10 Precise Moments When WWE PG Era Careers Ended
Saying goodbye is hard to do, but even the brightest WWE careers end. Here's EXACTLY when.
"We don't need no - no, no, no...Parental Guidance here!"
Leather-clad rockers Judas Priest belted out that lyric back in 1986, but they could easily have been predicting the futures of many WWE stars to come. Pretty much everybody on this list fell victim to Vince McMahon's frankly bonkers weekly changes and corporate structure during an era obsessed with appeasing sponsors.
It's actually hard to pin down exactly when the 'PG Era' ended, or if it has ended. Recent reports claim that WWE will soon return to TV-14 certification, but that hasn't happened yet. So, in other words, the 'PG Era' that began in mid-2008 still rages on today...at least for now.
You'll recognise every worker here, that's for sure. WWE's desire to promote a child-friendly product even into 2022 means a few of them only wrestled their final company match last year. Others fell off the wagon before that, and either hitched a ride elsewhere or left the pro wrasslin' business completely.
These are the exact moments when their once-promising WWE careers came to an end. One even literally waved goodbye to you!
10. Ryback
There was a time when man mountain Ryback seemed destined to become World Champ. After all, his VASCULARITY would've appealed to Vinnie Mac, and the dude did get some solid reactions from live crowds whether he was heel or babyface. Things did not end well though.
Like, at all.
Above, you'll see Ryback stumbling backstage after losing a United States Title bout to Kalisto on the Payback 2016 Kickoff show. That was 1 May, and Ryback was sent home the next night before Raw even aired. He never appeared for the company again before officially departing on 8 August and slagging off his old employer to anybody who'd listen.
WWE's cameras didn't linger too long on ol' Skip Sheffield before moving on with the Kickoff. Their concern was hyping that evening's pay-per-view, not shooting their clearly-frustrated worker as he glared a hole through a US Champ creative barely even cared about in the first place.