WWE is full of the greatest wrestling talents in the world today, and with so many good performers coming through NXT year after year, it’s hard to avoid roster turnover, but with all that exceptional talent down there, some of the least talented performers on RAW and SmackDown Live need to go.

On the other hand, there are some great performers on the main roster that, for whatever reason just aren’t getting their fair shot to shine, and with so many independent companies doing such great things over the past few years, WWE is no longer the only game in town. Sure, no one is going to compete with WWE on a global scale, but so many wrestlers have proven that you don’t need WWE to make a great living, and some performers will realize that in 2019.

So sit back and read along as we look to the year 2019, and analyze 10 WWE performers that will no longer be with the company by year's end, and 10 independent performers that will join the worldwide phenomenon that is WWE.

20 Leave: Apollo Crews

Apollo Crews came into NXT at a time where they were signing plenty of top independent talent. Unfortunately, he was rushed through developmental without being able to improve on his flaws, and it’s cost him big time. Sure, he has a great look and is incredibly athletic for his size, but he missed out on valuable promo practice time and never got the chance to learn how to connect with an audience. We’ve seen this before with the likes of Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley and EC3. All Apollo needs to do is continue to work on the indies to get better, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he was back and better down the line.

19 Debut: Jonah Rock

Jonah Rock is a mega performer who has been making waves in PWG and Australia as of late, and with his connections to NXT and the NXT UK brand, it was only a matter of time until WWE snatched him up. Whether it’s NXT or NXT UK, Rock would fit in perfectly with his unique attributes at his size. WWE fans would have no choice but to get behind The King of Monsters. His former stable-mate Shane Thorne is currently in NXT, so bringing him in as a beefier replacement for Nick Miller would be a great way to introduce him to the crowd. Either way, Rock is going to be a superstar.

18 Leave: Hideo Itami

Hideo Itami came to WWE with an incredible resume and fan support under his belt, but injuries and lack of adapting have hurt him over time. Now, it looks like returning to Japan is his only option. Since leaving, the scene in Japan has gone from strength to strength, and Itami would be an immediate star upon return, with multiple dream matches awaiting with the likes of Will Ospreay, Kota Ibushi, Kushida, PAC (fka Neville) and others. This has been rumored for a while, but with nothing going for him. It’s time for the former KENTA to go back where he is appreciated.

17 Debut: Timothy Thatcher

Because of WWE’s desire to be sports entertainment, sometimes, the company forget to treat it like the physical sport it can be, but one way to change that is to bring in a man like Timothy Thatcher. Since moving to Europe, Thatcher has become a regular in places like Progress and wXw, and with his hard-hitting, take-no-prisoners attitude, he’s become a big hit. Sure, he doesn’t have the look or the flamboyance of others, but his legitimate style would make him a great fit across from some of NXT and NXT UK’s best, and he’d be a star in no time.

16 Leave: Alicia Fox

Alicia Fox has been with WWE for over 10 years now, but in the past few years, she has done absolutely nothing of note. It's about time WWE moved on from her to make a roster spot for another woman. With all the talent waiting down in NXT and NXT UK, someone like Fox just no longer deserves a spot in the current WWE climate, and they will figure that out, sooner rather than later. We’ve seen people keep their jobs in the WWE for a long time without any merit, and Fox is just another one in that long list, so hopefully they can figure out something much better to do with her replacement.

15 Debut: Madison Eagles

The WWE’s Women’s Divisions have gone from strength to strength in recent years. In order to keep the momentum, WWE need to continue bringing in elite talent from all around the world, and there’s none better than Madison Eagles. She has been one of the best female wrestlers in the world for a number of years now, and with the look, the charisma and the ability, she would be a star in WWE. Assuming the company makes the Mae Young Classic an annual event, Eagles would be a perfect candidate, and if she wants to show off her talents to the world, the WWE just makes sense.

14 Leave: Titus O’Neil

Titus O’Neil has been one of the more pointless members of WWE roster for quite some time now, as the only memorable thing he’s done in the last two years has been the biggest and most famous botch in recent wrestling memory. The group known as Titus Worldwide were a total failure, and outside of his charity work, O’Neil offers nothing to WWE. It's time they move on from him. As for the independent scene, it would be hard to see Titus finding success, but with the little he offers WWE, maybe it’s good that the wrestling part of his career comes to an end.

13 Debut: Austin Theory

Evolve have been working closely with WWE for quite some time now, so it wouldn’t surprise anyone if their current champion, Austin Theory showed up in NXT sometime soon. He’s already had a tryout with the company, and although he’s not as experienced as some of the talents they’ve recently signed, he’s got all the tools in the world necessary to be a big-time star. Theory has the look, the charisma and the in-ring work to be a top heel in WWE, and now that he’s working with not only Evolve but Progress too, it seems like a matter of "when," not "if" for Austin Theory.

12 Leave: Dana Brooke

Down in NXT, it looked like Dana Brooke had the potential to be a top female performer in WWE, but like Apollo Crews, the company clearly rushed her through that process, and it has definitely cost her. With so many talented women, WWE can’t push everyone, and because she didn’t become a big favorite down in NXT, it seems that they’ve ignored her, despite her obvious, raw talent. A trip to the independent scene could certainly help Brooke develop, and if she were to come back to the company in a few years, they’d no doubt take her more seriously, but for now, she’s better off away from the WWE.

11 Debut: Angelico

The world is full of unique wrestlers, and there are few more unique and energetic than South Africa’s Angelico, who can also be considered one of the more underrated performers in the world. He made his name on the international stage as a member of the Lucha Underground promotion, but since he has been moving all around Europe putting on great matches, and it’s time he came to NXT. Whether it’s NXT or NXT UK, Angelico could fit in anywhere with his unique striking and high-flying style, and it would give him the chance to put on great matches for a worldwide audience.

10 Leave: Gallows and Anderson

Gallows and Anderson made their WWE debut in 2016 to a huge ovation from the WWE Universe, but fast forward two years, and they are basically non-factors on WWE programming. The two were one of, if not the best heavyweight tag teams in the world prior to this, and it’s sad to see how far they’ve fallen. However, with plenty of options outside WWE, we can’t see them sticking around. Whether it’s back to New Japan or the rumored All Elite Wrestling, the Good Brothers will have plenty of people after their signature, but we can’t see it being WWE to win that race.

9 Debut: Shazza McKenzie

The wrestling scene in Australia is getting better by the year, and someone who’s been there to build it for years is Shazza McKenzie. It's time she got her shot on the big stage. She’s wrestled in NXT before in one-off situations, and the crowds really got behind her, so with a sustained push and in-depth dedication to her character, she could be a big crowd favorite. Like Eagles, the Mae Young Classic is the best way to introduce her, but either way, she’d mesh great with the likes of Mia Yim, Io Shirai, and Shayna Baszler, meaning that she’d be a big-time star.

8 Leave: Breezango

It seems like whenever a performer goes above and beyond to get over in the WWE these days, it works in a negative way if the WWE doesn’t want the stars to be successful (e.g. Zack Ryder from a few years ago). That’s exactly what happened to Breezango. The pair of Tyler Breeze and Fandango became known alternately as The Fashion Police, and they had weekly segments called The Fashion Files, and they were absolutely fantastic, getting them over big time. Unfortunately, WWE didn’t want that to happen, and Breeze has been pushed back down to the bottom of the card following Fandango's injury. Unfortunately, before 2019 is out, we can’t see them lasting with the company, given Breeze's lack of upside and Fandango's age (38 in 2019) and injury history.

7 Debut: Aussie Open

The UK has got so hot as of late that the WWE has created an entire NXT brand based around that Kingdom, and while the tag team division is good, it could be much better, and the hottest current team in the UK is Aussie Open. Th  duo consisting of Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher has been getting better and better over the past few years, and they are now the Progress Tag Team Champions and given their close proximity to WWE, it’s only a matter of time. Moustache Mountain will battle the Grizzled Young Veterans at UK TakeOver: Blackpool, but after that, these two will come in and make this a truly hot division.

6 Leave: The Colons

Until reading this, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if plenty of people around the world didn’t even realize The Colons were still WWE, but it’s time for the company to let them go. Even though they aren’t booked great, the Tag Team Division in WWE is currently stacked in terms of talent, meaning The Colons aren’t ever going to be relevant again, and they are just wasting roster spots at the moment. They’ve been hidden in the WWE for so long that they likely wouldn’t be hot heading to the independent scene, and while they aren’t actively bad, the company has just treated them poorly, and it’s cost them a great career.

5 Debut: Ilja Dragunov

wXw is making waves in Germany and are producing big stars like WALTER, but the one with the most superstar potential is the incredibly intense Unbesiegbar, Ilja Dragunov. He’s begun branching out to promotions like Progress, PWG, and others around Europe, and with NXT UK looking to make a big mark on the wrestling world, a star like Dragunov could change the game. He isn’t as big a star right now as WALTER, a constant rival of his, but his intensity and passion would make him a big face with the NXT crowd, and he would be given a bigger platform to have more fantastic matches on.

4 Leave: The Revival

In NXT, The Revival was arguably the greatest tag team on planet Earth, but since being promoted to the main roster, they’ve been completely wasted. With so many great tag teams outside of WWE, they should take a chance on themselves. Sure, it’s always a big risk to step away from WWE, but with the natural rivalry they have with The Young Bucks, they’d be incredible stars. Japan, Mexico, U.S., and Europe all have great tag teams that would allow them to be the stars they were in NXT, as they are looking like another classic bust from WWE's developmental ranks.

3 Debut: Shane Strickland

The independent scene is filled with many fantastic wrestlers, but few can blend that great in-ring work and athleticism with the charisma that Shane "Swerve" Strickland does. Shane has been wrestling for promotions such as Evolve, MLW and Lucha Underground over the past few years, and he’s put together a quite impressive resume, and there is a mutual interest between he and WWE. NXT is currently stacked full of elite level talent, but Shane would add an extra element to it that the fans would really enjoy, so expect him to sign at some point in 2019.

2 Leave: Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar has been a part-time performer in WWE over the past few years, and it seems like he’s completely lost interest at this point, so WWE needs to finally move on from him and continue to build new stars. They have plenty of potential in the main event, but while Lesnar is still around, they aren’t going to fully go in on their new wave of talent. At this point, it’s clear that The Beast is only doing this for money, and after all that he’s earned, he clearly doesn’t need any more extra dough. While we all thought 2018 would be his last in the company, 2019 surely will be.

1 Debut: WALTER

WALTER has been making headlines all around the globe for his incredible in-ring work over the past few years, and rumors have it that the Ring General has signed with the WWE and its NXT UK brand. With TakeOver: Blackpool early in January, and no credible challenger lined up to Pete Dunne following Joe Coffey, it only makes sense for the him to make an impact. Whether it’s now or in the future, the WWE Universe better be ready for Walter, because he is one of the hardest hitting performers in the world, and if treated properly, he could become a worldwide megastar.