10 Indie Wrestling Heroes Who Flopped In WWE

There is no starker example of independent wrestling success not translating to the mainstream than Chris Hero.

A highly-skilled technician, Hero started wrestling in 1998, and found his feet with IWA-MS, CHIKARA, and CZW in the early ‘00s. He quickly amassed a huge following among the IWC, and rightly so. There’s not a single style of wrestling that Chris Hero can’t pull-off, and while his game largely revolves around striking and grappling, he’s tremendously powerful, and peppers his work with a smattering of Lucha Libre techniques.

Whether working alone or with Cesaro as the Kings of Wrestling, Hero became an indie legend, and finally got his opportunity with WWE in 2012. There, he became Kassius Ohno, and he was featured prominently throughout. Working as a methodical technician who took pleasure in inflicting pain on his opponents, Ohno found his feet during a memorable feud with William Regal, culminating in a great match between the two in April 2013.

Skilled in the ring and on the microphone, he was originally pegged for Roman Reigns’ role in The Shield, but he was eventually passed-over. Unfortunately, his WWE came to an end in November 2013 amid growing dissatisfaction with his weight gain - something that Hero had struggled with throughout his career.

The concerns proved valid, and Hero has added considerable weight since leaving WWE. Not that it has hampered his in-ring performances, however: Hero is widely considered one of the best wrestlers in the world at the moment, and at the end of the day, isn’t that what really matters?