10 Wrestlers WWE Gave Up On In 2016

3. Alberto Del Rio

Neville WWE
WWE.com

Alberto Del Rio’s second WWE run is a tale of wasted potential. He returned from a year-long hiatus to defeat John Cena for the United States Title at Hell In A Cell 2015, which sounds like a successful re-debut on paper, but ultimately proved disastrous. The “MexAmerica” angle with Zeb Colter made no sense from the start, and while Del Rio was able to hold onto the US Title for a few months, he was soon absorbed into the ill-fated League Of Nations.

The League was a huge failure for each of its members, and all four of them were immeasurably weakened by the time they split. Having already lost his title to Kalisto, Del Rio went back to obscurity, and while he did participate in this year’s Money In The Bank ladder match, he was no more than a spot-filler.

ADR was eventually drafted to SmackDown, but he was rarely featured. WWE had clearly lost all interest in doing something with the guy, and by mid-August, he found himself on the receiving end of a 30-day Wellness Policy suspension. This effectively spelled the end for him, and Alberto agreed his release with the company on September 9th.

Allegedly promised a main event push as part of his original return, it’s little wonder Del Rio grew disillusioned with life in WWE. For whatever reason, the company lost all interest in pushing him by the end of his United States Championship run.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.