8 Wrestlers Who Turned Down Big Money WWE Deals

8. AJ Styles

As well as being one of the world's foremost professional wrestlers, AJ Styles is a man who knows his own worth. That's why he (allegedly) turned down a bumper contract from WWE on leaving the Impact Zone at the tail end of 2013.

It took an improved offer some two years later to finally convince The Phenomenal One to come on board, by which time he had grown into the single most sought-after booking outside of Vince McMahon's empire after a slew of high-profile matches in Japan.

And the very second they convinced him to put pen to paper, WWE officials couldn't wait to show their new acquisition off, throwing him in for one of the all-time great surprise debuts at the 2016 Royal Rumble, where he lasted an impressive half an hour.

AJ's example is pointed one for any of today's crop of independent stars currently flirting with the idea of trading in the nomadic lifestyle for a guaranteed annual salary on NXT. By first establishing themselves in the minor leagues, they give themselves a much better hand at the negotiation table.