10 Superstars Who Had Better Careers Outside WWE

By Alexander Podgorski /

10. Jamie Noble/James Gibson

Some of you might be thinking that this one doesn€™t count, as James Gibson currently works for WWE as a producer. I€™m taking specifically about his in-ring career. As Jamie Noble, Gibson worked for WWE from 2002-2004 and again from 2005-2009. He didn€™t do much during either run, other win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship once, forming a short-lived tag team with Kid Kash as the Pitbulls, and had small rivalries over some of the Divas. Given his actual grappling talent, he was vastly underused. After his first stint in the WWE, Gibson went to work for Ring of Honor (ROH), where he won the ROH World Title in a Fatal-4-Way against CM Punk, Samoa Joe, and Christopher Daniels, all of whom were and are fantastic wrestlers. As soon as he was released from his WWE contract, he went from challenging for one of the WWE€™s lowest titles, to winning ROH€™s top title. The fact that he was even booked into such a match demonstrated the in-ring skill that he had, which, unfortunately, was overlooked in WWE. His biggest problem unfortunately was his size. Vince McMahon loves big guys who can win a fight in real life. Janie Noble is 5€™9 and barely weighs over 200 lbs. Furthermore, his wrestling psychology was that of a technician as opposed to a cruiserweight or a luchadore, which made it harder for him to stand out as a performer. This isn€™t a new phenomenon, though. For years WWE was ruled by the muscular big men like Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior, while more skilled grapplers like Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect and Shawn Michaels were out-performing them. While those athletes eventually managed to be in the spotlight, the same couldn€™t be said for Jamie Noble. His last major appearance was in 2009, where he was demolished by a debuting Sheamus, before announcing his retirement from in-ring competition. While he might enjoy his work behind the scenes, his career between the ropes in WWE left a lot to be desired. Outside of the WWE, his size was an afterthought; it was his talent that people appreciated.