10 Indie Wrestling Heroes Who Flopped In WWE

WWE have never been more in-touch with the independent scene. While handfuls of bodybuilders, models, and failed NFL players still pass through the Performance Center, recent years have seen a noticeable shift in the company’s hiring policy by cherry-picking some of the indie circuit’s finest talent, pushing them through NXT, and featuring them prominently on Raw and SmackDown.

You need only look at Kevin Owens and AJ Styles to see it for yourself. Now, more than ever, WWE lean towards signing established wrestlers who’ve already honed their craft on the world’s smaller stages, and it’s paying dividends. The Cruiserweight Classic became a huge success by bringing together some of the world’s finest freelancers, and NXT’s upper-card scene is flush with readymade TV workers.

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan became modern-day WWE legends after conquering the independents, and remain the benchmark for such talents transitioning to the mainstream. They stand-out among their peers, but while a long indie run can be the perfect wrestling education, it doesn’t always translate to WWE success.

It takes a completely different set of skills to succeed in the world’s biggest promotion, and history is littered with IWC favourites who’ve failed to make a mark in WWE. Whether through poor booking, failing to adapt, or their own poor behaviour, here are 10 indie wrestling heroes who flopped in WWE.

Sami Callihan’s popularity was soaring by the time he signed for WWE. He’d built his reputation with CZW, Evolve, and PWG, and was really coming into his own as a fast, hard-hitting brawler with an unhinged personality and a penchant for all things violent. Though his look, size, and style made for a strange marriage with the company, he signed for WWE in 2012, and became Solomon Crowe a year later.

Sadly, Callihan’s WWE career was dead from the moment he started appearing at house shows. Saddled with a goofy hacker gimmick that saw him seize control of the arena’s lights through his tablet, Solomon Crowe never stood a chance. It took over two years before WWE decided his act was TV-worthy, but he made just a handful of appearances in early-2015, and was released from his contract at his own request that November.

Hampered by a terrible gimmick, weak finisher (an over-the-shoulder Boston Crab), and WWE’s insistence on slapping him with fake tan, Callihan’s WWE run almost completely derailed his career. He returned to the indies shortly after his release, but he still hasn’t quite recaptured his old momentum, and his name no longer carries the same buzz as before. Callihan is signed to compete in Lucha Underground’s next season and he remains a staple on the American scene, but his attention levels have dwindled significantly.