10 Ex-WWE Stars Who NEVER Returned

Everyone comes back to WWE in the end, right?

Sue them, leave them for the competition, disparage them for years in interviews – if the star is big enough and there’s money to be made, you can bet they’ll be back.

Most of the time, anyway, because there are a select few former stars who separated entirely from WWE when they left the organisation.

I’m talking no nostalgia run, one-off appearance or even a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it guest spot on a WWE Network show or DVD.

These are 10 Former WWE Stars who NEVER Returned.

10. Christy Hemme

The WWE career of Christy Hemme may have been short, but it certainly was spectacular in its own way.

The fiery redhead won the 2004 Diva Search, bagged the cover of Playboy magazine and challenged Trish Stratus for the Women’s Title at WrestleMania 21.

Popular with fans and reportedly enthusiastic to improve, Christy was getting stuck in at developmental school Ohio Valley Wrestling when she was shockingly released on December 5, 2005, a little over a year after inking her WWE deal.

It was a murky exit, with the company citing budget cuts and creative having ‘nothing’ for Hemme, as rumours swirled as to the true reason for her departure.

Christy landed on her feet by signing with TNA, where she spent a solid decade in various roles. She’s never been back to WWE, however, save attending the 2017 Hall of Fame to support inductee Beth Phoenix.

9. Bam Bam Bigelow

A big star everywhere he worked, Bam Bam Bigelow’s professional wrestling career arguably peaked when he main-evented WrestleMania 11.

The Beast from the East was lauded for carrying NFL star Lawrence Taylor to a respectable showing and you’d think such a performance would be rewarded with further opportunities in the main event, but Bigelow instead negotiated an early release from his contract and left following Survivor Series (just five months after headlining the Show of Shows).

Bam Bam was reportedly unhappy with the Kliq’s backstage influence and frustrated with his plateauing push.

He went on to work for ECW and then WCW, but refused a contract buyout and thus wasn’t around for the Invasion.

After his WCW contract finally expired there wasn’t much interest in him on WWE’s end and Bigelow’s declining physical health and advancing age likely meant he wouldn’t have been able to contribute much anyway.

It was still surprising not to see him show up at either the first or second One Night Stand events, but Bigelow’s personal life was spiralling at the time and he ended up passing away of an accidental drug overdose on January 9, 2007.

8. Ken Shamrock

The World’s Most Dangerous Man must have done something to anger Vince McMahon on his way out, because he was persona non grata for the next 20+ years.

The former UFC fighter was a prominent part of the Attitude Era, bagging the Intercontinental Title and Tag Team Titles, winning King of the Ring and having prominent feuds and matches with the likes of The Rock and Shawn Michaels.

After a couple of busy years on the road, he became disillusioned with his creative direction and yearned to compete in the Octagon once again, prompting his decision to hand in his notice.

Since then, he’s fought for various MMA organisations and notably wrestled for New Japan and TNA, but – outside of a 2013 ‘Where Are They Now?’ feature for their website – WWE weren’t in touch for many years until late 2023 when they struck a merchandise deal.

Shamrock still hasn’t received a WWE Hall of Fame induction, though.

7. Marc Mero

WWE had very high hopes when they signed Marc Mero to a then-unheard-of guaranteed contract in 1996, as Vince McMahon believed the former Johnny B. Badd had all the tools to become a main event player.

It never quite happened, though he had a run with the Intercontinental Title and was a featured player on television.

Upstaged by his real-life wife Sable, Mero took a backseat to her meteoric rise and ended up leaving the company with his spouse in 1999.

It was a bitter split, with WWE officials accusing Marvellous Marc of meddling in Sable’s career. She would, of course, return to WWE in 2003, with the $110 million lawsuit she filed after walking out of the company viewed as water on the bridge.

Mero, meanwhile, hasn’t been seen on anything WWE-related in close to 25 years.

Not only were the company irritated with how protective he was of his wife, they also weren’t happy with him doing the media rounds and speaking ill of the business in the wake of the Benoit family tragedy.

6. Val Venis

Val Venis was one of the most tenured members of the WWE roster when he received his release on January 9, 2009, ending a decade-plus run that had seen many different highs and lows.

A former Tag Team, European and Intercontinental Champion, the Big Valbowski’s big push seemingly died along with the Attitude Era, with Venis subsequently becoming a useful utility player who could either be plugged into a storyline, put in a tag team, or used to get other acts over as an enhancement talent.

A short, forgettable stint in TNA was pretty much Val’s last contribution to the business, and he has since focused his energies on being a far-right, conspiracy-spreading human being whose main reason for existing seems to be (based on his Twitter account) sharing his hateful views and asking restaurants to accept cryptocurrency as payment.

Looking nothing like he did in his prime, Venis really has no value to the company and they’ll do well to stay away from him.

Had he taken better care of himself physically and mentally, you’d reckon he’d have been good for a surprise appearance here or there, but as it stands it’s gooodbye, ladies!

5. Nailz

If you want a foolproof way to get fired by WWE, may we suggest viciously attacking Vince McMahon backstage?

We don’t know what Kevin Wacholz (AKA Nailz) thought would happen when he physically confronted McMahon over what he felt was an unfair payoff for his SummerSlam 1992 match with Virgil, but he was 86’d quicker than you could say, ‘Justice for The Big Boss Man’.

Fences naturally weren’t mended when Wacholz showed up in WCW as copyright-pushing The Prisoner, sued McMahon for wrongful termination and then testified against his former boss during the 1994 steroid trials.

His run as Nailz lasted less than a year and his storylines and matches weren’t exactly all-timers, but you’d have to think Wacholz would have been called for, say, the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania 17 had his WWE career not ended in such acrimony.

Wacholz retired from the business in 2001 and then just about disappeared from public view to live a private life selling trailers in Minnesota, before resurfacing in 2022.

4. Dawn Marie

We’ve established that physically attacking Vince McMahon over a payoff is a good way to get canned and subsequently blackballed, but how about getting pregnant and then successfully suing the company for wrongful termination?

Dawn Marie was let go while on maternity leave in the Summer of 2005 and filed a complaint against WWE with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in early 2006.

The case was settled a year later and Dawn hasn’t been seen anywhere near WWE since. It’s understandable that there may be hard feelings due to the litigation, but there have been many other people who have taken WWE to court and been welcomed back into the fold after the fact.

Post-WWE, Marie has enjoyed a quiet, normal life as a wife and mother while working as a nurse, so it’s also possible that she’s more than happy to get on with things and doesn’t need to make a cameo or give her two cents on a WWE Network show.

Dawn was not just a memorable character in the Ruthless Aggression Era, but also an ECW mainstay and it speaks to the heat that she’s yet to crop up almost 20 years after her dismissal.

3. Chyna

WWE voluntarily letting Chyna go in 2001 proved that no star was bigger than the company and that a harmonious working environment must be maintained at all costs.

The Ninth Wonder of the World’s steep contract demands, coupled with Triple H leaving her for Stephanie McMahon, caused WWE to cut bait and move on, despite the former Intercontinental Champion being one of their most popular performers.

Joanie Lauer’s professional and personal life sadly (and very publicly) went off the rails following her WWE departure, as she became more known for her appearances on reality TV shows and in adult films as opposed to any in-ring exploits.

Suffering from addiction issues and with her mental health declining, WWE wanted nothing to do with the former D-Generation X member and went to great lengths to distance themselves from her, with Triple H noting the complexities of her ever receiving a Hall of Fame induction.

She eventually got one when she was inducted alongside the rest of DX in 2019, three years after her untimely passing at the age of 45.

There’s an argument to be made that WWE could have reached out (rather than pushed away) when she clearly needed help.

2. Perry Saturn

Perry Saturn’s WWE career may have been relatively brief, but it was certainly far from unremarkable.

Jumping from the sinking ship that was WCW in January of 2000, Perry arrived as a member of the Radicalz and instantly enjoyed the greener grass of Vince McMahon’s organisation.

A former Hardcore and European champion, Saturn is perhaps best remembered for the infamous match in which he roughed up enhancement talent Mike Bell after a spot gone wrong, and the ‘Moppy’ storyline that was given to him ostensibly as a punishment.

Perry left WWE about a year after that angle had run its course (while on the injured list and having pretty much been relegated to being a bit-part player) and did the indies, TNA and Japan before vanishing from the face of the earth.

For about five years, Saturn was unreachable as he was in the throes of a serious drug addiction and resultant homelessness.

He managed to rebound and get his life back together, but no WWE appearances materialised besides some non-publicised work helping out at the Performance Center in 2013.

1. Randy Savage

Every major star who left WWE on less-than-favourable terms invariably came back in some form or fashion.

The old mantra of ‘never say never’ applied to everyone from Bret Hart and Bruno Sammartino to Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior – but it didn’t apply to the Macho Man.

Randy Savage left WWE in 1994 and resurfaced in rival WCW. Supposedly irked about being put out to pasture as a commentator and company ambassador, Randy wanted to prove that he had more to give as a main event in-ring performer.

Which he certainly did for the Ted Turner-owned organisation, though WWE remained unmoved when it came to using Savage in any shape, form or fashion.

Rumours persisted as to just why the Macho Man and Vince McMahon were at odds, ranging from the Chairman being upset by Randy choosing to leave (and taking a lucrative Slim Jim sponsorship with him) to, well, you-know-what.

The best we got was a 2003 WWE Magazine interview with Savage, but he never appeared on WWE programming prior to passing away in 2011.

Posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015, the real reason (or reasons) why such an industry icon remained on the outs may never fully be confirmed.