8 WWE Flops Who Went On To Bigger Things

1. Kenny Omega

What a difference a decade makes.

When a fresh-faced Kenny Omega signed for WWE and was posted to their Deep South Wrestling developmental territory in 2005, he didn't exactly stand out. Look at the above image for a few seconds and it's not hard to understand why. Those electric blue trunks and that poodle hairdo didn't exactly scream "WWE Superstar" back then.

Omega had to find himself, and that wouldn't happen until he left the warm bosom of WWE and struck out on his own in companies like ROH, PWG, DDT and New Japan. Not content to become a top-level tag wrestler (with Kota Ibushi as The Golden Lovers), Kenny worked his way up the ladder to become one of NJPW's biggest and most successful gaijin.

By 2015, a full 10 years on from his bogus WWE experience, Omega was part of the Bullet Club and being discussed in glowing terms as someone the promotion had to re-sign. That hasn't happened yet, and there's no evidence Omega has to leave Japan any time soon either.

As the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion, he has everything he wants from wrestling right where he is.

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What other WWE failures do you know of who succeeded after leaving the company? Let us know down in the comments section below!