6 Superstars let go by the WWE in 2019 - Where are they now?
2019 proved to be an outstanding year for WWE and several of its Superstars. It was the year that made Becky Lynch into ‘The Man,' and gave life to Bray Wyatt’s new character The Fiend. The New Day’s Kofi Kingston also tasted his first WWE Championship during the year, while Roman Reigns successfully battled leukemia once again to make a heroic return to our screens.
However, several Superstars found their differences with WWE in 2019 and decided to head out in order to look for other opportunities. Some had their fall outs with the company and were asked to leave in the process.
This led to several Superstars asking for their releases or being released by the company itself to ensure that morale backstage remained high.
In this article, we will look at 6 Superstars who were let go by the company in 2019, and what they are doing today.
#6 Hideo Itami
Hideo Itami, known as KENTA outside WWE, was one of the biggest names signed by the company in 2014. The Japanese Superstar was a huge draw on Pro Wrestling Noah (PWN) before he decided to try his luck with the largest wrestling promotion in the world.
He started wrestling in NXT and slowly started to build a fanbase that wanted to see him perform on the main roster. This led to his main roster debut in December 2017 where he partnered with Finn Balor to defeat Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. However, Itami remained on NXT and 205 Live for most of his time with the company, and even though he received several championship matches, he was never booked to become a champion.
In January 2019, it was reported that Itami requested and was granted his release from the company after a five-year tenure. In response, several Superstars and fans alike spoke out about how much Itami meant to them as a WWE Superstar.
He then made his surprise debut in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in June 2019 and soon became the NEVER Openweight Champion, proving his worth to the entire wrestling industry.