There has been an influx of ROH and other indie talent making their way to WWE/NXT these days but it hasn't always been so easy. There used to be a huge stigma attached to independent wrestlers, which is why guys like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan found it so hard when they first made it there. But WWE were willing to offer a select few a tryout, including the self-proclaimed 'Baddest Tag Team on the Planet', The Briscoe Brothers. Mark and Jay had been wrestling for Ring of Honor, Pro-Wrestling NOAH in Japan and various other independent leagues since 2002. The Briscoes received a tryout before Vince McMahon and WWE officials before a Smackdown taping on November 24th 2009. A month later they were invited to a week-long tryout camp at WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. Although initially interested in the talented twosome, WWE opted instead not to sign them. The reason? WWE did not find them 'cosmetically pleasing' enough for their programming, something that Jay Briscoe poked fun at in a YouTube video promo in 2011. Six years later and it doesn't look like Dem Boys will ever make it to the NXT/WWE ring, thanks in the main to Jay Briscoe's habit of tweeting before he thinks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnzOZBtyP8Y
