#WeWantSandow was trending worldwide for 3 hours on Twitter. Fans of Sandow were outraged
when they found out that the WWE terminated his contract and I can’t blame them. He
is a very talented wrestler with very good mic skills, in-ring ability and huge charisma.
I mean c’mon Vince, what more do you want? Please note that there were more wrestlers
who were released but these are the select five I have chosen. Let me know if you agree
with the list or who else you would have included.
Number 5 – Alex Riley
It was announced on May 6th 2016 that the WWE officially released Alex Riley as his
contract was terminated. Alex Riley was first signed to the WWE under Florida Championship
Wrestling (FCW) now known as NXT. In 2010, Riley then formed an alliance with the Miz
(who was his mentor) in the second season of NXT. He finished 3rd place overall. In
2011, Alex Riley was then moved to the Smackdown brand which separated him from the Miz. Riley
then went on to fight his mentor (I wonder who else had a similar story and was also
released… and is featured later on in this list…) and actually went on to defeat the
Miz at the Capitol Punishment pay per view. His lack of in-ring success landed him a 14
match losing streak in 2012. Because of this lack of in-ring success, Riley moved to the
colour commentary team as a new colour commentator of Superstars. He did this for 2 years making
occasional in-ring appearances at WWE live events. Throughout late 2014 and early 2015,
Riley started a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #FreeRiley, apparently in an attempt
to get management to notice him and book him as an in-ring competitor, given that his last
televised match was in 2013. After returning for a brief period in a storyline involving
Kevin Owens, Riley was then released from WWE on May 6th, 2016.
Number 4 – Hornswoggle
Ahh Hornswoggle, Mr. McMahon's illegitimate son (out of all the possible choices) and
former partner of Finlay. In fact, his career in the WWE started as the character Little
Bastard, the leprechaun partner of the fellow Irish wrestler, Finlay. Hornswoggle was a
highly likeable character who had a 10-year career with the WWE. He achieved somewhat
a lot throughout his career *laugh sarcastically* (some may argue which I’m sure they will),
winning the WWE Cruiserweight Championship after he pinned Jamie Noble at the Great American
Bash. He was also involved in the highly entertaining storyline involving Mr. McMahon's illegitimate
son culminated with the reveal that Hornswoggle was the illegitimate son. Furthermore, he
became D-Generation X’s official mascot and in 2010, he became the Anonymous Raw General
Manager. On September 28, 2015, WWE announced that they had suspended Hornswoggle for 30
days for violating the company's Wellness policy. After not having made any appearances
in WWE since, Hornswoggle was then released from WWE on May 6, 2016.
Number 3 – Santino Marella
The highly charismatic Italian, Santino Marella, who won the intercontinental title of Umaga
on his debut (with the assist of Bobby Lashley), sadly got released of his contract from the
WWE. However, unlike the case of a certain someone further down this list, you know who
I’m on about don’t you? Santino Marella actually had his reason. After a third neck
injury he sustained in 2014, Santino announced his retirement on July 6th, 2014 in a house
show in Toronto, Ontario. He subsequently had surgery on his neck which was successful.
He made several appearances throughout 2014 and 2015, promoting his new movie, Jingle
All the Way 2, serving as the Guest General Manager for the December 5 episode of SmackDown
and he hosted his own Royal Rumble lottery on the 20th January, exclusively on the WWE
Network.
Number 2 – King Barrett
King Barrett, you can’t help but feel sorry for him towards the end of his WWE run. The
highly talented English wrestler started off with a great career in the WWE, especially
when Barrett lead the group, Nexus in NXT. After leaving Nexus, Barrett wanted to claim
success for himself instead of in a group so he introduced the “Barrett Barrage.”
After 2 years had surpassed, Barrett returned to the WWE at the end of 2013, after legitimate
work visa issues and returned as “Bad News Barrett.” This gimmick was highly successful
as it allowed him to win his 4th Intercontinental title after he defeated Big E at Extreme Rules.
However, Barrett suffered a serious injury where he separated his shoulder after being
thrown into the barricade by Jack Swagger. WEED THE PEOPLE! This caused him to vacate
his title. Barrett’s last gimmick involved King Barrett after winning the 2015 King of
the Ring tournament. His last appearance involved him being ejected from the dreadful League
of Nations group for being the “weaker link.” On 6 May 2016, Barrett was released by WWE.
Following his release, Barrett stated that since he chose not to sign a new contract
with WWE in August 2015, his contract was supposed to end in June 2016, but he and WWE
agreed to an earlier parting of ways. Barrett planned to take a "break from the wrestling
industry", but said he would be "back in the ring when the time is right".
Number 1 – Damien Sandow
The intellectual saviour of the masses, the Mizdow, Macho Mandow, no matter what gimmick
he pulled off he always killed it! Damien Sandow was a highly entertaining wrestler
who was adored by the WWE universe. His “Intellectual Saviour of the Masses” character was very
entertaining to watch. Sandow would often refuse to wrestle his opponents claiming that
the audience would neither learn nor benefit from him facing an inferior opponent. The
2014 Money in the Bank pay per view marked great significance to Sandow as his won the
Money in the Bank briefcase. Despite winning the briefcase, Sandow went on to lose many
matches before his cash-in, with a total of 1 win and 12 losses on Raw and SmackDown.
Sandow went on to assault John Cena's arm and then cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.
However, an injured Cena still managed to bury Sandow which arguably ended his WWE career
as he never was the same again. In 2014, Sandow moved onto many different impersonations including:
Magneto (from X-Men), Sherlock Holmes, my favourite Mizdow, Macho Mandow and Vince McMahondow.
His WWE career ultimately came to an end when he was released from the WWE on May 6th, 2016.