The professional wrestling business has changed recently. There was a time long ago when WWE didn't have a stranglehold on the industry. Firstly during the territory days, and then later throughout the 1990s when Vince McMahon competed with WCW and even ECW to a lesser extent. Then the chairman bought out his competition and since then WWE has pretty much been the be all, end all of the business. However back to those aforementioned recent changes. While WWE may still be far and away the leader in pro wrestling it isn't the only game in town. There are a number of wrestlers now plying their trades for the likes of New Japan and Ring Of Honor as both promotions and others continue to gain more traction.

While for most wrestlers making it to WWE is likely still the ultimate goal, it is no longer absolutely necessary to get there in order to make a name for yourself. Kenny Omega has become a global star without any help from WWE, and Cody Rhodes has done the same thing by leaving the pro wrestling juggernaut. Rhodes in particular has likely got a lot of WWE Superstars thinking that maybe they could do the same. There are a number of names in WWE right now that would probably be treated more seriously and like a bigger deal if they left the promotion. However there are also a number of stars who would struggle if they didn't have WWE propping them up.

16 More On The Indies: Breezango

Tyler Breeze and Fandango have taken very different routes to their current place on the roster. Breeze fought his way up through the ranks in NXT while Fandango debuted at WrestleMania, defeating Chris Jericho. Today though the two of them are together as Breezango and it's hard to imagine a time when they weren't a tandem. Their Fashion Police gimmick has become extremely popular with the fans and since WWE didn't necessarily want them to be as big as they have become it's a case of the fans being given doses of Breezango little and often. It's a shame because if they were given a real run, perhaps ever a Tag Team Title reign, the WWE Universe would be fully behind them. Maybe one day the two of them will try their luck elsewhere.

15 Desperately Need WWE: Baron Corbin

While the majority of wrestlers who have ever competed in WWE will truthfully tell you that they watched the business from a young age and it was always their dream to make it as a WWE Superstar, that is not always the case. Some wrestlers end up in WWE after careers in other sports didn't work out how they might have imagined. Football is a big route into wrestling and the likes of The Rock and Goldberg tried their hand at becoming NFL players before arriving on the pro wrestling scene. Baron Corbin is another who falls into that category. The Lone Wolf is a classic example of someone WWE managed to recruit from another sport and mold into exactly what they want. That's why he would likely not be a success anywhere else in wrestling.

14 More On The Indies: Gallows And Anderson

Perhaps the biggest thing in professional wrestling outside of the boundaries of WWE right now is the Bullet Club. It has been an awfully long time since something in wrestling that wasn't created or at least nurtured by Vince McMahon has become as popular as the New Japan faction. With that in mind it's understandable that fans get pretty excited when WWE manage to tempt any of the stable's members away from New Japan to come wrestle for them.

There was certainly a buzz when Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson made the jump.

Unfortunately though their WWE careers haven't really taken off. There's no question right now that they would be much bigger if they were to return to the Bullet Club. Hopefully their recent move to SmackDown Live will change that.

13 Desperately Need WWE: Big Cass

Speaking of Superstars who have recently made the move to SmackDown Live it's time to talk about Big Cass. The seven footer returned to TV with a bang by attacking Daniel Bryan. Clearly WWE are planning on keeping Cass a heel and whether that's a good idea or not will be revealed over the coming months. It's good to see Cass back from injury because it's hard to imagine him outside of a WWE ring. In NXT Cass was brought out of his shell by his former tag team partner Enzo Amore. Couple that with the fact that he is seven feet tall then he was always going to enjoy a modicum of success in WWE. On the independent circuit however he probably wouldn't fair quite as well.

12 More On The Indies: Curt Hawkins

If you ask almost anyone that has shared a locker room with Curt Hawkins and those who are close to him they will tell you that he is a terrific in-ring performer. That's why the way WWE treat him and his character is so puzzling. Clearly they see him as a good pair of hands and not a lot more judging by the losing streak he is currently on.

By the time you read this Hawkins will have likely broken the 200 losses in a row mark.

That alone is bad enough of course but it might all be worth it if WWE make its ending a big deal. Sadly though that's not very likely to happen. At this point the best scenario for Hawkins might be for WWE to release him and then a promotion on the indies can make his losing streak ending the huge deal that it deserves to be.

11 Desperately Need WWE: Alicia Fox

There is currently a lot to love about WWE but perhaps the best thing about the whole promotion right now is the women's division. The female wrestlers on the roster at the moment are the best crop of talent there has ever been in the company on the women's side of things. In fact the majority of the female Superstars in WWE right now are such good, all round performers that they would thrive almost anywhere in the wrestling world. There are a few women who have managed to stick around from the old era of Divas wrestling in WWE and while they have adapted enough, they would probably struggle on the independent circuit. Alicia Fox is one of those. An incredibly talented woman but when she is done with WWE she will probably be done with wrestling in general.

10 More On The Indies: Bayley

Sticking with the current women of WWE and moving on to somebody who was definitely not around during the Divas era, Bayley. The former Women's Champion ascended up the ranks in NXT at the beginning of her WWE career and won the hearts of pretty much every fan who watched her. Her crowning moment as a member of the yellow and black brand came when she defeated Sasha Banks for the NXT Women's Championship in what has been lauded by some as the greatest women's match of all time.

It seemed like a home run that Bayley would be a huge star on the main roster but poor booking has ruined that.

Raw's Resident Hugger may love being a WWE Superstar but there's no doubt that she could make a whole lot of money on the indies if she wanted to.

9 Desperately Need WWE: Big Show

While a lot of the time WWE can very much seem like a revolving door for a lucky few it can also be a career for life. Take The Undertaker for example. The Deadman made his debut for WWE in November 1990 and has remained with them ever since, competing at this year's WrestleMania. While his time with the company might not stretch back as far as The Undertaker's, Big Show also falls into that long tenured category. Show started his career at WCW but once he made switched over to WWE in the late 1990s he never looked back. The World's Largest Athlete has done some pretty humiliating things for WWE, including dressing up as a baby, and it will likely be the last place he ever wrestles.

8 More On The Indies: Cesaro

In the modern era of WWE especially there have been a handful of examples of Superstars who the fans love but Vince McMahon refuses to give the push that they clearly deserve. Dolph Ziggler is one example but after he was given a token push fans lost interest. Zack Ryder was another that fans pretty much gave up on in the end. One man that refuses to give up though is Cesaro.

Most of us assumed that he would have been a World Champion by now, but so far no such luck.

McMahon famously said that Cesaro was one of the Superstars not grabbing one of his proverbial brass rings. We would argue that The Swiss Cyborg has tried to but is getting stopped short. If he returned to the independent circuit Cesaro would likely be a World Champion within a matter of months.

7 Desperately Need WWE: Sheamus

Cesaro is famously currently paired with Sheamus of course as The Bar on SmackDown Live. Despite the chemistry the two of them have together they have had very different trajectories in their wrestling careers. While Cesaro would likely be more than happy to return to the indies The Celtic Warrior is very much a WWE guy. There have been times when Vince McMahon clearly believed Sheamus was going to be 'the guy' in WWE, hence why he has been a World Champion in the company four times up until this point. While it's nice to think that if Cesaro left WWE his good buddy Sheamus would follow him out the door that probably wouldn't be the case. The Irishman would likely have faith that Mr McMahon would have something good for him if he stayed.

6 More On The Indies: Sami Zayn

When discussing the very best in-ring performers on the planet right now there are a handful of names that immediately spring to most people's minds. Kenny Omega, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins just to name a few. Up until a couple of years ago the name Sami Zayn would have been right up there too but for some reason The Underdog doesn't immediately spring to mind. It's not because Zayn has lost his ability in the ring either. The Canadian Superstar is as good a wrestler as he has ever been but WWE haven't used him in as impactful a way as they perhaps could have done. Since leaving NXT not only has Zayn not been a World Champion, but he hasn't had a title in WWE full stop. There is no doubt that he would be better appreciated on the indies but let's hope Vince McMahon addresses that before it's too late.

5 Desperately Need WWE: Dolph Ziggler

This entry may come as a surprise to some, especially on this side of the list. There's no doubt that Dolph Ziggler is very much a WWE guy but some of the fans left over from the aforementioned time when seemingly everyone wanted him to be pushed to the moon who believe he should venture out on his own. They would likely argue that The Showoff could hit the independent circuit and do something akin to what Cody Rhodes has managed to achieve. Well if he could do that why hasn't he? In the last few of years Ziggler seems to have had a couple of opportunities to leave but has opted to stay. He may be booked poorly but he is clearly comfortable where he is and is likely compensated well for it.

4 More On The Indies: Rusev

Sticking with the subject of Superstars the fans like and Vince McMahon doesn't seem to get, on to a present day example of that with Rusev. For the first year of his main roster run The Bulgarian Brute was used correctly and went unbeaten for over a year. Since then though Rusev has been booked pretty poorly until recently when he and Aiden English stumbled upon the Rusev Day gimmick.

In arenas across the United States and around the world, fans are chanting Rusev Day, even when The Lion Of Bulgaria isn't even in the ring or sometimes when he isn't even on the card.

McMahon continues to turn a deaf ear though and it is looking like it will eventually lead to Rusev cutting bait and hitting the indies. Fans are already chanting Rusev Day there anyway so at least he knows he'll be popular.

3 Desperately Need WWE: Jinder Mahal

Believe it or not it has only been a year since Jinder Mahal became the number one contender to the WWE Championship. A lot of wrestling has happened since then of course and for the majority of 2017 The Modern Day Maharajah ruled over SmackDown Live as WWE Champion. Whether that run was a success or not is up for debate but what has become clear over the past twelve months is that Vince McMahon sees more in Mahal than almost anybody in the WWE Universe, whether they be Indian or otherwise. In all fairness it looks as if Mahal is about to settle into a spot that he warrants, a mid-card heel guy. While he may be WWE Champion once again somewhere down the line if he were to venture out onto the independent circuit it would be highly unlikely that he ever became a World Champion.

2 More On The Indies: Finn Balor

The majority of the main roster is currently made up of stars who previously competed in NXT. When an NXT Superstar makes the move to Raw or SmackDown Live it really can be a lottery as to whether they make it or not. Fans were worried about how Vince McMahon would use Finn Balor but on night one all those worries disappeared. On the Irishman's very first night on Raw he defeated Roman Reigns in the main event, an honor reserved for very few Superstars. That match earned him a shot at the Universal Title and in his first ever pay per view match he won the championship. The next night however Balor had to relinquish the title due to injury and since he returned from being on the shelf his booking has been poor. A return to New Japan is probably looking pretty appealing right about now.

1 Desperately Need WWE: Roman Reigns

In an article that is half filled with WWE guys and girls there is no one who is more of a company Superstar than Roman Reigns. Even more so than Baron Corbin, The Big Dog is very much a wrestler that has been designed by Vince McMahon and his creative team in every single way. If WWE ask Reigns to do something then he will do it. That's why he is one of the top guys in the company today but it is also why a large chunk of fans so vociferously reject him. Mr McMahon has been desperately trying for years now to make us love his creation but it just isn't happening. Due to how he has come up in the business Reigns would be lost without WWE. Lucky for him there is no chance, aside from him getting fired for something awful, that WWE will ever force him to fend for himself.