10 Disgruntled Superstars WWE Rewarded With A Push

Online pouting never goes unnoticed.

Sasha Banks
WWE.com

It's amazing the lengths WWE will go to these days to keep their talent content and under contract now that they have legitimate competition in AEW.

The Jacksonville-based promotion already boasts an incredible crop of competitors, including Jon Moxley. Needless to say, WWE wasn't too thrilled about losing the former Dean Ambrose to the opposition and has shown that they will do everything imaginable to ensure it doesn't happen again, regardless of who it is and where they are on the WWE totem pole at the moment.

In many ways, the birth of AEW has benefited the WWE roster, specifically those who haven't been creatively satisfied with their spot in the company. Usually all it takes is a tweet or two for the powers that be to take notice of their unhappiness, and instead of reprimanding or punishing them, those wrestlers will be offered a new, more lucrative long-term contract.

Oney Lorcan, for example, was off WWE TV for months because he reportedly requested his release, but by early December, he re-signed. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Luke Harper was adamant about leaving and was eventually granted his release. Which category soon-to-be-free-agent Matt Hardy will fall under remains to be seen.

If he follows in the footsteps of these 10 talents, he'll be back on WWE TV receiving a push in no time.

10. Sasha Banks

Sasha Banks
WWE.com

First and foremost, it's important to note that, as has been previously established by Sasha Banks herself in interviews and in a WWE Chronicle special that aired back in September, reports of her walking out on WWE the night after WrestleMania 35 were greatly exaggerated.

She revealed in said documentary that she took time off to focus on her mental health, among other things. That doesn't necessarily mean she ever had aspirations of departing WWE, but surely the way she was being booked at the time didn't help the situation.

Banks never clarified what exactly pushed her beyond her breaking point, likely because it was something having to do with her creative direction (or lack thereof) that she wasn't happy with. After all, she was in the midst of a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship reign with Bayley when she decided to head home out of nowhere, so it's safe to assume the fashion in which they lost those titles contributed to her decision to leave for a little while.

Prior to that point, Banks had been lost in the shuffle for ages, but it was only after she teased being frustrated with her spot in the company that she was suddenly thrust back into the title picture upon her return. Of course, that's where she belonged all along, but that likely wouldn't have happened had she stuck around.

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Contributor

Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.