10 WWE Wrestlers Who Went On To Better Things

8. Gail Kim

Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, The Outsiders
IMPACT Wrestling

A tremendous women's wrestler at a time when WWE refused to treat the niche division with any degree of respect, Gail Kim was moderately successful, but struggled to gain any lasting traction in wrestling's biggest promotion.

Her first departure came as a November 2004 cost-cutting measure. She returned in 2008, but was cast aside three years later, having gone rogue and eliminated herself from an August '11 battle royal. Tired of being misused, Gail vowed to never work for Vince McMahon again, and re-joined TNA that October, building on her extremely successful first run with the company.

Kim was the promotion's original Knockouts Champion prior to returning to WWE, and picked up right where she left off. She held the belt five more times over the ensuing years, becoming the figurehead of a division that pushed women's wrestling to the forefront long before WWE's so-called 'Revolution,' earning her induction into the company's Hall of Fame in 2016.

In WWE, Gail was a casualty of her era. She'd have likely been a lot more successful had she emerged at the same time as Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, and co., but needed to leave to find a promotion willing to acknowledge her talent between the ropes.

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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.