Predicting the Next WWE Stars to Leave After Eva Marie, Ho Ho Lun's Exits

In a pair of recent quiet moves, Eva Marie and Ho Ho Lun exited WWE.

History says they won't be the only two Superstars to depart the company in 2017. WWE's roster is a constantly shifting entity, one where the fat is regularly trimmed, where faces come and go.

Marie leaving came as no surprise. She hadn't been in a WWE ring for over a year. She's been busy acting and modeling. 

Her split with WWE is now official, though. The company announced on Aug. 4: "Marie and WWE have mutually agreed to contractually part ways."

Hong Kong-born cruiserweight Lun left on his accord. He told WWE.com. "I went to Hong Kong for vacation about three weeks ago and that’s when I realized that my mother is sick. That's why I decided to tell Matt Bloom, the head coach of the PC, that I wanted to request my release."

Who's next? 

The little-used members of the roster are all vulnerable to budget cuts. Those with an injury history may be in danger, too. That leaves two luchadors and a woman often at the center of controversy at the top of the list of WWE wrestlers most likely to follow Lun and Marie out the door.

Sin Cara

Credit: WWE.com

Sin Cara is clearly not high on the WWE's list of priorities. His workload speaks to that.

Per CageMatch.net, the high-flyer has wrestled just nine times on TV and pay-per-view this year. Since moving to SmackDown during April's Superstar Shake-up, Sin Cara has competed on the blue brand just once.

He hasn't had a feud in ages. Instead, he's been asked to be one of Braun Strowman's punching bags and a perennial benchwarmer.  

It doesn't help that he's almost 40 years old and the WWE has younger luchadors like Kalisto and Lince Dorado (both 30) on the payroll. The company doesn't need him in its attempts to succeed in the Latino market.

It's a safe bet that Sin Cara doesn't make it past the next round of cuts.

Darren Young

You'll be forgiven if you forgot about Darren Young being a part of the Raw brand. His airtime was limited even before he had to undergo surgery.

The WWE attempted to revive his career as a singles star by pairing him with Hall of Famer Bob Backlund last May. But shortly into an angle that saw Backlund tried to motivate and coach Young, the company slid him out of the spotlight.

His feud with The Miz ended abruptly. His rivalry with his former tag team partner Titus O'Neil didn't last much longer.

An elbow injury in January has kept him out of action all year. His previous singles run ended with him on the disabled list, as well, when Young tore his ACL in 2014.

Combine the fact that Young's partnership with Backlund never clicked and that he has missed significant time in the past three years and his stock is quite low at this point. While his old ally O'Neil is busy gaining some traction as the leader and mouthpiece for Titus Worldwide, Young is likely to fade away. 

Gran Metalik

During last year's Cruiserweight Classic, Gran Metalik soared to past big names to make it to the finals of the tournament. When the WWE later revived the cruiserweight division, one assumed the luchador would be a big part of it.

But that never happened.

Rich Swann, Jack Gallagher, Drew Gulak and others were far bigger parts of the division and of 205 Live. Per CageMatch.net, he has yet to wrestle on Raw this year and has only been on 205 Live twice.

That has to frustrate a guy who is a big star in Mexico. Metalik is used to collecting championships for the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, not collecting dust for the WWE.

Metalik is likely to get restless, to want to break from his WWE deal and head home unless something changes soon.

Paige

Credit: WWE.com

Despite her talent and high ceiling, there's no one on the roster with a more tenuous hold on their roster spot than Paige. Controversy threatens to derail her. 

She was recently involved in a domestic dispute at an Orlando airport. And she may end up being charged as a result. 

Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet reported: "Police have determined Paige should be charged with battery in regards to the airport incident involving Alberto El Patron... but it's up to the State Attorney's office to make a final decision."

In 2014, the WWE announced a no-tolerance policy for domestic violence. 

Paige is also two strikes into a three-strikes system in terms of suspensions for violating the talent wellness policy. Her boyfriend's frequent profane anti-WWE rants can't be good for her standing with the WWE. And she's coming off a serious neck injury, one that has kept her out of action since last June.

While she would be a tremendous addition to the current women's division, the volatility of her situation makes a divorce between her and the WWE a strong possibility.