7 Wrestlers Who Should Quit WWE

Who should follow in Cody Rhodes's footsteps?

Neville WWE
WWE.com

Over the past several months, WWE has been aggressively pursuing talent from all over the world. They've signed international superstars such as Shinsuke Nakamura, Manny "La Sombra" Andrade, and AJ Styles, bolstering their roster like never before. With another brand split across Raw and Smackdown lines coming, rumours are running rampant that even more of the best wrestlers from the independent and international scenes will be coming in.

From a talent perspective, WWE's roster is better than ever before - but the company's creative team still suffers from the same shortcomings. Many of the workers already on the roster - men and women who have been around for years - are being underutilised as new stars are snatched up.

Lately, some of those overlooked WWE mainstays have decided to trade their cushy jobs for the opportunity to prove their worth outside of the company. Cody Rhodes requested - and was granted - his WWE release in May and has already taken several bookings after August 19, the date his 90-day no-compete clause expires. Wade Barrett similarly left the company to pursue other interests, promising to return to the ring in time, just probably not WWE's.

Both Rhodes and Barrett are hot commodities. Rhodes, especially, has revitalised his career. Who else in WWE would benefit from a similar move? Here are seven wrestlers who should quit the company...

7. Jack Swagger

Neville WWE
WWE.com

It's not every day that a former World Heavyweight Champion walks out of WWE, but the company's done a great job of making fans forget that Jack Swagger holds that distinction.

All-American wrestler Swagger was recruited out of college by WWE and, after a couple of years in developmental, he hit the main roster. Despite not having the out-and-out charisma of most top WWE guys, he showed an acuity in the ring, using an amateur-pro hybrid style that lent itself to solid matches.

Less than a year and a half later, he defeated Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Title.

Unfortunately, Swagger was one of the worst-booked champions of all-time, and after losing the title his career went into a free fall (apart from a brief push in 2013). His Raw and Smackdown appearances are few and far between, but he still manages to deliver the goods.

Swagger could thrive in a different environment, one where his amateur wrestling accomplishments would be taken more seriously. He could be a monster heel in Ring of Honor, or a serious threat in any of Japan's major promotions. It wouldn't take Swagger long to prove that he's not the joke WWE makes him out to be.

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Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013