10 Precise Moments Wrestlers Wanted To Jump Ship

When EXACTLY did FTR, Chris Jericho and others want to make the leap?

Dean Ambrose Gas Mask
WWE

Unless for inexplicable reasons Nick Khan is your favourite pro wrestling figure, which looking at the state of certain Twitter replies is somehow true too often, you can probably identify with the reasons why a WWE wrestler might think "Might leave actually, this is pure sh*t".

Helpfully - or not, as the case may be - everybody reading this experiences their lowest ebb most days, allowing for relatable #content.

Variants, political corruption, an endless and incredibly depressing culture war: we all feel like sh*t, and we all feel like the other side is winning because nobody actually does. Scrolling Twitter for less than one (1) minute is enough to make you brush up on your Friedrich Nietzsche, paint your f*cking eyes shut, and never get out of bed.

The philosophy for which awld Fredders is known quite accurately describes most goings on in the fictional world of WWE. There's no meaning to any of it. Champions get pinned more frequently than the scrubs. The babyfaces don't save their mates. No loyalties and values exist anywhere. Nobody learns anything, succumbing to distraction constantly. It's no wonder that certain pro wrestlers no longer wish to ply their trade there.

This isn't just an AEW-centric list; once upon a time, the independent contractors wanted to jump to WWE...

10. Jon Moxley

Dean Ambrose Gas Mask
AEW/Lee Havlik

Status In WWE:

They liked him, quite a bit, but you wouldn't know it from his booking. Dean Ambrose was presented as an upper midcard heel in late 2018, working a grudge programme opposite Seth Rollins that dominated RAW. The issue is that the creative, while committed, was total dog sh*t. Ambrose was repackaged as a cheap heat-seeking germaphobe whose act was offensive to both good wrestling and good taste.

He inoculated his arse and wore a gas mask to protect himself from the vermin in the crowd: picture Bane from the Dark Knight Rises, only you were unfortunate enough to ascertain what he was actually reciting from the pages of those abysmal scripts.

Why And When They Wanted To Leave:

On his infamous Talk Is Jericho appearance and as detailed in his book 'Mox', Moxley said he was depressed, angry, and in a "living hell". His mood worsened with every week, every script, but he reached an epiphany very shortly after making his return around SummerSlam. When training for his comeback, he watched several live concerts. He wanted to feel the rush of performance vicariously. Within weeks of his offensive and piss-poor feud with Rollins, he realised that he had missed wrestling.

He just hadn't missed sports entertaining, which in late 2018 amounted to collar-and-elbow tie-ups in a blood feud.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!