10 WWE Champions Who Wouldn't Make It In Today's Developmental System
2. CM Punk
CM Punk was very lucky that was in developmental when he was. Paul Heyman was running OVW when Punk arrived, and Heyman famously saw superstardom written all over Punk. No one in WWE, however, was interested in Punk despite (or perhaps because of) Heyman's rave reviews.
It was only due to good luck that Vince McMahon decided to revive ECW with Heyman at the helm, getting Punk a slot on television; reportedly, until this moment Punk had been on the chopping block.
In several WWE-produced documentaries, current WWE champion Seth Rollins has noted that he was nearly released from developmental several times because he refused to do things the trainers' way. Refusing to do things someone else's way is CM Punk's bread and butter, and would have spelled his doom in the current developmental system where coachability is king.