To most of the casual and mainstream wrestling audience, professional wrestling equates to WWE. But as you, the intelligent smarks are aware, there is a multitude of smaller promotions that operate at full swing outside the major league.
Triple H, a man who has his finger on the pulse of the modern wrestling fan, is aware of the fact that in the modern era, the flips and dives of indie wrestling are far more popular than the stale WWE product.
As a consequence, several indie stars such as A.J. Styles and Kevin Owens have been brought in, who’ve made it quite far in today’s current WWE product. Other indie signings haven’t been quite as lucky. Let’s look at some superstars who’ve been buried because of bad booking, or a cluttered roster in today’s era.
#5 Cesaro
Every night when his music hits, and Cesaro comes out to the ring, wrestling fans know that they are in for a treat. If internet wrestling fans could decide their world champion, Cesaro would probably be the top contender.
However, Vince McMahon does not see eye to eye with them. We all remember Cesaro’s interview after the draft, where he expressed his disappointment at being drafted to Raw and not to Smackdown.
This is because Smackdown was supposed to be the show about the in-ring product, about the superstars and not about the authority figures per se (Hi Stephanie!).
While Cesaro makes the most of every opportunity, be it a ‘Best of 7 Series’ or tagging with Sheamus, we hope his career picks up the pace soon; because Mr. McMahon has proclaimed that Cesaro lacks ‘it’.
#4 Neville
Neville is probably the most exciting wrestler in the current WWE roster. A sensation in the indies, Neville was a big deal during his NXT run as well. He looks the part, and his moves are simply breathtaking. But there’s always been something that has kept Vince McMahon from giving him the push that he so rightfully deserves.
Which is a travesty if you ask us because every move of his is executed to breathtaking perfection. We say that he is buried because even now, when Raw has a Cruiserweight Division, there seems to be no place for Neville in a 3-hour show, more often than not. Wake up, WWE! Smell the coffee!
#3 Apollo Crews
Apollo Crews was a huge name, both in the United States and in Japan, during his indie run. Upon joining NXT, he showed a lot of promise but was drafted prematurely to Raw, much before he could get his footing right.
While Apollo Crews has been absolutely stunning inside the ring, pulling off moves the likes of which haven’t been seen from a man of his size; there seems to be no spot for him, on Smackdown. Yes, even the blue brand wasted this incredible talent. We really hope WWE finds something to do for a man who can do things we cannot fathom!
#2 Sami Zayn
The brand split seems to have benefited everyone but this man. Ever since Zayn returned from his injury, he’s been giving us one Match of the Year contender after another. But WWE seems to find no spot for his man, even though his arch rival Kevin Owens is now the longest reigning Universal Champion in history.
In fact, we think he was far better off before the split. In any case, Sami Zayn is a person who should be competing for titles and winning them. He’s a great in-ring worker, and definitely, has the fans on his side.
It’s embarrassing to think that Darren Young and Titus O’Neil were getting segments on Raw, but Zayn was kept off. Let’s hope his feud with Strowman goes somewhere. Although, knowing Vince McMahon, it probably means that he sees Zayn as a jobber too.
#1 The Club
Luke Gallows was once employed by Vince McMahon, in the past. But the gimmick he was given was that of ‘Festus’, which made it impossible for him to get over. Not one to give up, he travelled to Japan, teamed up with Karl Anderson and formed one of the most dominant factions in the country.
The Club arrived with much momentum to WWE. But because the company is hell bent on giving New Day a chance to break Demolition’s all-time record of ‘longest Tag Team Championship reign’ (Demolition has filed a lawsuit against WWE), The Club has been relegated to the background.
Natural comedians, Gallows and Anderson were forced to be part of the ‘Old Day’ skit recently, which took away any genuine comedic credibility from the two as well.
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