10 Wrestlers Who Became Bigger Stars After They Left WWE 

#5 Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre proved the WWE were wrong to let him go

Drew McIntyre may have just won the tag-team titles on Raw, but it was only a couple of years ago that he was out proving the WWE wrong on the independent circuit.

McIntyre arrived in the WWE in 2009, being billed as 'The Chosen One' by Vince McMahon during his initial run. McIntyre flirted with the main event scene on several occasions but his push quickly died out, and he found himself slipping further down the roster with every passing week.

The low-point of McIntyre's original run in the company came when he was partnered with Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal as a part of 3MB, the three-man band. The group were a regular joke on television and seriously damaged McIntyre's credibility. He was then released by the company in 2014 after five years.

McIntyre would then adopt his former name, Drew Galloway and head out to make a name for himself on the independent circuit. Galloway would then go on to establish himself as one of the hottest free agents in the business, winning belts for the likes of ICW, WCPW, and Evolve, as well as having a run in Impact Wrestling.

Galloway's effort did not go unnoticed, and the WWE promptly resigned the Scotland native in 2017, awarding him the NXT championship within three months of his return.