World Wrestling Entertainment is - still to this day - considered the highest platform on which a performer in the industry can reach. Vince McMahon has largely monopolised the business of professional wrestling, or "sports entertainment" as he would prefer everyone calls it. There are loads of smaller, independent promotions around, as well as companies like TNA, Ring Of Honor and (lately) Global Force Wrestling. Nonetheless, WWE is for many performers still the only viable full time organisation with which to make a good living. It's quite clear that the more wrestling promotions there are, the better it is for the men and women plying their trade in the industry. The main reason is quite simple, there are then more places for these performers to earn a living working in wrestling, and that's where the people listed in this article come into play. For a variety of reasons, these wrestlers simply don't seem likely to be making a WWE return any time soon. They better then hope that these other platforms remain! Many have burned bridges with the McMahon family over the years, but even in some extreme cases, a few have ended up working for WWE again. The Ultimate Warrior would stand as a classic example, but there's not really scope for the grapplers featured here to work on the WWE payroll again any time in the future.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
