10 Wrestlers WWE Regret Releasing

10. CJ Parker

He might seem like an odd inclusion for those who don’t keep up with NJPW, but former NXT jobber CJ Parker has soared since his WWE release in 2015. Initially joining Japan’s top promotion as a trainee, Parker became Juice Robinson, and has since reached a level of stardom he could only have dreamed of in WWE.

Juice initially stood out for all the wrong reasons, but has improved leaps and bounds throughout 2016, and built a big following among NJPW’s fanbase. This culminated with a huge IWGP Intercontinental Title shot against one of the company’s biggest stars in Tetsuya Naito recently, and while Robinson was defeated in his first main event, his performance was close to flawless.

Robinson’s Japanese success demonstrates just how quickly a wrestler can improve when his employers put a little faith in him. His eco-warrior gimmick was always a heat magnet in NXT, but CJ Parker rarely won, and was primarily used as a victim for the likes of Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin.

A shame, as his time with NJPW shows that Parker could have at least been a solid midcard player had WWE put more effort into his development.