Tye Dillinger’s “Perfect 10” gimmick and not to forget, his infectious “10”
chants made him a fan favourite in NXT. But like many other NXT superstars, a move to
the main roster did Tye Dillinger no favours. He showed a lot of promise following his appearance
in the 2017 Royal Rumble as entrant number 10 but it quickly became apparent that the
WWE had no real plans for him as he was involved in a lot of forgettable backstage segments
with R Truth. On February 22nd 2019, Tye Dillinger was released from the WWE and is now thriving
in AEW under his previous name of “Shawn Spears”.
During his time in the WWE, Sin Cara built up quite the reputation of being… a botcher.
For the better part of 2019, Sin Cara was “underappreciated” and left out of WWE
programming, leading him to eventually request his release from the company and “expand
his career elsewhere”. When Sin Cara isn’t slipping on the ropes or doing God knows what,
he’s actually a talented in-ring competitor and the masked luchador was able to showcase
his talent in some stellar matches against Andrade, all of which were losing efforts
though. On December 8th 2019, the WWE officially granted Sin Cara’s release, so wherever
he decides to go next (most likely AAA), let’s hope that he doesn’t botch his entrance
like he did in his WWE debut…
Luke Harper is a sad but prime example of a talent not being used to the fullest in
the WWE… right, Harper? He was a criminally underrated performer whether it be as a singles
competitor or as a tag team specialist as part of the Wyatt Family or as one half of
The Bludgeon Brothers. Harper’s frustrations with the company led him to request his release
back in April 2019, however, his request was denied and to make matters worse, more time
was added to his contract due to injury. Harper remained dormant on WWE television for much
of 2019 until he was eventually granted his release in December 2019.
First introduced in 1995, Goldust sure lived up to his nickname of “The Bizarre One”.
A legend in the business and son of Hall of Famer, Dusty Rhodes, the enigmatic Goldust
finally decided to part ways with the WWE in early 2019. Given how underutilised he
was and with his brother’s company on the rise, it was inevitable that Goldust was going
to jump ship to AEW and that’s exactly what he did. He ended up facing his brother in
what was an emotional and a “bloody” good match… the match was bloody if you didn’t
figure… Goldust proved to everyone that behind all the laughs and entertainment, he’s
still got it.
Perhaps the biggest release of 2019 was that of Shield member, Dean Ambrose. It came as
a surprise to many when news surfaced that the “Lunatic Fringe” wasn’t going to
be resigning with the WWE especially since he was one of their top stars; a former WWE
Champion, the longest-reigning United States Champion, a three-time Intercontinental Champion,
a two-time RAW tag team Champion and also the 2016 Money in the Bank winner. The final
straw which resulted in Ambrose’s departure came from creative differences with his heel
persona as he was reduced to nothing but a germaphobe.
As Ambrose neared the end of his WWE contract, you could see the lasting damage on his face.