10 WWE Exits Which Seriously Affected Other Wrestlers

Though the recent flurry of WWE departures were undoubtedly shocking to witness unfold - due to the world currently being in the midst of a health crisis - abrupt exits from Vince McMahon's company are nothing new.

Of course, not all of these farewells involved stars having their contracts ripped up or pissed off talents storming out of an arena. Some were actually quite amicable and were done in order to improve a person's quality of life, or give them the chance to fulfil a new role.

Regardless of the reasons, one thing that is often overlooked is the fact that these sudden exits can ultimately have a serious affect on other talents still plying their trade on the roster.

We've seen performers break into the main event scene, seemingly unbreakable bonds broken and veterans finally having their moment in the sun all due to another star's decision to step away from the WWE ring at that particular moment in time.

Things could have been a whole lot different had these following ten departures never gone down, but (for the most part) something positive came from each exit on this list.

Despite Christian more than proving he had the chops to hold a top belt in a wrestling promotion during his time as a member of the TNA roster, Vince McMahon just didn't seem to be on board with the idea of 'Captain Charisma' being a World Champion inside of WWE - ECW Championship reigns aside.

That was until Christian's long-time best friend/brother/tag partner Edge was forced to suddenly retire in 2011 and relinquish his World Heavyweight Championship in the process.

This led to Christian being entered into a battle royal to decide who would face Alberto Del Rio - who'd become number one contender to Edge after beating Christian on SmackDown - for the vacated strap at Extreme Rules.

With Edge's emotional retirement still fresh in fans' minds at that point, WWE decided now would be the perfect time to capitalise on this real-life situation and give the people a feel-good moment at the upcoming PPV. Christian eventually won the big gold belt in a Ladder match (because of course it was) at the event and his bestest bud Edge celebrated alongside the new champ in front of a delighted crowd.

Sure, his first reign didn't last long, but it felt like Christian was finally being given the respect he deserved as one of the most reliable talents in the company and it arguably wouldn't have happened had his pal not hung up his boots.