11 Times Wrestlers Bet On Themselves (... And LOST!)

There's something so bloody wonderful about watching a talented and hugely under-appreciated performer walk away from a workplace that isn't getting the most out of them and boldly betting on themselves.

Cody Rhodes decided to do precisely that back in 2016, turning his back on the world of sports entertainment and setting in motion a series of events that would eventually result in both the creation of AEW and his epic return to WWE six years later - this time as a bona fide main event superstar.

Not every wrestler who has surprisingly chosen to turn down contracts, positions, or a future in a certain promotion has gone on to become an 'American Nightmare' level success, though.

In many cases, some of the most gifted, promising, and legendary names in the business just didn't quite click in new environments, struggled to recapture the excitement that once made a move elsewhere seem so intriguing, or saw a compelling jump well and truly fail after dodgy booking and unfortunate injuries.

In other words, they made the brave call to gamble on a risky wrestling (or another kind of) adventure and learned the hard way that sometimes things just don't work out in this consistently volatile world.

And a special nod to the fine people over at r/SquaredCircle, and the fantastic thread this very list was inspired by!

He may have spent years beating the stuffing out of the likes of Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness, Samoa Joe, and many more in Ring of Honor, and become a legend within Pro Wrestling NOAH, but the wonderfully violent soul known as KENTA still had one dream he wished to fulfil.

The Japanese sensation had always wanted a spot in the biggest wrestling company on planet earth. And after a successful tryout in early 2014, one of the hottest free agents in the game was finally handed a WWE deal.

What could have been a dream come true for the creator of the GTS, though, soon turned into a bit of a nightmare.

In the wake of being given the typical WWE rebranding treatment upon arriving in early black and gold era NXT, a decent feud alongside Finn Balor against The Ascension lads and earning a spot in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was about as good as it ever got for Hideo Itami.

A year out with a shoulder injury seriously derailed a promising start. And other injury issues along the way, on top of never quite clicking in the sports entertainment environment, ultimately left KENTA feeling frustrated enough to request his release in 2019 after five disappointing years.

He took a chance on his dream, but "KENTA: WWE Superstar" seemingly just wasn't meant to be.