10 Indie Stars Who Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing

2. Low Ki

Out of the original Ring of Honor roster (you know, the one with Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles etc.) Low Ki was considered one of, if not the best wrestler in their ranks. The ultra-stiff submission and strike specialist worked all over the world following his 1998 debut, eventually landing a couple of gigs on WWE Jakked and Metal. Low Ki was so respected that he was chosen to become the first ever ROH World Champion. It helped that respected veterans such as Eddie Guerrero were prone to giving him glowing reviews, but Ki always entered a great performance whenever he stepped into the ring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPAp4Je58qk Whenever an import from Japan or elsewhere was brought in, they would work with Low Ki. He was in the main events and was getting a big push. Regrettably, he was also (apparently) getting a big head, too. Ki began believing his own hype and over the course of the next few years began burning his bridges with TNA, ROH and several Japanese groups. There was pretty much nowhere else for him to go but WWE. Luckily for him, WWE were interested and signed him to a developmental deal. Somewhat unluckily, he spent a lot of time out with a serious injury and when he did appear on WWE TV, it was usually as either LayCool's plaything or jobbing to a 'real' WWE Superstar. Ki was released after just a couple of months on the main roster, and went back to TNA, Japan and the indies. At 35-years-old, he's not too old to play a part in NXT. His days of becoming one of the next big things in wrestling, however, are now well behind him.