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Top 5 Most Shocking WWE Departures of All Time - Part 1
5 ALUNDRA BLAYZE: In the mid-1990s, Alundra Blayze was the top female wrestler in the world and not what would be called a typical “Diva” today. When the company decided to bring back the women’s division, it was Blayze that would win the belt and brought in a new era of women wrestling.
She had many great feuds during her time with WWE, but she will mostly be remembered for what she did as a member of WCW. After being released from her contract while still being the women’s champion, Blayze, whose real name is Debra Miceli, showed up on Monday Night Nitro, and promptly threw the WWE title belt in the garbage.
A lot has changed in the state of women’s wrestling since she threw the belt away, and depending on who is asked, not all of it has been good.
4 ‘RAVISHING’ RICK RUDE: The infamous “Montreal Screw Job” didn’t only lead to Bret Hart’s exit from WWE, it also led to the exit of “Ravishing” Rick Rude. Rude was not a main event competitor anymore at that point, but he was with D-Generation X and was always a great sound bite.
At the time of the 1997 Survivor Series when Shawn Michaels beat Bret Hart to win the WWE title, Rude was reportedly only being paid per appearance with WWE. He was also still appearing on ECW’s Hardcore TV during his time in WWE.
In fact, when Rude went to WCW and appeared on Nitro for the first time, he also appeared on Monday Night Raw, which was taped the week before, that same night. Apparently, he left in part due to his anger about the screwjob involving Bret Hart.
3 KURT ANGLE: Kurt Angle is one of the greatest competitors professional wrestling has ever seen. The 1996 Olympic Gold Medal winner came into the sport and immediately became one of the biggest and best heels in the company.
Over the years, he has excelled as a heel and as a face, but in 2006, the “Wrestling Machine,” needed a break from wrestling. His health was failing him and WWE granted him his release.
Months later, it was revealed that Angle had signed with TNA, which was his way of giving WWE and McMahon the middle finger. He is still one of TNAs biggest stars, but his relationship with WWE may never be the same.
SLAUGHTER: The only wrestler in the 1980s that can say he was bigger than Sgt. Slaughter was Hulk Hogan. Slaughter was involved with a huge feud with The Iron Sheik where he defended America and his career appeared to be on the rise from there.
With Hogan at the top of the company, Slaughter felt as though he deserved to be on the same level. In 1984, he no-showed an event in Toronto hoping to get six weeks of vacation and was let go. It was revealed many years later that Slaughter was upset with WWE over their not allowing him to take part in the G.I. Joe action figure line.
1 THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR: When it came to wrestlers who won over fans in a heartbeat, few could compare with the Ultimate Warrior. With his impressive physique, long hair, and face paint, Ultimate Warrior was easy to love.
His rise in the wrestling business is something that made him think he was bigger than the sport. In WWE’s The Self-Destruction of The Ultimate Warrior movie, Vince McMahon explained that Warrior basically held SummerSlam hostage by demanding more money.
For the fans and the sport, McMahon agreed to the demands, but following his match with Randy Savage, was suspended and not seen on WWE programming for some time.