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Despite what Vince McMahon may want us to believe, WWE is not the only show in town. Although it may be the biggest and the most easily accessible wrestling promotion of them all, there is plenty more wrestling out there.
Naturally, as a result of this, there is a high number of extremely talented performers that currently ply their trade slightly further away from the bright lights of WWE television.
Some of these people would maybe not quite fit into the current WWE landscape, but there are many independent and international workers who would undoubtedly thrive if afforded the opportunity to perform on NXT, Monday Night RAW or Smackdown Live.
As proven by the likes of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Finn Balor, today's WWE is one in which it's very possible to come in as an independent star, and progress to the level of main event battles and title victories in the so called "land of the giants", provided the office likes you.
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Now that this is a more regular occurrence, it's probably a good time to start speculating on which names that WWE should and possibly will bring in over the course of the next few years. Every single wrestler that is not currently employed by WWE is eligible for the list.
#10 Michael Elgin
It's astonishing that "Big Mike" hasn't already had a run with WWE, all things considered. Despite only standing at around the six-foot mark, Elgin is a big, strong competitor, as well as possessing almost freakish speed and agility for a man of his size. In terms of his in-ring ability, the Canadian basically has it all.
Elgin spent a large portion of his career wrestling with Ring Of Honor, which helped him gain exposure as a rising star of the independent scene during his earlier years.
He's currently signed with NJPW, one of the world's biggest promotions, where he's built himself a formidable reputation and is a former IWGP Intercontinental Champion, apart from also holding the NEVER Openweight 6-man Tag Team Championships with Yohsitatsu and Tanahashi.
A 13-year veteran of the industry, Elgin is still only 30 years old, making him all the more attractive to WWE. Sooner or later, he will turn up in Vince McMahon's promotion, at least in NXT.
#9 Johnny Mundo (John Morrison)
Johnny Mundo is currently standing tall as the AAA Mega Champion, AAA Latin American Champion and the AAA World Cruiserweight Champion. He's the only man in history to have ever achieved this, a statistic which tells you everything you need to know about his current standing in the pro wrestling world.
In WWE, back when he was known as John Morrison, he was a solid talent. Sporadically competing for the top titles, he spent most of his career as a mid-card and tag team specialist, before eventually departing in 2011 on good terms with the company.
Since his departure, he's improved his reputation drastically, becoming arguably the biggest star in Mexico's thriving Lucha Libre scene. Working with different promotions such as AAA and Lucha Underground has allowed Mundo the opportunity to expand his abilities, and it's clear for all to see that he has grabbed this opportunity with both hands.
At 37, he's still young enough to return to WWE and have at least 2-3 years at the top of the card. Vince McMahon should make this happen, as there's a lot that John Morrison could bring to the upper-card scene of either RAW or Smackdown Live.
#8 Bobby Lashley
When Bobby Lashley first departed WWE back in 2008, he did so with the lingering feeling that he had not even come close to fulfilling his potential. He did become a two-time ECW Champion and had a singles run with the United States Title, but the WWE Championship that he so often chased always managed to elude him.
Lashley was criticised by many during his initial run in WWE for being a boring worker. However, his recent run in Impact Wrestling/GFW has shown us all that Lashley has improved every aspect of himself as a performer, in a noticeable way over the past nine years.
At 41 years of age, he would return to WWE as a special attraction, a big name star who would not wrestle every week, but compete with the likes of Roman Reigns, John Cena and Seth Rollins in massive PPV main event programmes.
With his ability to perform to a high level as a babyface or a heel, WWE would be foolish not to consider re-hiring Lashley at some point in the near future. His name alone would almost certainly be a draw, and the prospect of him facing some of the company's rising stars is absolutely tantalising.
#7 Matt Sydal
When Matt Sydal performed in WWE as Evan Bourne between 2007 and 2014, he appeared to have all the tools to succeed. He clearly had the in-ring ability and the look, but Sydal's size always appeared to work against him, before two suspensions for violating the company's wellness policy totally killed his momentum.
He was released in June 2014 after spending an entire year inactive, following his return from a serious foot injury.
Despite how badly his last WWE run went, Sydal remains an unbelievable talent. His time on the independent scene and in NJPW has allowed him to evolve his act, to move away from the reputation he had as a pure high-flier.
He's been involved in a 5-star rated match - a 6-man tag featuring himself, Ricochet and Will Ospreay taking on The Young Bucks and Adam Cole at 2016's PWG BOLA - and has solidified himself as one of the premier all-round talents outside of WWE.
The chances of it happening are slim, but Sydal seems like the perfect man to fill a gap in the mid-card of Smackdown Live. Matches and feuds with Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Mike Kanellis would surely provide high-quality television.
#6 Will Ospreay
Given that Ospreay is only 24 years old, there is a chance that WWE will not bring him in for a while yet, allowing him to mature on the independent scene away from the critical eyes of a WWE audience. However, it's quite obvious that if Ospreay was told he'd be on Monday Night RAW tomorrow, he'd be ready.
Ospreay has learned quickly since making his in-ring debut in 2012 and has become one of the world's premier high-fliers already. His match with Ricochet at 2016's Best of the Super Juniors tournament - a prestigious tournament that Ospreay would go on to win - ensured that he would become the talk of the wrestling world, and the buzz that has surrounded him has not died, despite being rather underutilised in NJPW of late.
Having spent most of his career in British promotions, the Essex-born Ospreay would benefit from more forays into an ROH ring, where he has worked before, so as to become more accustomed to American wrestling audience.
Ospreay could easily jump straight into NXT and impress straight away, but once he has a couple of years more experience under his belt, he'll be even better equipped to make a name for himself under the watchful eyes of Vince McMahon and Triple H.
#5 Matt Riddle
Of everybody in the pro wrestling scene that currently doesn't work for WWE, the man with the best shoot credentials of them is Matt Riddle. A former UFC Welterweight and Middleweight fighter, with an impressive record 8 victories and 3 defeats, Riddle is a genuine tough guy, and incorporates a wide array of realistic looking strikes and kicks into his move-set.
Standing at 6'2" and weighing 216 lbs, Riddle has the perfect physique to thrive in the WWE. His background would allow him to wrestle in a dominant style, perhaps slotting into a role similar to the one currently occupied by Samoa Joe.
Riddle has even mentioned the prospect of moving to WWE in the past, stating in a recent interview with Metro that he would happily go to NXT, but only if he were to be instantly fighting for the NXT Championship.
Matt Riddle is the real deal, and once he's had just a little longer to learn the business (he only started wrestling in 2014) and work a number of different styles, he'll likely be at the very top of WWE's wish list.
He's the sort of talent that could send shockwaves throughout the entire roster.
#4 The Young Bucks
Put simply, there's nothing left for The Young Bucks to achieve on the independent scene. They've won nearly every set of tag team championships imaginable, along with being the only team ever to hold the PWG, Ring Of Honor and IWGP Junior Tag Team Titles concurrently (a feat they've achieved twice).
Their current role alongside Kenny Omega in The Elite has allowed them to show off even more of their personality and has arguably elevated their star even further.
Matt and Nick Jackson have long been known as one of the most exciting tag teams in the world for years now. They've constantly been linked with WWE, and it's almost a foregone conclusion that The Bucks will end up inside a WWE ring at some stage.
The only issue would be whether Vince would allow the brothers to stay true to the character that got them over in companies such as NJPW and ROH.
The Superkick Party will eventually come to WWE. Given their status as the biggest tag team outside of the company, it's only a matter of time before WWE come in with a contract offer that's too big to refuse.
#3 Kenny Omega
Kenny Omega, for years, has been seen as somebody that WWE would do well to have a closer look at. And 2017 has been the turning point which has transformed Omega from a hot prospect to one of the biggest stars in the entire industry.
His two famous matches with Kazuchika Okada have elevated the Canadian to a new level, and he is evidently relishing this new spotlight.
Having recently won the newly-created IWGP United States Championship, Omega has managed to keep his momentum going despite failing to defeat Okada in either of their 6 Star matches over the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. It's fair to say that Omega has improved infinitely over the past few years; ever since his ascension to the role of leader of Bullet Club in early 2016, Kenny has seemed primed to break out in a huge way.
Omega will no doubt want to carry on with NJPW for the foreseeable future, continuing to build up the legacy of himself and the company in the process. But, once he has achieved all he wants to achieve in Japan, you can be sure that WWE will be begging for his services.
#2 Kazuchika Okada
There was a real danger, at one point in time, that Kazuchika Okada would never make it in pro wrestling. Or, at least, that he wouldn't turn into the huge star that he is today.
A 2010-11 run in TNA almost killed Okada's career, as the American company abysmally misused the young up-and-comer. However, he returned to NJPW, created the "Rainmaker" persona that he has now made so famous, and the rest is history.
Kenny Omega and possibly AJ Styles aside, Okada is currently on a different level than any superstar in the world. Everything he's done in NJPW over the past few years has been fantastic, as he's been settling into the role of becoming the top guy in the company.
For a guy who doesn't even turn 30 until November, an incredible amount of trust has been shown in him, a sign that he's more than capable of carrying the main event in a big promotion.
Okada simply has to try his fare in WWE at some point in his career. He's simply too talented, has too much to give, to allow himself to miss out on the opportunity.
#1 Adam Cole
To finish off the list, let's go with the man that is most likely to make his WWE debut in the near future. The rumours have been running rampant in the past few weeks that Adam Cole is coming to NXT.
The fact that he's recently wrestled farewell matches in both ROH and PWG seems to all but confirm these rumours, and it's no less than Cole deserves.
Adam Cole has been doing his thing on the independent scene for the better part of 9 years, and he's still only just turned 28 years old. Despite his 5'11" frame, Cole presents himself and can work like a man far in excess of 6'0", something that will surely only further endear him to the WWE management.
He can play a babyface or a heel role with equal ease, has absolutely phenomenal promos and has had fantastic matches with almost every type of opponent.
Currently, the only man in the world to win the Ring Of Honor World Title on three different occasions, Cole is known on the independent scene as one of the best around. There's absolutely no doubting that, booking permitting, Cole will bring this reputation with him to NXT and beyond.
The sky is the limit for a guy as talented as Adam Cole.
