7 Superstars who recently and willingly walked away from WWE
With the news that Dean Ambrose will be leaving WWE after deciding not to renew his contract that allegedly expires just after WrestleMania 35, the wrestling world is left wondering what is going on at WWE.
Reports have surfaced that several of the company's wrestlers want out, like The Revival, Mike and Maria Kanellis, Dolph Ziggler and now the latest person to ask for their release is 205 Live's Hideo Itami, with it reportedly being granted.
I don't remember an example in my lifetime where so many WWE talents being unhappy with their position within the company potentially asking to leave. Obviously WCW claimed a few WWE scalps back in the day but recent WWE has gotten away with avoiding a mass talent exodus.
That doesn't mean that Superstars haven't walked away from the company in the last few years, in fact there are plenty that have,
Here are five of the more notable ones, but of course there are more!
#6. Hideo Itami
Let's start with the most recent one shall we? Hideo Itami was on this week's 205 Live in a gruelling match against Akira Tozawa. Shortly afterwards it was reported that he'd asked for his release from the company.
This was speculated beforehand because like Dolph Ziggler, Itami had changed the name on his Twitter handle from his WWE name, Hideo Itami, to his independent wrestling name KENTA.
After appearing on 205 Live for what seems like potentially the last time, Itami posted the following tweet, and several current WWE Superstars responded in the comments with kind words and well wishes, so his departure seems legitimate.
KENTA was a massive star on the independent circuit and was widely expected to be a huge star in WWE with a big deal being made of his NXT signing. KENTA was supposed to win the NXT Title in Japan but was sidelined with a shoulder injury for a year and has never fully recovered since.
He was recently allowed to return to Japan to wrestle a match there for an independent promotion and received a huge ovation. It's likely Itami will go back to being KENTA and will simply go back to being the huge well-liked star he was!