5 WWE Superstars who have gone AWOL and the reason why
In this crazy world of pro wrestling (or “Sports Entertainment”), it's not uncommon for WWE Superstars to either be written off suddenly or become injured and unable to compete for long stretches of time. But what happens when a superstar suddenly vanishes without a trace?
Are we calling up Unsolved Mysteries or America’s Most Wanted? Perhaps I’m dating myself a little bit with those references, but it’s time to count down the five WWE Superstars who have suddenly gone AWOL from television.
#5 – Former WWE 24/7 Champion Reggie
Reggie is a professional acrobat who was signed to the company back in 2020 under the name Reginald. After his humble beginnings serving as Carmella’s French sommelier, he moved on to having short-term alliances with the likes of Sasha Banks, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, respectively.
His name was eventually shortened to Reggie and he was given an opportunity to showcase his acrobatic skills on the RAW brand while competing for the 24/7 Championship. Reggie would come into his own in feuds with Drake Maverick, Cedric Alexander, and Akira Tozawa,
Reggie would eventually form a relationship with Dana Brooke, falling in love with her after he helped Dana capture the 24/7 Championship. The two were eventually married (in storyline), then divorced after Reggie turned his back on his bride and attempted to take the title off her.
After the angle, Reggie disappeared from television and hasn’t been seen since May 2022. He has been out of action due to lack of creative or storyline.
#4 – NXT UK's Ilja Dragunov
Ilja Dragunov is a deadly competitor inside the squared circle and is perhaps one of the better wrestlers to come out of the NXT UK roster. Dragunov had feuds with the likes of Roderick Strong and Gunther (fka WALTER). He defeated Gunther for the NXT UK Championship at NXT TakeOver 36, ending the big man's two-year reign as champion.
Dragunov then had a match with Jordan Devlin for the NXT UK Championship under “loser leaves town rules”, forcing Devlin to leave the brand altogether. The match took place on the 200th episode of NXT UK.
On July 7th, Dragunov had to vacate the NXT United Kingdom Championship due to an injury. He has not been seen or heard from since, with no updates on his injury or whereabouts.
#3 – The "GLORIOUS" Bobby Roode
Bobby Roode is one of the most underrated performers on the roster. He is a former NXT Champion, and his career in IMPACT Wrestling speaks for itself for those who know his history there.
Roode primarily teamed up with Dolph Ziggler as part of “The Dirty Dawgs” starting in 2019. Over the past few years, the two have managed to capture the WWE RAW and WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
During the June 6th edition of RAW, Roode and Ziggler were interviewed and were interrupted by MVP and Omos. Ziggler superkicked MVP, then both men were chased out of the arena by Omos.
Ironically enough, this was the last time we would see Bobby Roode on WWE television to date. The company did a tease at a house show with Roode returning under his "Glorious" Bobby Roode gimmick, possibly testing this out to see if it would be worth bringing the gimmick back to RAW or SmackDown.
#2 – All hail The Queen
you little hobbit
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wwe reaction video carmella slapping zelina vega backstage wwe raw https://t.co/oT61q2HdIp
Queen Zelina made her return to WWE in 2021 following her initial release from the company eight months prior. Vega returned on the SmackDown brand as she participated in a Money in the Bank qualifying match, which she ended up winning.
Vega would go on to enter the first-ever “Queen of the Ring” tournament, making it all the way to the tournament finals where she faced Doudrop at WWE Crown Jewel. Zelina won the match and subsequently changed her gimmick to coincide with her coronation as “Queen Zelina”.
Queen Zelina then teamed up with Carmella, forming a tag team and moving on to capture the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions in November 2021 from Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. They dropped the titles at WrestleMania 38 to Sasha Banks and Naomi. The following night on RAW, Zelina turned on Carmella and split up the team.
Zelina has been off WWE television since that timeframe, and it’s been reported that she is currently dealing with an undisclosed injury.
#1 – You Can't See Me!
WWE John Cena! You Can’t See Me! https://t.co/2bPIWeYoKc
It's time to round off the list with one of the most polarizing WWE Superstars of all time.
What can be said about John Cena that hasn’t already been stated before? He is a 16-time World Champion. Legendary rivalries with the likes of Edge, The Rock, Kurt Angle, The Miz, CM Punk, The Undertaker, and Kane. The list of wrestlers Cena has feuded with since 2002 seems endless.
Cena was active up until he started to do projects outside the wrestling business, including movies and television shows such as The Peacemaker that he currently stars in on HBO.
Cena’s last match to date was against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2021, losing to the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion before taking another leave of absence from the company. He would make an appearance on the June 27th edition of Monday Night RAW to celebrate his 20 years in the WWE.
Following this appearance, Cena quietly disappeared from the company yet again to continue filming.