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The Japanese legendWWE has a bad habit of ignoring their competition. According to them, they are the only wrestling promotion out there and they rarely acknowledge other companies in the fray.However, this has not stopped them from scouting talents from other promotions.The likes of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and Kevin Owens broke walls that existed between WWE and the Indy circuit in the United States. Meanwhile, some superstars broke the walls that existed between WWE and other noteworthy foreign promotions.We are going to concentrate on the latter category in this list. Therefore, here are those WWE superstars who were big names in overseas promotions.
#5 Original Sin Cara
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The original Sin Cara (Luis Urive) was wasted during his time in WWE. The fans had high expectations regarding him, but all of it came crashing down thanks to WWE’s bad booking decisions.
Before making it to WWE, Sin Cara had a solid stay in CMLL, one of the biggest promotions in Mexico. He was considered as one of the best Luchadors in the promotion and this is what attracted WWE.
However, due to one reason or another, Sin Cara struggled in the WWE.
The WWE style of wrestling was not something that suited him and this led to a string of botches. In turn, Sin Cara turned out to be a comedy character that no one took seriously and was finally shown the door.
#4 Mick Foley
These days, we know Mick Foley as a hardcore legend due to the bumps he took in WWE.
However, before all those dangerous matches in WWE, Foley did some outrageous stuff in Japan. Foley was a mainstay in the International Wrestling Association (IWA) and had some memorable bouts during his time there.
The promotion was known for its death match tournaments and one such tournament proved to be a career changer for Foley. He competed against Terry funk in a C4 explosive death match that turned out to be a milestone moment in Japanese wrestling’s history.
Foley later made it big in WWE, but that does not erase the success he had in Japan.
#3 Alberto Del Rio
Alberto Del Rio is currently in his second WWE spell. His first spell was a successful one where he won the Royal Rumble, was in a high profile WrestleMania bout and also captured the Money in the Bank contract.
His success back in Mexico was the main reason why WWE pushed him so high. Born into a wrestling family, Del Rio competed for two of the most successful promotions in Mexico – Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA).
He comparatively attained bigger success in CMLL where he was treated as a heroic character for the most part. Del Rio tried his hand in MMA before making it to WWE, but MMA did not give him any memories worth remembering.
#2 Finn Balor
The reigning NXT champion was a big name in Japan before he made it to NXT.
Balor got his break in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he spent almost a decade. Wrestling under the name Prince Devitt, Balor was part of some great storylines – with the Bullet Club being the most notable one of the lot.
Balor is one of the founding members of Bullet Club – which is tagged as one of the most successful stables in Japanese wrestling. His matches were big draws as well and all these factors eventually helped Finn get a job offer from the WWE.
With almost two decades of experience under his belt, Finn is expected to break out in the main roster.
#1 Hideo Itami
Japanese wrestling was synonymous with KENTA at one point. He was considered as one of the biggest stars in the country and his success with Pro Wrestling Noah was unmatched.
The hard-hitting style and charismatic personality made KENTA a big star. He won eight championships in Noah and was ranked 22 in the PWI Top 500 rankings back in 2013. Along with his success in Japan, he also had a memorable stint with Ring of Honor before he accepted WWE’s offer.
Currently, he is sidelined due to injury, but we could expect big things once he returns to action.
