5 most surprising departures in WWE history
As Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson once said, there's a shelf life in wrestling. No matter how talented or popular a WWE Superstar is, they can only wrestle for so long. After a time, they would have to make the decision to walk into the sunset.
While seeing their favorite Superstars hang up their boots could be tough for the fans, it is inevitable and will remain so while the wrestling business is alive and kicking.
In WWE, legendary performers are mostly given the chance to deliver a final farewell speech before calling it a day. However, not every WWE Superstar gets this opportunity.
In fact, there have been countless instances of top or rising Superstars disappearing from WWE all of a sudden, leaving their fans shocked.
So, without any further ado, here is a list of 5 of the most surprising departures in WWE history.
#5 Jeff Hardy (Left WWE in 2009)
Jeff Hardy has always had a sweet spot in the hearts of the WWE fans. In 2009, the support he was receiving from the WWE Universe was simply unreal. His feuds that year versus the likes of Edge, Matt Hardy, and CM Punk were received positively.
So, it definitely came as a shock to the fans when Hardy decided to walk away from WWE at his peak and in his prime. On August 28, 2009, CM Punk defeated Jeff Hardy in a loser leaves WWE steel cage match.
While this stipulation often leads to Superstars taking some time off or coming back with a new gimmick, it was legitimate in Hardy's case as the three-time World Champion actually left the company following the aforementioned match.
Reports suggest that Hardy's reason behind leaving WWE was to take some time off and deal with various injuries. Others speculated drug use. While he would remain active in the wrestling business following his WWE release, it wouldn't be until 2017 before he would step foot inside a WWE ring again.