5 Current WWE Superstars who started on the independent scene and 5 who didn't

#1 Started on the independent scene - Daniel Bryan

Just like Ricochet, there was a time when Daniel Bryan was one of the hottest stars on the independent scene. His run in the early stages of Ring of Honor helped that promotion to grow. He also had stops in NJPW, PWG, Chikara, wXw, and Dragon Gate USA.

The Leader of the Yes Movement would have a few dark matches with WWE prior to signing a full-time deal with the company in 2009. Back when NXT was a game show, the former WWE Champion was one of the rookies that were mentored by a WWE star (The Miz). It was very apparent that he was clearly one of the best wrestlers in the competition so he was eliminated from the show in its early stages.

Look who just shut down all of Tony Khan's critics! More HERE.

While he would be released and resigned, it didn't take long for the fans to fall in love with the man who would one day be known as The Planet's Champion. Not only is he one of the best technical stars in the business, but his character and storytelling are also among the best. The run to the WWE Championship around WrestleMania 30 was one of the first recent signs of the crowd throwing enormous vocal support behind a WWE star.

About the author

Matt Serocki is a sports journalist from outside of Boston, Massachusetts who has written about sports for a local newspaper, the MetroWest Daily News.

Matt has written about professional wrestling for the past year but has been writing lyrics, short stories and novels in his spare time. He writes around 30-50 articles per month.

During his time on writing for Sportskeeda, Matt has written about a variety of topics including the history of the business as well as about the current stars and product. He follows numerous promotions like the WWE, AEW, ROH, MLW, NJPW, Championship Wrestling from Hollywood and WOW.

Studied Communications with a focus on writing at Framingham State University from 2000-2004.

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Edited by Raunak J