10 Indie Wrestling Heroes Who Flopped In WWE
6. Paul London
At one point, Paul London was one-half of the longest reigning WWE Tag Team Champions of all-time. He and Brian Kendrick had a highly-impressive 331-day run with the straps (which only came into existence in 2002), though tag wrestling wasn’t exactly in a great place when they held the belts, and London & Kendrick often struggled for competition.
London’s also a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion. He accomplished enough with the company to brand his run a moderate success overall, but he never lived-up to his full potential, and his indie career leaves his WWE spell in the dust.
Prior to signing for WWE in 2003, London was a huge success in Ring of Honor. He’d more than established himself as one of the most exciting fliers on the planet, and was regularly featured at the top of the card through his ROH run. The dog days of his ROH career saw London pick-up a win over AJ Styles and lose a title shot against Samoa Joe, and he also starred while moonlighting with TNA and Japan’s Zero1.
London lasted five years in WWE, and ultimately left through his unwillingness to get involved in backstage politics. He’s since been very outspoken in his criticism of the company, often referring to it as “a horrible place to work,” and claiming that WWE treated employees “like the stuff you wipe off of your shoe that you stepped-in by accident.”