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If you look at today's WWE roster, you'll see that there are a number of professional wrestlers who originally made their name on the indie circuit. The likes of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura all became a huge deal on the indie scene before signing WWE contracts.
They've been able to replicate that same level of success on the big stage of the WWE, but not everyone was fortunate enough to do so. Many wrestlers have not been able to hit the ground running in Vince McMahon's house of big men.
These guys have fallen far from their glory days on the indie scene and it's a sad state of affairs to see them in such a state. Perhaps these men can pull a Jinder Mahal and make it to the top of the food chain, but I won't be holding my breath.
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So, without any further ado, here are six indie stars who had a not-so-great career in WWE:
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#6 Sami Callihan - A missed opportunity for WWE
It would not be wrong to say that Sami Callihan is one of the cornerstones of IMPACT Wrestling. His intergender rivalry with Tessa Blanchard was one of the many factors that brought IMPACT Wrestling back into the limelight recently. However, before becoming an IMPACT legend, Callihan worked for WWE.
After making a name for himself in promotions like Pro-Wrestling Guerrilla and Combat Zone Wrestling, Callihan joined WWE in 2012. Working under the ring name Solomon Crowe. His first televised appearance would only come in 2015, making his debut by attacking CJ Parker. Callihan was released by WWE later that year.
#5 Apollo Crews
Apollo Crews is a rare combination of speed, athleticism and raw power. He used that to his advantage during his time on the independent circuit where he wrestled in promotions such as Uhaa Nation in promotions such as Dragon Gate and its affiliate promotions.
He rose through the ranks quickly and was a highly respected member of the Dragon Gate roster in 2014. This was when WWE came calling for an offer to join NXT. He accepted and made quite the name for himself in WWE Developmental before getting his main roster call up in 2016.
Things quickly went south after that, as Crews found himself engaged in an irrelevant feud with the Social Outcasts. Even though he emerged victorious, his spot on the card was clear for all to see. His time since then has looked bleak. While his run with Titus Worldwide was entertaining, it couldn't catapult him to main event status.
Crews has since turned heel, taking up the gimmick of a Nigerian royalty, with Commander Azeez as his bodyguard. The gimmick seemed promising at first, but hasn't been able to establish Crews as one of the most important wrestlers in the company.
#4 Colt Cabana
Colt Cabana is best known to casual wrestling fans as a member of the AEW roster. He was the one who broke the news about CM Punk's side of things when he had Punk on his tell-all podcast following The Cult of Personality's release from WWE.
But for a hardcore wrestling fan, Colt Cabana is a pretty big deal in his own right. An original member of Ring of Honor, he made quite the name for himself in the independent circuit. In 2007, he was offered an opportunity to work for Vince McMahon's promotion.
He spent two years with the company, first in OVW and then as a member of the main roster on Smackdown where he was jobbed out to a number of different people. At the end of his stint, he lost a match to Umaga and left the company to return to his indie adventures.
He has carved a great name for himself as an independent wrestler, but he wasn't able to break the glass ceiling in WWE.
#3 Fandango
During the end of his WWE run, Fandango had a pretty good thing going for himself as a part of the Fashion Police along with Tyler Breeze. But it's easy to forget that neither of them had the greatest of runs before that.
Even before that, as a singles competitor, Fandango never got the respect someone with his background deserved. He wrestled on the independent scene from 1999 all the way to 2006 in a number of different NWA affiliate promotions as well as Power League Wrestling.
He came over to WWE's developmental program and looked set to do big things. Winning the fourth season of NXT, he even defeated Chris Jericho in his debut match at Wrestlemania 29.
It proved to be a deceiving start, however, as his career went on a downward spiral since then. There may be a return to greatness on the horizon.
#2 Christopher Daniels
Christopher Daniels is a name that any TNA fan will be able to remember, but he's also one of the biggest names in the whole independent scene. He has wrestled in numerous promotions, including Ring of Honor - where he was a founding father and where he was a World Champion, as well as TNA - where he had the only five-star match in the history of the company with Samoa Joe and AJ Styles.
Unfortunately for Daniels, where Joe and Styles succeeded, he failed. In fact, his run with the wrestling behemoth came much earlier than the other two - in 1998. He was there for three years as nothing more than an enhancement talent before he left again to pursue greatness on the independent circuit.
During his days with the promotion, Daniels wrestled under a mask going by the name of Dos as part of the Los Conquistadores. Los Conquistadores were an integral part of the Hardy Boyz-Edge & Christian feud at that time.
While he would still be an asset to the promotion, he will probably never return due to his age and his association with AEW.
#1 Kaval
Alongside the likes of Daniel Bryan and Christopher Daniels, Kaval — then known as Low Ki — was one of the pioneers of Ring of Honor. In fact, he became the promotion's first World Champion when he defeated Christopher Daniels, Spanky and Doug Williams in a four-way Iron Man match. The Voice of God even claimed that Vince McMahon scouted him personally.
However, things just didn't work out for Kaval in WWE. Despite him winning the second season of NXT, the brass just didn't have any faith in the former ROH standout. The former ROH World Champion was forced to take losses after losses on SmackDown. Things were so bad that it took him almost two months to get his first televised win on the main roster.
When he was finally released from his contract on December 23, 2010, professional wrestling fans from all around the world breathed a sigh of relief — in the hope that Kaval could go back to entertaining them.
