7 Most Shocking WWE Superstar Releases Of 2017

As one of the final two members of the original Nexus cast still active in in-ring competition, news that Darren Young had been served his future endeavours brought back some uncomfortable memories for some of us.

It meant that, with the sole exception of Daniel Bryan (who was basically already a star when he arrived in the company in 2010), every one of them had failed spectacularly to make the WWE grade, despite all of that early, pre-Superman Cena promise.

This was pretty surprising to boot. Young had been nursing an injury for much of the year, but from the Bob Backlund association during the latter half of 2016, it seemed like there was some will on the part of the creative team to help get his ailing career back on track.

It goes to show that reaching the promised land of a regular and guaranteed slot in the main event of the biggest show in town owes so much to good fortune. Had he stayed fit, we could be talking about a completely different outcome today.