10 WWE Releases That Could Have Been Easily Avoided

Immediately pushed as a fan-favourite, Austin Aries enjoyed a decent run upon his NXT arrival and managed to gain victories over Baron Corbin and (alongside Shinsuke Nakamura) Blake and Murphy. Yet, he wouldn't be given the chance to hold the brand's top belt and succumbed to Nakamura in an unofficial number one contendership match at NXT TakeOver: The End, before beating No Way Jose at TakeOver: Brooklyn II and eventually falling to an orbital socket injury requiring the insertion of permanent titanium plates in order to repair the issue.

He'd find a bit of joy as a commentator in the interim, before lending his star-power to the struggling 205 Live brand and challenging Neville (more on him later) for his Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania 33, Payback and Extreme Rules - failing to win the title in all three encounters.

Never one to shy away from speaking his mind, conflicting reports stated that Aries was fed up with his treatment in the company and personally requested to be allowed the freedom to continue his career outside of WWE, whilst others stated that the release was actually down to his unpopularity with writing staff and other backstage crew.

Either way, it's hard to argue with the fact that WWE could have kept hold of a star that was so desperately needed in the floundering Cruiserweight Division. If they'd just given him the odd title run or meaningful victory, Aries could have found himself elevating a show that definitely suffered from his departure - he probably could have become a reliable commentator, too.