10 Wrestlers Who Failed In NXT (But Were Successful Elsewhere)

2. Juice Robinson

Cj Parker Juice Robinson
NJPW

CJ Parker was a fun and entertaining character in NXT, yet there was always the feeling that the character had a certain shelf live - as highlighted by CJP soon becoming a jobber to the stars.

Having been signed to WWE since 2011, Joe Robinson would leave the company and his CJ Parker name behind in 2015. Juice Robinson would soon be born, and he has not looked back since. After wrestling for CZW, CMLL, and Ring of Honor, Robinson made the ballsy move to take a chance in Japan and became one of New Japan’s famed young boys.

Working his way up the ranks, Juice Robinson is now one of the most must-watch characters in New Japan Pro Wrestling and is delivering some of the best promos in the business. As NJPW continues to look at expanding its appeal to a wider audience, Juice has been a key figure on New Japan programming and has held the prestigious IWGP United States Championship on two occasions.

Juice has regularly stated how he’s loving live in Japan and has no plans to make a permanent return to a North American wrestling promotion any time soon. He is a shining example of what can be achieved when you take a chance on yourself away from WWE.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.