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

5. Colt Cabana

CM Punk's real-life best friend had a lot of attributes that would make him a perfect fit for WWE, especially in the PG era. Most importantly, was his ability to entertain, something that he was able to do with enviable ease on the indie scene. Cabana was not a super-serious, strong style warrior, or a table-breaking, garbage brawler. He rarely went to the top rope. Instead, he combined traditional British mat wrestling with comedy. It was an act unlike anything else on the circuit, and made Cabana instantly stand out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfSYF-EhNWg That's not to say that Canaba couldn't mix it up and do different styles, however, as his bloody, compelling brawls with the likes of Homicide and others in Ring of Honor attest to. As well as being a dab hand in the ring, Cabana gave an entertaining interview and was a shameless self-promoter (you have to be on the indies, really). All of this, coupled with the Punk connection, meant that most assumed Cabana would make it to WWE eventually, which he did, signing a developmental deal in April 2007. After languishing in the feeder system for a year and a half, Cabana made his debut as Scotty Goldman, but only made a handful of low-key television appearances before being released in February 2009. Cabana returned to the indies and Japan, where he works regularly. These days, he's most well-known for his Art of Wrestling podcast and, at 35-years-old and with bad blood brewing between him and WWE (stemming from the infamous Punk interview), the chances of his making it to NXT/WWE seem slim-to-none.