10 Wrestlers Who Lost All Passion For The Business

It's easy to question if Jim Ross has any passion left, or why he doesn't appear on this list.

He's not the best fit for AEW, though he was once so fantastic at his craft that he can still draw upon the old brilliance. He can't be timeless, because he obviously mourns a bygone time he wishes wrestling still occupied, but at certain moments - when there's a "young stud" he really rates, or a match is paced to his liking - he still has it in him to warrant the "Good Ol'" part of his nickname.

Tony Schiavone was the solution to AEW's early woes at the commentary table, but he also underscored the problem. His wonderful, wholesome enthusiasm contrasted brutally with JR's low energy levels, incredulous reactions and pedantic application of the rules that the promotion itself wasn't as interested in.

While Schiavone would gleefully shout "topé suicida!", as if to marvel at the way in which wrestling had progressed during his wilderness years, JR would awkwardly ask why someone with Hangman Page's frame would even take to the skies.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that JR's heart isn't in it, but that isn't the case: speaking on Grilling JR back in October 2020, he was adamant that he still loved it. Commentating was his "goddamn life" and that any suggestion he doesn't care is "total horse sh*t".

Ross does care - but the following wrestlers, at various stages, absolutely did not...

The 2010s were chaotic.

More than happy to just rely on John Cena as his top draw and company ambassador, Vince McMahon had neither the talent nor the inclination to tell intricate, rewarding stories and get behind his characters. There was such an arbitrary, punishing quality to his television product. Stop/start booking. 50/50 results. It was all so drab and meaningless, and then it became insulting. You were told that a character wasn't worth a damn, but then were told "This wrestler has a new entrance theme, a new rose/crown/gavel, and they've just won a couple of TV matches. Invest in them immediately."

When the fans did not do that, the new gimmick cycle began anew.

This of course describes Wade Barrett, yet another WWE wrestler of that era who won multiple midcard championships that nobody would ever guess the order of. Do it now. You can't. Who did Barrett beat to win his third Intercontinental title?

Dolph Ziggler, maybe?

Speaking to Sports Illustrated in 2016, Barrett, who voluntarily left WWE the year prior, Barrett was equally disenchanted.

"Unfortunately, in 2015 and again in 2016, I was asked to play a character and perform storylines that I found thoroughly uninspiring. After making repeated attempts to change my career trajectory and having those efforts turned down, my passion for playing the role of a WWE Superstar went away."