The wrestling industry is booming in 2018 and it’s hard to keep track of where all the wrestlers perform. This industry is amazing if you think about it, it’s just as big, if not bigger than some of the top sports around the world. There are promotions across every continent except Antarctica, but we’re pretty sure our overlord, Vince McMahon, has set up some kind of secret wrestling promotion there.
He’s probably got lizard people fighting Bigfoot and the little gray men in some underground facility. We joke, but seriously, if McMahon could hire Big Foot, lizard people, and little grey men, we guarantee he would. With the countless promotions out there, these promotions need wrestlers and sometimes the best wrestlers they hire come from the WWE.
It’s not a secret that when a wrestler gets into the WWE, his or her stock as rises in the industry. That wrestler could be there for just a year, but it’s still a huge impact on their careers. When wrestlers leave the WWE Universe, it’s not the end of all days; they can easily find work elsewhere. This list comprises of wrestlers spanning several decades and some of them were champs while others weren’t. Enjoy.
16 Tommy Dreamer
Known as “The Innovator of Violence,” and “The Heart & Soul of ECW,” Tommy Dreamer is well known in the WWE. If you watched the 2018 Hall of Fame ceremonies, you may have seen him blushing during The Dudley Boyz speech.
For all the pounding he took over the years to bring us, the fans, entertainment, Dreamer is still getting in the ring at the age of 47.
He may be slower, less powerful, and a few joints that ache but that won’t stop him from performing in the ring. If you didn’t know, Dreamer has his own promotion, House of Hardcore, and performs at most of the events. He’s also been seen in DEFY Vibes, CW, FSW, TNT, and Bar Wrestling. A legend in his own right, you really can’t talk about the history of wrestling without mentioning Dreamer.
15 Emma
One minute she was Emmalina, the next minute she was gone from the WWE. Now going by Tenille Dashwood, Emma had a lot of potential to make it in the WWE but apparently, things just didn’t work out. She got lost in the shuffle during the women’s revolution and now that the women’s division has evolved, she’s no longer in the picture.
That hasn’t stopped her from trying to become a legend outside the WWE Universe. The beautiful Australian has made a huge impact for Ring of Honor. She’s had quite the busy schedule in 2018 and at 29 years old, we know she’ll be around for a long time. Some of the other promotions she’s worked for since her release are AWE, PPW, and AAW.
14 MVP
A few recent wrestling headlines have mentioned MVP opening up to the possibility of a return to the WWE and if the company comes knocking, he can always show them his recent matches. MVP is another wrestler that has worked all over the world.
He’s very active in 2018 and even became the BLW World Heavyweight Champion when he defeated a slew of other wrestlers in a Royal Rumble type match.
MVP keeps doing his thing in 2018, which is performing beautifully in front of a crowd. He’s also worked for TWP, MLW, and HOH this year. MVP may have lost a step or two but he can still move around the ring better than most wrestlers these days - so if he actually does sign with the WWE, no one should have a problem with it.
13 Little Guido
The New York Queen’s native made his wrestling debut in 1991 and can still move around the squared circle like a spicy meatball dancing in your mouth. Little Guido may not have the same ECW name recognition as RVD, Taz, Sabu, and the Dudley Boyz, but he did play a major role in the promotion.
Vince McMahon always had a soft spot for Italian-Americans, just research Bruno Sammartino’s WWE Championship reigns, it’s no surprise McMahon wanted to bring the full-blooded Italian to the WWE after ECW collapsed. He had a short run but some memorable moments and we’re glad he’s still performing today. Little Guido has worked for PPW, RescueMania, and CW in the past year. He’s also a major player at Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore, helping put over some of the younger talents.
12 Joey Mercury
Joey Mercury is looking, as Broken Hardy would put it, WONDERFUL!!! It took the former WWE Tag Team Champion time before he entered a squared circle, but since his return in 2017, Mercury has become a welcome sight for many promotions. Have you heard of MCW Pro Wrestling? It’s a small promotion nestled in the great state of Maryland, and Mercury has been on fire for the company.
With three MCW Heavyweight Championship reigns, a two-time MCW Tag Champ, and a multi-time winner of the Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup, Mercury has made MCW his home.
That doesn’t mean he won’t book a date for another promotion. Mercury has been seen in Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore as well.
11 Billy Gunn
Gunn has pretty much done everything you can in the WWE besides winning the biggest prize of them all, the WWE Championship. Intercontinental, Hardcore, and 1999 King of the Ring winner are just a few of his accolades in single's competition. We can’t forget the 11-times he became a WWE Tag Team Champion either.
At 54 years old, Gunn is still working inside a ring and some of you may have seen his high-profile match against NJPW’s legend, Hiroshi Tanahashi, last year.
However, we’re here to talk about the smaller venues Gunn has worked in. In 2018, he’s performed for TRUE Wrestling, PWE, VCW, NGCW, and HOW. He’s also teamed up with Tommy Dreamer to face The Killer Elite Squad, Joey Mercury and Nick Aldis in HOH.
10 Hardcore Holly
Once a race car driving, long-haired sweetie, Bob Holly transformed into a monster that smashes his opponents with brutal strikes and power-bombs. Hardcore Holly brought the raw attitude during the Attitude Era and in 2018, he’s still bringing that flavor to the ring. The former WWE star has performed several times in 2018.
He still looks in tremendous shape for being in his 50s but that’s Hardcore Holly for you, all muscle.
Some of the promotions he’s worked for recently are WildKat WrestleCon, SWE, and IPW. You may be familiar with some of the guys he’s worked with in his more recent matches, such as Stevie Richards, David Starr, and Keith Lee. He’s still bringing the heat and if the WWE didn’t decide to go younger, we’re pretty sure he would pop up in the WWE Universe.
9 Hornswoggle
Known as Hornswoggle in the WWE, the former rumored third child of Vince McMahon goes by Swoggle these days. Swoggle has a lot of memories with the WWE and we'll never forget the contributions he made but lets us not act like he passed. You can catch him around different promotions since he was released by the WWE in 2015.
These days, Swoggle appears on Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore, WPW and APW.
He’s been part of a bunch of battle royals, title matches, and even a WeeLC at ACW Wisconsin Water City WrestleCon. His last match since this list was written was against Alex Reynolds in the HOH Twitch Television Title Tournament Semi-Final but we’re sure he’ll pop up in another match sooner than later.
8 Hurricane Helms
What’s up with that? Shane Helms is what’s up. The crime-fighting superhero was a surprise entrant in the 2018 Royal Rumble but that’s not the only place where the superhero has been sighted recently.
Helms has been running up and down the indie circuit for a while now and has pretty much performed anywhere that has a name.
Since the Royal Rumble, he’s appeared at Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore, WildKat WrestleCon and CWF Mid-Atlantic. At 45 years young, we doubt Helms stops what he’s doing so expect to see him flying around different promotions in the future. The WWE Universe can always use a superhero and with his good friends The Hardy Boyz back in, who knows, maybe he gets signed for one last run with the company.
7 Simon Gotch
If you want to know what real heat sounds like, go watch Simon Gotch, or should we say, Simon Grimm wrestle - the fans don't like him. Ever since Gotch got kicked out of the WWE, he’s been booking himself as the guy everyone loves to hate. He may have almost destroyed Enzo Amore during a Pay-Per-View and also received a black eye from a soda can, thrown by Sin Cara, but the guy still has some skills and can be a serviceable employee.
That’s why there are a slew of promotions that have acquired his talents since he left the WWE Universe. Some of the recent stops he made are MLW, XWA, BCW and IPW:UK. He also had a short run with Ring of Honor in 2017.
6 Pierre Carl Ouellet
This man, or should we say beast, put his entire body on the line at GCW Joey Janela’s Spring Break 2 over WrestleMania weekend and deserves to be mentioned on this list. If you don’t know who PCO is, he was a three-time WWE Tag Team champion as one half of The Quebecers. He’s gone by Pierre, Bash the Terminator, and Carl Ouellet but nowadays it’s PCO. His match with WALTER was one of the highlights of the show.
Not only did fans witness PCO’s chest turn black from chops by a towering WALTER, he also did a top rope moonsault onto the concrete floor (WALTER missed his cue). Five to ten minutes later, he was doing luchador spots in the ring which he wasn’t known for decades ago. For over 18 minutes, PCO was going off the walls crazy and everyone should seek out the match. He’s also performed for XZW, BLP, and BATTLEWAR.
5 Tito Santana
The last time Tito Santana wrestled in a WWE ring was at a house show in 1993 so your memory might be a bit fuzzy about whom he is. Santana was an absolute stud for the WWE and a huge star for them in the 1980s and became a Hall of Famer in 2004. He’s old, 64 years old to be exact, but his age hasn’t stopped him from performing in smaller arenas. Santana still has the energy and passion to perform inside a squared circle.
His dates are limited but he’s already performed several times in 2018.
In February, Santana would defeat Andre Anderson at STW’s Fast Times at Falconer High in New York. One month later, Santana would be involved in a six-man tag team match at RescueMania 2018.
4 Rich Swann
Swann has gone through a lot of ups and downs recently and we understand why he decided to cancel several indie events after leaving the WWE. The company would release him after a domestic abuse scandal broke a few months ago. Allegedly, Swann was accused of kidnapping his wide, however, all charges were dismissed when prosecutors determined there wasn’t sufficient evidence to move forward.
After being released by the WWE, Swann was booked for several indie dates but backed out of his commitments. It seems he was contemplating his whole life and career, fans thought maybe this was the end for Swann. The contemplating didn’t last long when Swann showed up to CZW’s Best of the Best 17 in April. Young, talented, and with international exposure, expect more of Swann in the near future.
3 Darren Young
The first openly gay male Superstars in the WWE had a lengthy tenure with the company that lasted over a decade. It seems the WWE gave Young more than enough chances to get over with the crowd but he just couldn’t do it. Maybe there were too many chefs in the kitchen or he just didn’t get the right gimmick but no one can deny how many times WWE put him on national television.
They even gave him one of the greatest champions in the WWE as a manager, Bob Backlund, and he couldn’t even make Young great. For the Young fans out there, have no fear, Young has announced that he will continue to wrestle on the indie circuit. He'll take part in Chikara during their epic three-day six-man tag team tournament called King of Trios.
2 El Torito
The time of the little people in the WWE has passed. Hornswoggle and El Torito became the last of a long line of gentlemen that worked their tails off to perform just as well or better than the taller guys. Wrestlers like Fuzzy Cupid, Sky Low Low, Little Beaver, and Lord Littlebrook paved the way for a whole division and El Torito followed in their path.
Of course, they were there for comedic and sensational purposes but if you actually watch their matches, they were pretty awesome at what they did. El Torito is one of those guys that’s awesome at what he does, and that’s wrestling. If he was over six feet, there’s no question he would be a top performer for a promotion. In 2018, El Torito keeps busy by performing for several promotions. Some of these include WMC, Aro Lucha, The Crash and even CZW.
1 James Ellsworth
The chinless athlete keeps making waves on the indie circuit and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Many may think when a wrestler is released by the WWE, it’s going to hurt their stock. For James Ellsworth, that just isn’t the case. Think about it, before blowing up in the WWE Universe, the majority of wrestling fans had no idea who he was. Now that he’s WWE famous, Ellsworth is a hot commodity on the indie circuit.
One epic battle he had recently was with former UFC fighter and current “King of Bros,” Matt Riddle, at GCW Joey Janela’s Spring Break 2 over WrestleMania weekend.
The match was short but sweet with a few funny spots. Other promotions Ellsworth has worked for recently include IWC, PPW and an event hosted by BTW and IMPACT Wrestling.