10 Wrestlers WWE Gave Up On In 2017

7. Emma

Asuka Emma
WWE.com

She's gone now, but no WWE Superstar has had a weirder year than Emma in 2017.

Returning from injury for the first time in nine months back in February, the Australian debuted her long-awaited Emmalina character, only to disown it in the very first promo. The lengthy vignette campaign was for nought. Apparently, WWE were so frustrated with Emma's inability to pull the character off that they opted to scrap it entirely, leaving her without direction on Raw.

Emma re-emerged in April, reverting to her old heel persona. She was a peripheral player at best, wrestling only on occasion, though she did earn the right to face Asuka at TLC in October. She lost to 'The Empress Of Tomorrow,' then again 24 hours later, and was released from her contract by the end of the week, concluding a six-year run with the company.

You can trace the moment WWE gave up on Emma all the way back to the Emmalina gimmick's failure. Putting Asuka over was her only significant contribution after that, and while the talented Aussie could (and should) have been a useful performer with the right approach, we'll never see it on WWE television.

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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.