Is WWE Falling Apart Right in Front of Our Eyes?

WWE has been a mainstay in the wrestling community for decades. But now with the independent scene on the rise, and fewer stars moving to the big brand, is WWE starting to crumble right in front of us?

The recent departure of former WWE Cruiserweight Champion and NXT Champion Neville has made me wonder why so many big name guys have been leaving the company recently.

In some cases complaining of booking makes the most sense. Guys like Cody Rhodes and Jack Swagger come to mind. But I think the issue lies deeper than that.

I believe it all started in 2014, with the departure of CM Punk.

Punk walked out in 2014 before Raw started the night after the Royal Rumble, never to appear on WWE TV, in a live capacity, again. A few months later he appeared on Colt Cabana’s “Art of Wrestling” Podcast and gave a fascinating reason for leaving the company.

He didn’t leave because he was beat up from years on the road, though he was. He didn’t leave because he was unhappy with his current booking, though he was.

No, on the podcast Punk said he left WWE because he was miserable. Granted those things mentioned above probably didn’t help much, but they weren’t the driving factors in his walk out on that night. Simply put, Punk was unhappy doing what he was doing. He didn’t love wrestling anymore. So, he left it behind and made himself happy.

While many thought this was insane at the time, and some still do, others see the sound reasoning behind it. If you’re unhappy at your current job, or with where you are in life, you would be asinine to stay where you are. Eventually, you would make changes to make yourself happy. That is precisely what CM Punk did, and I applaud him for that.

Fast forward a few years and Cody Rhodes walks away from WWE because he was unhappy with his booking, and look at him now. A little over a year later, and he’s one of the biggest names on the independent scene. People are finally getting to see what Rhodes is capable of in the ring. Something we never got to see in WWE, because the son of a WWE Hall of Famer was limited to short matches, most of which he was being squashed by guys WWE liked more than him.

Now, here we are at this past Monday, and Neville has taken a page out of CM Punk’s book and walked out before Raw. It’s uncertain, as of this writing, why Neville did this. Multiple reports say that Neville was angry when he left the arena, but there haven’t been any reasons given as to why he was mad.

His booking hasn’t been the best recently, losing the Cruiserweight Title to Enzo Amore at No Mercy, and then being booked into a corner, after attacking Enzo thus forfeiting any chance he had at the title while Enzo held it. But still, those reasons aren’t good enough; one would think, to make him want to leave the company altogether.

There have to be more significant reasons behind this sudden departure.

It could be as simple as a combination of CM Punk’s reason, and Cody Rhodes’. Maybe, like Punk, Neville was miserable, unhappy with the way he was being treated by WWE, and like Cody, was unhappy with his booking.

Or, maybe Neville saw that the grass was greener on the other side.

Perhaps Neville looked at the independent scene and realized that he could make more money, and work fewer days there than he could in WWE. It’s no secret how demanding the WWE schedule is. Working from Friday to Tuesday each week, only getting Wednesday and Thursday off, that’s a lot more matches than most independent wrestlers work. Even wrestlers of lesser caliber than Neville have lighter schedules than he does.

But independent stars of his caliber or higher, work fewer dates and make more money. Guys like Rhodes, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks can get away with only working two or three events a week, and make a pretty penny doing so. Much of their financial success is due to their merch sales, but Neville wouldn’t have a problem selling merchandise either.

So, it would make more sense, for both financial and health reasons to leave WWE and work the independent scene.

Many guys are unhappy with their life in WWE, and it’s not hard to see why.

You can be the most talented guy on the roster, and get overlooked because of your size. Or, you can be incredibly talented, and the right size and still get ignored. Not to mention the aforementioned work schedule, and that’s just the matches, that doesn’t include all the appearances they have to make or all the interviews on TV and radio they do.

I think the schedule is the reason big name guys aren’t coming to WWE. They know that they can make more money, work when they want, and take as much time off as they want if they stay out of WWE. They don’t need WWE, sure they would be more famous, but WWE needs them worse than they need to go to WWE. Not to mention, bigger name guys like the guys from The Bullet Club, would no doubt take a hit in merchandise revenue because most of it would go to WWE.

The most prominent decider in all of this though will be what happens after Daniel Bryan leaves the company next year. Which is going to happen, barring a sudden change of heart by WWE that allows him to wrestle on a limited schedule.

When Daniel leaves, if he has instant success on the independent scene, which he will, even if he doesn’t wrestle, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more guys follow suit.

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Guys like Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder, Dean Ambrose, among others could all leave WWE for a better life on the independent scene.

Granted things are looking up for Ambrose right now, but a year from now, long after this Shield reunion storyline is over, Dean will probably be shuffled down the card like he was the first time around.

Simply put, away from WWE, wrestlers can choose their own paths. They can make their own storylines, and do what they want in the ring.

If more of WWE’s top guys leave the company, and independent stars stop joining the company, that would force WWE to try and create their own top stars, instead of relying on the top independent stars to come in and make their impact on the business.

We’ve seen WWE attempt to make their own talent into top guys, and they don’t have a very good track record. Their only success stories, in the recent era, are Braun Strowman, and Roman Reigns. All their other top tier guys got their start on the independent scene, guys like AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Bobby Roode.

They’ve tried to make their own guys into stars, but they haven’t panned out. Guys like Baron Corbin and Jinder Mahal come to mind.

Next: Why the WWE Needs a Major Resurgance in Stables

Unless WWE can figure out how to find their own guys, and make them into the best in the business, their company may fall apart.

Why would anyone want to join a company whose best talent is leaving because they are unhappy? It happened to TNA, and it could happen to WWE.