5 WWE Superstars who sensationally walked out of the company
WWE releases have come thick and fast over the last few years, as well as several release requests. While a number of superstars have made it clear that they want to leave the company, there are others who have taken matters into their own hands.
Over the years, there have been many wrestlers who have literally got up and walked out of the company and then failed to return. One of them eliminated herself from a match and walked straight out of the arena, never to be heard from again.
Despite being under contract, there is nothing that WWE can do other than an attempt to sue these stars for breaching their deal, by which point it has already become clear that they are not going to return.
The following list looks at just five former WWE Superstars who sensationally walked out of the company.
#5. Former Women's Champion Gail Kim
Gail Kim has been part of two stints with WWE and is a former Women's Champion, but her second spell with the company came to an abrupt end when the former star eliminated herself from a battle royal on live TV.
After making it clear that she wanted to be released back in 2011, WWE refused her release, so Kim took matters into her own hands and eliminated herself from a Women's Battle Royal on RAW. She would later go on to exit the company.
Kim later revealed that WWE's creative team had instructed her to get eliminated from the match within the first minute, so she opted to just eliminate herself. Four days later, she announced on her Twitter account that she had quit the company.
Kim has since become one of the best-known female wrestlers in the world following her work at IMPACT Wrestling, whilst remaining outspoken about WWE's recent Women's Revolution and making it clear she would not be a part of it.
#4. Former world champion Jeff Hardy recently walked out
Jeff Hardy returned to WWE as part of WrestleMania 33 alongside his brother Matt, and the two men were then pushed as part of the tag team division. Matt's contract expired back in 2020, but his brother Jeff remained under contract.
In the years that followed, Hardy was underutilized by WWE and was released by the company earlier this year after walking out of a live event and then being sent home. Hardy has since joined his brother in AEW and was able to address his actions at the end of his WWE career as part of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy.
"Certain things happen for a reason. Subconsciously, that was maybe the smartest thing I’ve ever done, guided by something higher than me, I’ll say.WWE was so strange, I had been there for almost two years. After I came back from knee surgery, another strange thing about our careers, when Matt debuted in AEW, the pandemic had hit, in front of nobody, he teleported down from the nosebleeds. I was supposed to [return] in Detroit in front of 20,000 people, I came back from knee surgery in front of nobody. I came back from surgery, Matt debuted in front of nothing because of the pandemic. It was weird. The best way I can describe my journey the last few months in WWE was like ‘glimmers of hope, maybe I still do have something," via Fightful.com
After videos surfaced of Hardy exiting the ring and walking out of the show, the former champion made no further appearances for the company before being released.
#3. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin walked out after refusing to put Brock Lesnar over
Brock Lesnar celebrating with Goldberg, Stone Cold Steve Austin & Paul Heyman after beating Carwin is awesome https://t.co/XGMtwoYVMx
One of the most famous walkouts came back in 2002 when "Stone Cold" Steve Austin opted to leave the arena rather than put over an up-and-coming Brock Lesnar.
Austin was the biggest draw in the company at the time after main eventing WrestleMania a few weeks ago and didn't agree to lose to a rookie with no build or hype. He decided that he was done with WWE then and there and walked out of the company.
It took almost a year for Stone Cold to speak to Vince McMahon again before later returning to the company and being handed his final match at WrestleMania XIX. Austin's decision to walk out left WWE in a position where they were forced to break kayfabe and announce that he had taken his ball and gone home.
Even without the brush of defeating Stone Cold Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar has still gone on to become one of the biggest star in the company.
#2. Neville walked out of the company back in 2017
@WWE The artist formally known as Neville had the best. https://t.co/cIZLrOgsM9
Neville was once seen as one of the hottest prospects in WWE, but the former NXT Champion failed to make the impact required on the main roster.
Neville was made the face of 205 Live and The Cruiserweight Division before Enzo Amore was seemingly pushed into his spot. Neville lost his title to Amore before the duo were set to collide on RAW in October 2017.
Neville walked out of that episode of RAW and refused to return to the company again. The British star even returned home across the pond despite WWE's constant appeals for a return. The AEW star's refusals eventually led to his official release from Vince McMahon's company almost a year later.
The star later explained the reason for his actions during an interview with WrestlingInc.
“No, they gave me the opportunity to shine and shine I did. The lads over there are great but they ran of ideas for me so I left”
Neville has since returned to his Indy name PAC and has become a huge star in AEW.
#1. CM Punk walked out of WWE following the 2014 Royal Rumble
Here's the clothesline from Kofi Kingston that gave CM Punk a concussion at the 2014 Royal Rumble https://t.co/mcY5ccU7dC
CM Punk was one of the biggest stars in WWE when he opted to walk out of the company and later revealed all of the reasons for his actions as part of a tell-all podcast.
Punk was struggling with a Staph Infection and wasn't best impressed with the fact that he wouldn't be main eventing WrestleMania 30. Punk later revealed that he met with Vince McMahon and Triple H on RAW the night after The Royal Rumble as part of Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast and cited the following as reasons for his decision to leave.
"I do not love this anymore, I'm f**king sick, I'm f**king hurt, I'm f**king confused, I don't know as a business what we're doing anymore, I... every day you tell me this is a team effort but every day it's a f**king individual effort by me to find what's necessary to even f**king come here. It's not fun. I have zero f**king passion for this. I'm f**king concussed, I'm f**king hurt, and alls (sic) you care about is what segment I am and how soon I can f**king get my gear on and when I can pee in this f**king cup. And I don't want to do it anymore," via CageSideSeats.
After taking a lengthy break from the business, Punk returned to the ring with AEW last year.