10 WWE Wrestlers Who Suddenly Vanished

WWE is the story that never ends.

There’ll never be season finales, despite the company’s suggestion that WrestleMania provides end destinations for its characters - the wrestlers don’t go as hard on the treadmills on a Monday at the gym as the personas do on Raw several hours later. Sometimes it’s for the active betterment of their career - Dolph Ziggler’s made millions spinning his wheels, highlighting how preferable it’s been to be a part-time ‘Show Off’ rather than screech to an uninspired, permanent halt.

He’s seen it happen first hand too. Dolph broke through during a period where ‘Talent Development’ was a contradiction in terms. Countless possible future stars were elevated long before their potential could be realised, and suffered at the fickle creative fingers of Vince McMahon as a result. Not least when crafting a character’s natural conclusion has always been one of his blind spots.

McMahon’s refusal to publicly acknowledge departures was as much to do with keeping his existing wrestlers hungry. Ultimate Warrior disappeared without trace in 1991 and 1992 and both exits went intentionally underplayed. Hulk Hogan was dead by omission rather than submission after surrendering the WWE Championship a year later.

That was par for the course for company megastars. What chance did these mere superstars have?

This promo cut by Hade Vansen remains something of a curio for many WWE fans, particularly those that knew his work before it aired. Though a decade has passed since the one-and-done, it's remained the lone reminder of how British journeyman Hade Vansen almost got the biggest break of his career.

Instead, he became the consistent subject of discussions just like this.

In a vignette that appeared to interrupt the feed during the December 12th 2008 edition of SmackDown, Vansen came at the king, and though he didn't miss, his lone promo against The Undertaker presumably wasn't considered much of a hit.

Vansen had signed a developmental deal with the company in 2007 but had lost much of the time training to a knee injury. His expedited ascent to the main roster appeared to be an acknowledgment of his talents, but the 5'11, 220lbs Brit was ruled out for reasons that remain relatively unclear despite those qualifiers.

Years later on his Something To Wrestle podcast, Bruce Prichard noted how the concept was a Freddie Prinze Junior creation, but only referenced the angle to tacitly undermine the actor's creative credentials. Though he never appeared on television again, Vansen remained on the books another year before his quiet 2009 release.