie James in 2010 was in a very weird space with Mickie James. It's crazy to think that with the amount of success that I had had there. I just had so much personal stuff going on that it really started to affect me and I was just burning the candle at both ends and at the middle," James said.
Mickie James is currently signed to Impact Wrestling. She also served as an executive producer for NWA's first all-female event, NWA EmPowerrr.