10 Indie Stars Ruined By WWE

It's been nearly a decade since Colt Cabana's disastrous WWE run drew to a close, and his name is still being used as a warning for any independent stars whose heads may have been turned by Vince McMahon's chequebook.

Repackaged as Scotty Goldman, Cabana made his SmackDown bow in mid-2008, and was almost immediately cast in the role of a hapless jobber. He was basically early-day James Ellsworth, without the tired chin jokes.

To many fans, this transformation was nothing short of a wrestling tragedy. Cabana, one of the industry's great comedic wrestlers, was viewed upon his initial signing as a perfect fit for WWE owing to his natural ability on the microphone.

For whatever reason, though, company heads didn't share our assessment, and after that podcast with CM Punk a few years ago, it's highly unlikely that they'll be changing their minds any time soon.