Justin Gabriel Quits WWE Before Royal Rumble

The former tag champion bails on the company before tonight's PPV.

Justin Gabriel has reportedly quit World Wrestling Entertainment this weekend. According to a report from Dave Meltzer at F4WOnline.com, Gabriel "quit WWE this weekend but we don't know any details past that right now." Gabriel was announced to be part of the 30-man Royal Rumble this weekend and will likely be replaced for tonight's event. It is not a major shock that he would quit just because he's barely been seen on the major television shows in WWE and if he is then he's only there to lose a match quickly. He was also rumored to be the guy that wore the Bunny costume a few times on television, although a number of different people did that too. Gabriel originally signed with WWE developmental in 2008. In early 2010 he was a part of the first season of NXT in which he finished in third place. In June of 2010, he was a part of the Nexus stable along with other NXT rookies as they attacked John Cena in one of the most memorable moments in WWE history. His amazing 450 Splash was a featured move during all the Nexus attacks that followed and he became a household name during that period. There were times where it looked like WWE might give him a push although nothing ever really materialized for him. That Nexus angle was nearly five years ago and it ended pretty quickly. He won the WWE Tag Team Titles three times with Heath Slater. Other than that, no gold for him in WWE unless you count developmental.
Gabriel, who is from South Africa, will turn 34 years old in March, so he's probably reached a point in his career where he wants to get out there to have compelling matches instead of only working on lower level WWE TV shows like Superstars or house show matches. There are plenty of places to work in wrestling such as New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor, Total Nonstop Action, Lucha Undeground and the indy scene worldwide is pretty strong. Former WWE guys like Drew McIntyre have done really well post-WWE, so there are plenty of opportunities available for him. The money won't be the same in other promotions compared to WWE, but if you work enough shows on every weekend then you can make a decent living. The absence of Gabriel probably won't be felt at all. While he was originally announced for the Royal Rumble, it's not a big deal to find a replacement. There are plenty of people that could be used. It's not like he would have had a big role anyway. The WWE roster is pretty deep right now and he probably realized with all the younger talent in NXT it's unlikely that he would ever get a big push. There's still no official word from WWE about it and he hasn't tweeted anything (@Justin__Gabriel) about it for the public to see, but there should be some sort of official announcement soon. Good luck to him in his future. He's a talented guy that can thrive wherever he goes.
Contributor
Contributor

John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.