You have to be a really, really bad person to get blackballed from wrestling. Usually, promotions and bookers are more lenient on you if you’re somewhat popular, and you make them money. A recent example would be CM Punk. While he’s likely not blackballed from wrestling, both WWE and AEW have cut ties with him because he had become more trouble than he was worth.
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There are many other wrestlers who’ve proved to be even more trouble. So much so, that all of the wrestling fraternity (or at least a large part of it) has given up on them, and they’re likely never going to get big in this sport ever.
10 Ryback
Once upon a time, Ryback looked like he was going to become a huge star in wrestling. But that didn’t happen, and he continued losing when it mattered. Ryback also had heat with several wrestlers backstage such as CM Punk, and after leaving WWE, he just hasn’t been relevant. Ryback does try to stir up the pot sporadically and insults wrestlers, but usually, they don’t hold back either.
He’s badmouthed people of power like Triple H and Vince McMahon in the past, and considering even the fans didn’t want him to return (he did a poll on Twitter some years back), it’s very unlikely to see Ryback wrestling again.
9 Velveteen Dream
Velveteen Dream is one of the modern examples of “what ifs” in wrestling. There’s no doubt he was talented and was destined to have a great career in wrestling. A lot of wrestlers liked him, including John Cena. Then the Speaking Out movement happened, and WWE tried their best to let the controversy die down, so Dream could have a career.
But there were so many other issues with Dream, such as his attitude issues, his coworkers not liking him, and that EC3 story. On top of all this, he also got arrested last year, and considering all things, it’s very unlikely any major wrestling company would like to associate themselves with Dream. Although he did tease a return some time ago.
8 Teddy Hart
Another one of the what-ifs in wrestling was Teddy Hart. A talented wrestler with tons of charisma but equally (or even more) problematic outside the ring. Human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic abuse – he’s been either involved or accused of these things in the past.
Hart has faced jail time many times in his life and has burned bridges with many wrestling promotions as well. He’s somewhat famous but for all the wrong reasons.
7 Marty Scurll
Marty Scurll was another wrestler who got canceled from wrestling after a teenage girl accused him of taking advantage of her. Scurll, unlike many other wrestlers on this list, did not exactly deny this, but he did defend himself saying it was consensual. Later he released another statement saying he didn’t know the victim’s age.
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He still continues to receive indie bookings, but he’ll most likely never get signed to an American promotion again. His friend Santino did try to book him last year and received public backlash.
6 Joey Ryan
Joey Ryan was once popular in the indies, but during the Speaking Out movement, he was accused by many women of sexual assault and more.
He got blackballed from wrestling and later started working at Disneyland. Someone noticed him there and shared the information online, and that got him fired.
5 Tessa Blanchard
Tessa Blanchard burned bridges with Impact Wrestling a few years back when she held the Impact World Title hostage in exchange for a ransom. Well the last time she worked for WWE, that ended on poor terms as well. In addition to all of that, she was accused of bullying other female talent, and that served to further tarnish her image.
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Also, reportedly, AEW doesn't have any interest in signing Tessa as well. One has to wonder why Tessa sabotaged her own career when she was such a standout.
4 David Starr
David Starr’s ex-girlfriend accused him of sexually abusing her and other women, and after this, many indie promotions separated themselves from Starr. He was accused of emotional and mental abuse, and sexual assault among other things.
Starr did admit he wasn’t a great partner but also denied these allegations against him. His attempts at apologizing backfired as well, and then Starr just kept digging his own grave online with his statements.
3 Jack Gallagher
It caught a lot of fans by surprise when Jack Gallagher was hit with a rape allegation. Gallagher explained his side of the story on the internet and also admitted to it and showed remorse.
He was released from WWE as a result and the rest of the industry does not seem interested in associating itself with him.
2 Dave Crist
The stories that came out about Dave Crist during the Speaking Out movement were just wild. His ex-girlfriend accused him of engaging in intercourse while she was unconscious, multiple accounts of physical abuse and even threatening to kill her dog.
He was also allegedly caught asking for teenagers’ chest pics.
1 Jimmy Havoc
Jimmy Havoc’s ex-girlfriend, Rebecca Crow, accused him of emotionally and physically abusing her. The last fans heard of him was that he was working as a delivery guy in the United Kingdom.
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Havoc previously used to work for AEW and he had great talent. After the allegations, he and AEW parted ways.
