Every wrestler with big aspirations aims to be part of WWE one day and many of these stars start by making names for themselves on the Independent Circuit. Over the past few years there have been many superstars who were already known to the wrestling community when they joined WWE, but sadly they were unable to continue to shine in WWE's spotlight. While it is the grandest stage in the world, it is also completely different from playing to small crowds. Storylines run the game, and no matter how good a wrestler is in the ring, sometimes they just can't bring the same success they had on the indies to WWE.
The NXT brand has allowed a number of superstars from other promotions to come over to WWE and test their mettle with a much easier traveling schedule, but some stars were unable to make an impact in NXT, despite already being relatively known all over the world. WWE is a hard company to adapt to when it comes to some of the rules backstage, and a lot of worldwide stars have been unable to make a career in the biggest wrestling promotion in the world actually work for them.
The following list looks at just 15 wrestlers who were shockingly finally able to make it to the bright lights of WWE, but when they did they completely flopped. This could be based on injury, booking or even just personal attitude.
15 Austin Aries
Austin Aries was a huge star in TNA for a number of years before he finally made his way to WWE back in 2016, like many other stars at that time, Aries made his debut on the NXT roster before an orbital socket injury forced him into a commentary position for the 205 Live roster.
Despite the pedigree that Aries came to WWE with, the company was reluctant to push him outside of the Cruiserweight Division.
This caused him a huge amount of frustration. Aries battled Neville for the Championship a number of times, but the duo was only able to gain a spot on the WrestleMania 33 kickoff show, which didn't sit too well with Aries. WWE has had a number of former TNA stars head to the company in recent years, but Aries was one of the most disappointing stints.
14 Colt Cabana
Colt Cabana and CM Punk made names for themselves all over the world, but when Cabana followed Punk over to WWE back in 2007 he was unable to mirror the success that his long-time friend had. Cabana was never given the opportunities he deserves in WWE, which could be why he was released less than two years after he originally signed and was then able to return to the Independent Circuit and continue to make a name for himself.
Cabana was able to become known as quite a comedy wrestler throughout his career, but WWE wasn't the place for him to earn his craft at that time and he has since gained more success outside of the company than when he was part of it.
13 James Storm
James Storm is another former star who came to the WWE with a solid background in Impact Wrestling, but the hype surrounding Storm didn't follow through on the NXT brand. Storm only appeared a few times as part of NXT programming in later 2015 before opting not to sign for WWE and return to TNA.
This was around the same time that his former tag team partner Bobby Roode made the decision to leave TNA and join WWE.
This meant that Beer Money couldn't be reunited when Storm returned to the company a few months later. The former Tag Team Champion was someone who many fans never thought they would see in a WWE ring and sadly he's someone who's short WWE career has already been forgotten.
12 Rhyno
Rhyno's return came as quite a shock to many following the 2016 WWE draft, since the superstar himself didn't have a great history in WWE from his previous run. Despite this, Rhyno was given a chance and despite being pushed as one half of the first ever SmackDown Tag Team Champions, the former ECW star has been a forgettable star in recent years.
Rhyno has been looking at starting a career in politics over the past few years.
This could be why he was reduced as the cheese spray eating superstar in backstage segments and has been used as a jobber on WWE TV throughout the last few months. Rhyno must be wondering why he even decided to return to WWE if this was the company's long-term plan for him.
11 Mike Bennett
Mike Bennett was an established superstar in TNA before he made the switch over to WWE with his wife Maria back at Money in the Bank back in 2017, but even though the couple's switch was hyped up in the weeks following it, Bennett has been somewhat forgotten amongst the shuffle.
Bennett has recently welcomed his first daughter with wife Maria, which is why she has been missing from his side in recent months, but when Kanellis finally makes her return to the company after her maternity leave ends, Mike could benefit from her return and be pushed by the company once again, but right now Mike's first year in the company was definitely a forgettable one since he was reduced to jobber status quite early on.
10 Hideo Itami
When Kenta was first signed by WWE back in 2014, there was so much hype surrounding his debut because he was known as such a huge star in Japan. Despite this, Itami's past few years in the company have been plagued by injuries and have kept him off WWE TV. A shoulder injury kept him out for more than 14 months and cost him a shot at the NXT Championship and even recently switching over to the 205 Live roster hasn't helped him to be able to perform at the level that the company thought he could when he first signed.
The signing of Shinsuke Nakamura has definitely overshadowed Itami's career in recent years and it seems unlikely that he will ever be able to follow through on the hype that was surrounding him more than four years ago.
9 Tyler Bate
Tyler Bate made his WWE debut as part of the United Kingdom tournament back in January 2017 and became the Inaugural winner of the Championship at just 19-years-old. Bate was then tipped to be the next big thing in the company until he lost the Championship to Pete Dunne a few months later and has once again become another talent enhancer on both NXT and 205 Live.
Bate has the talent to be a top star on either division but it seems that once again backstage politics have led to Bate becoming a distant memory in the UK Championship division and a recent injury cost him a shot at the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic as well. The future is certainly looking bleak for the youngest singles Champion in WWE history.
8 Kassius Ohno
Kassius Ohno is a popular star on NXT right now, but before he became known under this ring name, he was making waves in Ring of Honor as Chris Hero. It was Hero who was originally pitched to be part of The Shield instead of Roman Reigns and the company had high hopes for him when he was signed.
Sadly, Ohno has gained a lot of weight in recent years and it's left WWE reluctant to push him towards any titles in WWE. Despite the fact that he is still able to put on a show-stealing performance regardless of which superstar he is put in the ring with, it seems that he is destined to be the guy putting over talent rather than pushing for Championships. Many fans had much higher hopes for Chris Hero.
7 Alberto Del Rio
While Alberto Del Rio had a relatively successful first run in WWE, many fans were shocked to see him return to the company back in 2015 after he was only fired the previous year for a backstage altercation with an official. Del Rio probably shouldn't have bothered to return since he didn't finish the year-long contract that he signed and was mainly used as a mid-carder throughout.
While Del Rio did win the United States Championship, he was unable to get past the scrutiny that his relationship with Paige gave to him and he's still living with the consequences of this now. It has been reported recently that WWE actually wants Del Rio to return, but based on his previous run, it wouldn't be the best idea.
6 Emma
Emma was WWE's first ever Australian Diva and she was part of the final to crown the first ever NXT Women's Champion alongside Paige, but while Paige went on to flourish on both NXT and the main roster, Emma was unable to follow suit. Not only did Emma fail to be repackaged as Emmalina, but she also failed to pick up a Championship of any kind while she was in WWE.
There are a number of female wrestlers who were able to do much more than Emma in much less time, but much like many other stars on this list, the company was never behind her so she was never given the opportunities that she deserved or given any accolades for helping to kick-start the Women's Revolution.
5 Shaul Guerrero
Shaul Guererro got bitten by the wrestling bug that was obviously passed down from her parents and was signed to WWE back in 2010 and became known as Raquel Diaz. The daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero and former Raw General Manager Vickie Guerrero looked to have a lot of potential in NXT before she requested her release from the company back in 2014.
Shaul was struggling with an eating disorder and decided to follow her mother out of the company to then start a new life away from the business. Many of the WWE Universe had high hopes for the eldest daughter of the WWE legend, but she decided that she wasn't destined to be a star in the same business as her father.
4 Luke Gallows
Luke Gallows third return to WWE back in 2016 came as a huge shock to many fans since the company had already misused him twice before he was released and headed to Japan to make a name for himself. Alongside Karl Anderson, Gallows returned to the company almost two years ago and once again he has been completely overlooked and misused.
There have been Bullet Club teases but no real pay off on anything that Gallows and Anderson have the talent to be part of, which has added the duo to a long list of other names that the company has wasted in recent years. Gallows and Anderson won Championships all over the world together but they haven't been able to mirror that success in the WWE.
3 Vader
Vader became a huge star in WCW so when he came over to WWE many fans expected the former Champion to be able to follow suit. Sadly, this didn't happen because backstage politics with Shawn Michaels meant that the planned push for Vader was then scrapped and the former WCW Champion was then denied the Championship in WWE.
Vader's career in the company was all but over not long after that and has left him a footnote in WWE history, which isn't what he deserved at the time since he was a superstar that had become quite popular with the crowd. Vader's career is now best remembered for his feud with Yokozuna, which hardly gave the WWE Universe the conclusion they desired at WrestleMania back in 1996.
2 Corey Graves
Before coming to WWE, Graves made quite a name for himself on the Independent Circuit and was someone that many fans thought would be the next CM Punk. Graves started his NXT career brightly but sadly was another superstar who's injuries forced him to call a time on his active career and then move over to the commentary desk.
Graves has become one of the best commentators in WWE in recent years, which is a small consolation compared to the career he could be enjoying inside the ring right now. But it seems that once again Graves is another star that flopped when he came to WWE and will now hardly be remembered for the matches he had in NXT. Instead he will be more memorable for his voice that his in-ring skills.
1 Sting
There was a lot of hype surrounding Sting when he finally made his way over to WWE back in 2014. As the former face of WCW and a man who had become a legend in TNA, it was something that many fans thought that they would never see, but when he popped up at Survivor Series back in 2014 it was the arrival everyone expected.
Sadly, this was his only high point. Sting then went on to lose every match that he had on pay-per-view in the WWE as Vince McMahon seemingly tried to send a message through Sting about WCW. It was sad to see Sting misused in this way, given the career he had, but thankfully the match between Undertaker and Sting never went ahead, because that would probably have been ruined as well.