Every WWE Release Of 2021 - Where Are They Now? (Five Years Later)
10. Jaxson Ryker
Then: Formerly known as Gunner in TNA, Jaxson Ryker (how's that for a name?!) sabotaged his own WWE career with a few erm...choice political opinions in 2020. His thoughts earned criticism from the likes of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, and they certainly didn't do much for Ryker's career prospects.
His opinions would have a negative impact on Ryker's Forgotten Sons stable alongside Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake too, so he wasn't the only one who suffered from the fallout. Some significant backlash took the Sons off TV, then Jaxson teamed up with Elias over on Raw.
The subsequent split and feud between them tried to push Ryker into a babyface role, but it failed and he was released on 18 November 2021.
Now: Jaxson kept wrestling on the independent circuit after his WWE release, but he'd only work a grand total of 9 matches across multiple standalone organisations. Then, he announced that he was changing careers and becoming a deputy sheriff in North Carolina.
That's been the last word on Gunner/Ryker. He hasn't wrestled at all since doing the honours for a worker called Alexander Monroe on a card in Tennessee on 23 March 2024, and it doesn't look like an in-ring comeback is likely for the 43 year old.
Despite debuting for TNA way back in 2010, Jaxson will be not-so-fondly remembered for his social media antics and controversial boat-rocking behind the scenes. His cards were arguably marked as soon as he sent out those tweets and irked some major players in WWE.