As recently as 2008, WWE were ignoring the independent wrestling scene and focusing attention on their own hand-picked projects. Vladimir Kozlov, who is remembered for his abomination of a match against Triple H at Survivor Series '08. was one of them. In said title match, Kozlov was useless, his blushes only being saved when Edge interfered and made it a triple threat. Before the Canadian made his presence felt, the big Ukrainian had pretty much bored everyone to sleep. Triple H sure had his work cut out to draw a decent match from the guy, and he outright failed. Incredibly, Kozlov had also been granted a win over The Undertaker on Smackdown to help prepare him for the title mix. WWE were trying their best, booking him to beat genuine top stars and legends in their own right, but their ignorance to the fact that Kozlov wasn't over in the slightest was worrying. Fast-forward a few years, and Vladimir was teaming with Santino Marella in a comedy tag team. Admittedly, Kozlov did excel in the role, but this wasn't what WWE had hoped he could achieve. It must have dawned on management that they would have to change their tactics somewhat following the Kozlov failure. Wrestlers like Bryan Danielson were available, and fans wanted to see something different to the same old boring pushes the promotion had in mind. And so WWE began turning their attention to the small halls... What other wrestlers can you think of that personify why WWE had to recruit independent stars? Do you agree with the ones listed here? Let us know what you think down in the comments section below!
