The independent wrestling scene is currently the hottest that its ever been. With the Hot Topic deals for wrestling merch, as well as Funko Pop just releasing news that they are releasing Pop Vinyl figures for The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and Cody (the guys had already announced it, but now we have official word), it’s clear now that you don’t need the WWE to become a big name in wrestling. Although it’s not everyone that is receiving this honor from Pop, there are more eyes on the entire scene than ever before. Still, the WWE is and always has been the biggest promotion in the world. If you want to truly leave a mark on the wrestling business, you usually have to come to the WWE, but for some, that dream turns into a nightmare when they get to Vince McMahon’s company in some instances.
That doesn’t happen for everyone, because individuals in wrestling are very different, and all of their paths to the top vary. Either way, some people succeed in the world’s biggest wrestling promotion, and others don’t. Today, we are going to look at eight performers who are glad they signed with the WWE and eight who probably regret signing their contract (maybe not overall, but just with the timing).
15 Star - Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe had one of the greatest independent careers of all-time and if he spent the majority of that in the WWE, he would likely be considered one of the greatest all around performers that the wrestling business has ever seen. It’s better late than never, and he’s proved over his three years with the company that not only is he a fantastic character and in ring performer, but his promos are matched by few on the main roster.
Now that Joe is on SmackDown Live, he can finally have the main event career that he deserves away from Roman Reigns.
With the way he has been booked since his return from injury, it’s clear that the company see him as a future WWE Champion, even going so far as to tease a future rivalry between him and his old TNA rival, the current WWE Champion, The Phenomenal, AJ Styles.
Joe came into the WWE in a time where we hadn’t seen many former TNA talents sign with the company. We weren’t too sure how they felt about them and we didn’t really know if he would ever make the jump. He surprised us all with his NXT debut, and he’s nailed everything he’s done in the company so far. Joe's just proving that he’s one of the best to ever lace up a pair of boots.
14 Regret - The Club
Luke Gallows has played several characters in the WWE, but nothing ever stuck and he walked away. As it turns out, that was the best choice he ever made as he became a crucial part of Bullet Club alongside ‘Machine Gun’ Karl Anderson. After tearing up New Japan Pro Wrestling for several years, they made the decision to follow AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura to the WWE, but unfortunately, it hasn’t been as fruitful for the Good Brothers; it has for the other two.
Early on, the WWE treated The Club like the dominant forces that they should be. When they paired with AJ Styles in his battles with John Cena, it looked like they’d be a dominant force for years to come but the company looked to focus on their comedy side more often than not.
It led to them becoming just another team. With so many good tag teams in WWE (even though most aren’t treated as such), they just aren’t important anymore.
Bullet Club is hotter than its ever been before under the guidance of Kenny Omega and The Elite. If The Club were still there, they’d likely be even stronger, and with how they are being treated in WWE these days, they’d likely much prefer to be back in the Land of the Rising Sun.
13 Star - Adam Cole
So many of the performers on the independent scene these days rely on their frenetic in ring pace to get their name out there, and although The Panama City Playboy is a solid in ring worker, as evidenced by his singles performances since joining NXT, it was his presence and character work that made him one of the best performers in the world. After less than a year in NXT, it’s clear that the WWE are incredibly high on him.
Alongside Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly, The Undisputed Era have made a huge impact in NXT. With Roderick Strong now a part of the group, the sky is the limit for them as a stable and as individuals, but none have more potential than the former ROH World Champion Cole.
In just under a year, the Undisputed Era have won the Tag Team Championships, as well as Adam becoming the first ever NXT North American Champion.
With a stable as talented as this one, it’s only a matter of time until they are running roughshod over RAW or Smackdown Live. With his presence, charisma and in ring abilities, along with his popularity among fans and stablemates, Cole is going to be a huge star. All the work he did to make his way to the WWE will have paid off handsomely.
12 Regret - Kalisto
Many people hadn’t heard of Kalisto before he made his debut in NXT alongside Sin Cara as The Lucha Dragons. As Samauray Del Sol, he was on his way to having a fantastic career on the independents for the likes of PWG and CZW in the United States, where he was establishing himself as one of the best and most innovative high-fliers in the game. It was AAA down in Mexico where his potential was at its highest. Down there, he became known as Octagon Jr. who was the storyline protégé of star Luchador Octagon. It looked like he was on his way to becoming the biggest star in the promotion, but his commitments to the indie scene in the US got in his way of doing that. Even so, his work in CZW and most notably PWG made him a huge future star.
Before that could take off however, he came to the WWE, where although he has won Championships and had some great matches, he just isn’t being used as an important part of their programming. Most of his title reigns have been incredibly boring and lackluster, and it’s clear that if he solidified himself as a top star on the indies before coming to the WWE, he would be much more valuable to the company.
11 Star - Aleister Black
Tommy End carved out a fantastic career for himself on the UK independent scene for over a decade, and despite the fact that he never made it big in the US like other performers, the WWE were clearly justified in bringing in the Dutch Destroyer. Just over a year after debuting, Black is still undefeated in singles competition, and he’s the new NXT Champion - proving that he is ready for bigger and better things in the WWE over the coming few years.
Sure, we’ve seen plenty of people star in NXT but fail to be used correctly on the main roster. However, there are a lot of factors that go into that, but the most important is the opinion of Vince McMahon, and he may not like the look of Black. Either way, he’s too good not to use, and at the very least, he’ll be a fantastic Intercontinental/United States Title challenger for years.
It’s hard to predict whether Black will become a World Champion on the main roster, but he’s making fantastic money and working on the world’s biggest wrestling stage putting on incredible matches. He should already be happy with his decision.
10 Regret - Jack Gallagher
Jack Gallagher was relatively unknown when he won a WWE Cruiserweight Classic Qualifying match against Pete Dunne. He proved that in his time throughout that tournament, he was one of the most entertaining and charismatic performers we’d seen in quite some time. Now that he is displaying his legitimate MMA toughness with his new character, as well as matches against the likes of Pete Dunne back in Progress, it’s sad to think that he’s being wasted away in the Cruiserweight division.
Sure, it would have taken Gallagher plenty of time to build up significant momentum on the independent scene, but with how quickly the independent scene in the UK is growing, he would have become a star regardless.
Although it was a good move at the time to come to the WWE, he may be regretting it now. He’s performing on a world wide stage, and having some decent matches, whether it be on his own or alongside Brian Kendrick, but Gallagher would have plenty of freedom and a much more significant role on the independent scene.
We wish that he stayed around for a while before coming to the WWE because he could have been such a bigger star.
9 Star - Pete Dunne
Pete Dunne alongside the likes of his friend Mark Andrews have always had the talent to succeed in the WWE but he never quite found the character that was going to catapult him to success. That was until he became the Bruiserweight. After just a short period of time on the independent scene, the WWE came calling, and although he lost the final of the first WWE UK Championship tournament to his friend and British Strong Style stablemate, it’s clear that the WWE were centering this entire division around The Bruiserweight.
His style is unlike anything else going in the WWE. He can also move around with the best of them, and his blend of styles along with his ability to work different type of matches make him a perfect fit in the WWE.
When the time comes that he makes it to the main roster, whether that be alongside British Strong Style or on his own, he is going to break out as a worldwide phenomenon.
Dunne is still in his early 20s so he has plenty of time to develop within the WWE. One thing is for certain and that’s the fact that Pete Dunne will one day be one of the top three wrestlers in the world as a main event star in the WWE.
8 Regret - Mike Kannellis
Mike Kannellis, or Mike Bennett as he was known on the independents was never one of the biggest names around. Even when he was leading the fantastic Kingdom stable in Ring of Honor, he was a great worker, and with his real life wife, former WWE performer Maria by his side, was doing great things. When he came to the WWE, we expected a lot from him, but he turned up in poor shape, and after his wife got pregnant and took away half of his act, it just seems as though he may never recover.
In ROH he was an important part of their programming and he even had a great run in Impact as ‘The Miracle’.
He may not have been a huge main event star, but he was important to the show, and with so many more seasoned (at least in WWE) performers in the company, he probably will never be that in WWE.
He’s no doubt on great money, and he’s providing for his beautiful, growing family, so he probably can’t complain too much. However, considering how good independent wrestling is doing these days, he could have done that away from the WWE while making great money at the same time.
7 Star - Ember Moon
The women’s independent wrestling scene has been good for a while now but it didn’t really take off until the WWE and other top wrestling promotions started pushing the women as hard as they have. Since then, it’s grown in leaps and bounds with people like Toni Storm and Io Shirai being regarded as some of the best performers in the world, regardless of gender.
One name who was synonymous with the indies in the US was Ember Moon, better known at the time as Athena. After being trained by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, she came to the WWE and NXT with plenty of hype behind her. Right from the day of her debut in a battle with Billie Kay, she’s been doing great, and with a solid list of matches and an NXT Women’s Title reign under her belt, she’s ready to make an impact on the biggest stage.
Since debuting on RAW after WrestleMania, Moon has been featured heavily and it’s clear that WWE are high on her in-ring abilities.
With the company looking to push new faces at the top of both Women’s divisions, she’ll no doubt be RAW Women’s Champion before the year is out. With all that being said, how can you regret signing that contract if you're Moon?
6 Regret - Neville
Neville wasn’t on the independent scene for too long, but as PAC, he competed in the UK and for PWG in the United States. With his incredible high-flying offense, he caught the attention of the WWE, and ended up signing to NXT. After a fantastic run down there with matches against the likes of Bo Dallas, Finn Balor and Sami Zayn, it looked like he’d be a huge star, but unfortunately, it hasn’t turned out that way.
He was used quite poorly to begin his main roster career, but when he turned heel and joined the Cruiserweight division, a King was born. Despite competing in the then struggling 205 Live division, he became must-see, but the WWE failed to recognize just how good he truly was. Despite the King of the Cruiserweights clearly being too good to be pinned down there, the company didn’t have any interest in releasing him to the main roster. With very little creatively to do on 205 Live, Neville became too frustrated, and is now sitting out the rest of his contract.
Although he’s going to return to the independents as a star on the level of The Young Bucks and Cody, he probably regrets wasting so much time in WWE just for it to come to such a poor end.
5 Star - Andrade "Cien" Almas
The Japanese wrestling scene is currently one of the hottest in the world (behind only the UK), and it’s overshadowed the fantastic work being done in Mexico with CMLL and AAA. With so many Latin stars currently in the WWE, they may be getting some attention soon. That will only help with the rise of Andrade “Cien” Almas, who is on track to be one of the hottest Latin stars in years, and one of the biggest names in all of WWE.
Sure, only time will tell how well he is treated on the main roster (especially if the rumors are true about Vince McMahon hating managers/valets, Zelina Vega is a huge part of El Idolo’s act), but after a rocky start in NXT, he made the year 2017 his, and had one of the hottest runs we’ve ever seen in NXT. If anyone can pick up where Rey Mysterio left off for the Latin wrestling fans, it’s Almas.
He was one of the biggest names in the world down in CMLL, even starting the popular Los Ingobernables faction that is now so huge in Japan with Tetsuya Naito. In time, his decision to come to the WWE will prove to be the best choice he ever made.
4 Regret - Apollo Crews
Apollo Crews, formerly known as Uhaa Nation wasn’t ever the biggest star on the independent scene but he worked hard between Japan and the United States to become a future star. With his incredible combination of athleticism and power, he had potential to take over the bigger independents like Ring of Honor but he was snatched up by the WWE. As we all thought would happen, they rushed him to the main roster with very little character development, and he now looks like a major failed experiment.
With more time on the independent scene, Crews would have had the freedom and time to develop his character more.
We’ve seen with guys like Drew McIntyre take that said freedom and develop into an all-round superstar. Crews probably regrets not taking such a road.
Sure, he’s making more money than he would have outside of the WWE banner but he’s just basically pointless on RAW at the moment. If he had of waited a few years to sign, we could be talking about Crews as one of the biggest names in the company, if not the world today. It'll be quite interesting to see where his wrestling career goes from here.
3 Star - Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens had a fantastic career on the independent scene as Kevin Steen. He had some of the greatest matches in Ring of Honor history, especially alongside his best friend Sami Zayn, or El Generico at the time. There was incredible hype around him when he followed Zayn to the WWE, and ever since that time, he had a meteoric rise to the top of the company.
He ran through NXT and looked like the most dominant performer in the company, and it took him all the way to Monday Night RAW, where he defeated John Cena in his very first match.
Even though his recent heel run alongside Zayn has been dragging on for quite some time, he’s one of the most diverse and entertaining performers that the company has today. That’s not bad for someone that was once exiled from ROH for not being what they were looking for.
Owens still has plenty of years left in him and when the WWE finally decide to turn him babyface, he’ll get even hotter. With the indie credibility plus the entertainment value that WWE desire, it’s no doubt that he’s living up to the hype that’s followed him all the way from small independent promotions in Montreal.
2 Regret - Hideo Itami
As KENTA on the Japanese and United States independent scene, Hideo Itami was one of the hardest hitting and hardest working performers in the world. He had a series of matches with Daniel Bryan, then Bryan Danielson in Ring of Honor that are still highly regarded today. His signing with the WWE should have been the next step up into superstardom, but whether it be credited to the difference in styles from Japan to the WWE or his injury history since arriving, he just hasn’t caught on the way that fans expected and hoped for.
Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and Kevin Owens are all guys who came into NXT around the same time as Itami, and they’re all doing great things on the main roster. Itami was often injured during his NXT run, and that halted all momentum that he could have ever hoped to achieve. He's now that he’s on 205 Live, it’s hard to say that he’s happy about his WWE run. It’s likely that he will return to Japan when his contract is up, but if you asked him if he had his chance over, would he take the WWE run or not sign? We are 100% certain that he would decline the WWE’s offer, especially with the popularity that New Japan Pro Wrestling has gained. Itami would likely be one of the biggest stars in that company had he not signed with WWE.
1 Star - AJ Styles
AJ Styles is the best wrestler in the world and he has been for quite some time. When he made the jump to WWE, it made plenty of independent wrestling fans around the world nervous because of how some other independent performers have been portrayed but with his talent, AJ has risen to the top. He proved that he deserves to be regarded as not just the best wrestler in the world, but one of the greatest of all time.
The Phenomenal One, in just over two years has won the WWE Championship twice, as well as holding on to the United States Title.
He’s had fantastic matches with everyone, even dragging a great match out of Jinder Mahal (that really is the biggest compliment that we or anyone can give Styles). It’s safe to say that he improved his stock by going to the grandest stage that wrestling can provide.
It looked like early on that Styles was going to be nothing more than a mid-card act in the WWE but his matches with John Cena and subsequent heel turn elevated him to the main event,. After two years, it’s clear that he is WWE’s best signing in quite some time.