6 Recent WWE Cruiserweight Champions Who Have Already Left The Company

Is the WWE/NXT Cruiserweight title cursed? Well, we'd have no way of knowing for sure without consulting a shaman or something (and they usually don't advertise). But looking at the title history of a championship that's less than four years old, it's hard to say what's more staggering: that 14 different men have already held the gold, or that six of them have already left the company. That's almost half, you know.

There's even the matter of the current champion being indisposed due to present travel regulations, but this following list is going to focus on the six men who are no longer under WWE contract at all. It's quite an eclectic list of talents, too, and their reasons for leaving are just as varied. Some were unhappy, others were apparently budgetary cuts, and a couple...well, let's just say they ended up in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

As we work to deliver an interim champion for the belt (one who hopefully enjoys a bit of job security), let's examine the six champs that are no longer bound to WWE.

Is the WWE/NXT Cruiserweight title cursed? Well, we'd have no way of knowing for sure without consulting a shaman or something (and they usually don't advertise). But looking at the title history of a championship that's less than four years old, it's hard to say what's more staggering: that 14 different men have already held the gold, or that six of them have already left the company. That's almost half, you know.

There's even the matter of the current champion being indisposed due to present travel regulations, but this following list is going to focus on the six men who are no longer under WWE contract at all. It's quite an eclectic list of talents, too, and their reasons for leaving are just as varied. Some were unhappy, others were apparently budgetary cuts, and a couple...well, let's just say they ended up in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

As we work to deliver an interim champion for the belt (one who hopefully enjoys a bit of job security), let's examine the six champs that are no longer bound to WWE.

6. Enzo Amore (2 Reigns, 108 Days)

Amore's January 2018 release was definitely unique - he'd been under investigation in the state of Arizona for sexual assault, and had not informed WWE of the investigation (which he, through his attorney, claimed he knew nothing about until the news was made public).

Making the matter a little more awkward was the fact that Amore was presently reigning as Cruiserweight champion at the time the story broke, resulting in WWE deciding to cut loose an active titleholder. The investigation ceased that May due to insufficient evidence.

5. Rich Swann (1 Reign, 61 Days)

Less than a month after Amore was terminated, WWE and Swann parted ways. Two months earlier, Swann was arrested in Gainesville, FL on charges of battery and kidnapping/false imprisonment, stemming from an alleged altercation with his wife, fellow wrestler Su Yung.

The charges were dropped about six weeks later, though Swann never returned to WWE television, and was let go just a few weeks after. At the time of the arrest, Swann was set to wrestle Drew Gulak to determine a number one contender for Amore's belt.

4. Neville (2 Reigns, 232 Days)

Another controversial exit, although this one thankfully avoids disquieting legal issues. In October 2017, "The Man That Gravity Forgot" walked out of a Monday Night Raw taping, reportedly due to longtime unhappiness, and was said at the time to have quit the company.

By 2018, reports were that Neville's contract had been frozen, but come that August, it was announced that he was officially no longer with WWE. Since then, as PAC once more, everyone's favourite "Bastard" has turned up in both Dragon Gate and AEW.

3. TJP (1 Reign, 46 Days)

The first Cruiserweight champion of the modern era, TJ Perkins won the critically-acclaimed Cruiserweight Classic in 2016 to earn the title, downing Kota Ibushi and Gran Metalik in his final two matches. Barely six weeks later, the grand winner had dropped the belt.

TJP's time with WWE is probably more identified for his catchy 8-bit entrance theme than anything else, especially since he was shunted down to the deeper mid-card fairly quickly. By the time of his release in February 2019, he'd long been an afterthought.

2. Lio Rush (1 Reign, 63 Days)

Rush's tenure with WWE certainly had its ups and downs. He burst onto the Monday Night Raw scene as Bobby Lashley's incessant hypeman, the sound behind the heavyweight's fury. Reported backstage issues seemed to stifle his time on Raw, and he eventually returned to NXT.

In October 2019, Rush defeated fellow CZW alumnus Drew Gulak to become Cruiserweight champion, holding it for nine weeks before ceding it to Angel Garza. Rush ended up part of the massive recent wave of roster cuts, and now looks to be pursuing a music career.

1. Drew Gulak (1 Reign, 108 Days)

This parting of the ways stunned many, especially since he and fellow technical master Daniel Bryan put on a clinic on the SmackDown the day before he left. Gulak seemed to be coming into his own on the blue brand, sort of a "demi-Bryan".

Reportedly, there was an issue over an attempt to re-sign Gulak at the end of his expiring contract, and the two sides couldn't come to an agreement. Perhaps one day, Gulak will return to WWE, and if that happens, hopefully, those well-crafted powerpoint slides come with him.