10 Wrestlers Who Became Bigger Stars After They Left WWE 

#2 Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy proved how big a star he could be outside of the WWE

A controversial inclusion perhaps, but it is hard to deny that Matt Hardy did an excellent job at becoming a star of the wrestling industry once he left the WWE.

Hardy was always considered a relatively big name in the WWE, but he so often played second fiddle to his brother, Jeff, with the WWE failing to capitalise on his creative ideas and fan popularity.

Many fans wrote Hardy off when he was released from his WWE contract in 2010, but the former US and Cruiserweight champion went on to prove all of his detractors wrong. Hardy was allowed to flourish creatively on the independent circuit and proved himself to be one of the hottest properties in wrestling.

His work with TNA/Impact is some of the finest of his career, and the birth of his 'broken' gimmick in 2016 soon saw him become a sensation in the wrestling world.

His work outside of the WWE, and the popularity of his latest gimmick would see the WWE resign him in early 2017, though, they have not managed to maintain the momentum that he built outside of the company.