Wrestlers quitting a promotion is always a surprise because most people presume that talents will always stick around when they are under contract. After all, it's guaranteed money. However, there can be situations that force wrestlers to walk away and sometimes that can happen in the middle of a storyline.

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Even though a promotion like WWE might be putting things together and have longer plans for talent, it can lead to them simply walking away and refusing to be part of it. This often leaves a promotion in a state of flux, while it can also be frustrating for the fans who don't get to see the culmination of the angle.

8 CM Punk

One of the most famous examples of a wrestler quitting in the middle of a storyline is CM Punk, who opted to walk out on WWE. It was a shocking situation considering he was one of the biggest stars in the business at the time, and he was actively involved in a feud against The Authority.

Kane had screwed Punk in the 2014 Royal Rumble match, pulling him out and attacking him which was supposed to be the next stage of this angle. It was likely going to finish with Punk facing Triple H at WrestleMania but that never played out because he quit instead which had a major impact on that show overall, with Daniel Bryan benefitting from the situation massively.

7 Sasha Banks & Naomi

Sasha Banks and Naomi weren't in an active storyline against another set of wrestlers when they decided to walk out on the company, but they were the Women's Tag Team Champions. This arguably made things even worse for the company because it left them without champions, and they had to act quickly.

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It made WWE look bad and left the women's tag team division in a very tough spot because if the champions were happy to just leave why should fans care about it? The fact WWE trash-talked both women on television showed how frustrated the company was overall, not helping matters.

6 Rick Rude

Rick Rude quitting WWE led to one of the most shocking moments in the Monday Night Wars because he ended up appearing on an episode of Raw and Nitro at the same time. Rude wasn't happy with what went down at the Montreal Screwjob, and he opted to quit WWE immediately.

He ended up joining WCW which was a shocking situation considering he was involved in a big storyline at the time as a member of D-Generation X. The faction was one of the biggest things going in WWE at the time, so seeing him jump out of that was a surprise, especially when he was on television the same night.

5 Rob Gronkowski

A lot of people forget that Rob Gronkowski signed a WWE contract because his run with the company was so brief. However, he was brought in when it was expected his time with football was done, and that led to him hosting WrestleMania 36 and winning the 24/7 Championship.

Unfortunately, during that time he ended up returning to football and had to walk away from his WWE commitment. This was a big problem considering he was the champion at the time, with WWE having to film content away from the wrestling bubble to get the title back.

4 Neville

Neville chose to walk out on WWE when he was gaining a big push from the company. He was a big part of the cruiserweight division when he opted to walk out on WWE due to not being happy with the creative plans for him, but he was involved in a storyline with Enzo Amore at the time.

That's something that people expected to see continuing between them as the company was putting the focus on both men. However, it didn't end up working out, and he quit and then ended up being kept on ice until his contract expired.

3 Jordan Myles

Jordan Myles was pushed heavily by WWE from the moment he arrived in NXT as he won the Breakout Tournament and that got him the chance to compete for the NXT Championship. While he fell short in that matter, it was obvious that he was going to be a big player on that brand if he had stuck around.

However, Myles made the decision to quit the company after he saw the merchandise that the company released for him. He deemed it to be racist which led to him instantly quitting WWE, walking away from the opportunities in front of him.

2 Steve Austin

Steve Austin might be one of the biggest names in the history of the sport, but he is also someone who quit the company in the middle of a storyline. His angle hadn't played out on television when he walked away, but WWE had wanted him to compete against Brock Lesnar in singles action at the time.

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However, because it wasn't something that was heavily promoted for a PPV to potentially make a lot of money from, Austin decided to refuse it. The Texas Rattlesnake quit the company and walked out, which did create a huge rift between him and Vince McMahon for some time. On top of that, it meant that fans never got to see the dream encounter between him and Lesnar, which is something most people had been excited about.

1 Toni Storm

Toni Storm was enjoying a strong push by WWE when she decided to quit the company, making the decision to walk away as she wasn't happy at the time. She was in a major program with Charlotte Flair over the SmackDown Women's Championship during that time, which is why the decision did surprise people.

However, Storm clearly felt it was best to move on from the company to benefit herself. That is something that has worked out in the long term due to the success she has enjoyed since working for AEW, and WWE didn't seem to fight her on the situation. The company simply allowed her to leave and granted Storm her release, which isn't something that always happens when talent wants out of WWE.