10 Wrestlers Who Revived Their Careers On The Indies
6. Trent Barreta
WWE didn’t know what they had in Trent Barreta.
Forming one half of the ill-fated Dude Busters tag team with Caylen Croft, Barreta first competed on the ECW brand before joining SmackDown as a singles wrestler. He was largely used as an enhancement talent, however, and was relegated to NXT in 2012 before his eventual release the following year.
Barreta didn’t have a glittering independent resumé prior to joining WWE, but he soon built one after leaving. First working in Canada, he quickly made his way to hyped American promotions like PWG and Dragon Gate USA, building a reputation as one of the indies’ most charismatic acts. In March 2015, he and the veteran Rocky Romero formed the Roppongi Vice tag team, and have since become four-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Champions, and one of the world’s most sought-after tandems.
When he’s not performing in Japan, Trent can usually be found competing for PWG or Ring Of Honor. Working on the indies has allowed him to show more personality than WWE’s restrictions would allow, and he has made a hot start to 2017, particularly in PWG, where he is putting on some of the best matches of his career.