5 Superstars who went from Jobbers to Main Eventers

A very Unrated Superstar
A very Unrated Superstar

We all have to start somewhere, right? When you start off at a brand new job, new employees will off be at the bottom of the totem pole, working the grindstone before moving up.

In WWE, very few superstars get to start as the top star in the company. Whilst stars like the Giant in WCW and Brock Lesnar in WWE were catapulted to the main event, many have to start from square one.

In fact, many who have competed in WWE started off as humble jobbers, brought into the company purely to let other more established Superstars look better.

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Despite this, some stars have been able to rise up, becoming main eventers, WrestleMania icons, and even World Champions in the process.

Here are five Superstars who started off as mere jobbers, and grew to be household names as main eventers.

#5. The Hardy Boyz

Matt on the left in his WWF Debut.
Matt on the left in his WWF Debut.

Debuting in the WWF in the early 90s, Matt and Jeff Hardy shockingly appeared at the 1995 King of the Ring, holding the doors open for Superstars to walk through.

From there, the pair were used separately as enhancement talent, with the brothers losing to established stars such as Razor Ramon.

Despite this, the team would grow dramatically during the Attitude Era, becoming one of the most popular teams of all time.

This popularity was partly due to their 'alternative lifestyle', that captivated many young fans, and was increased upon in their incredible TLC matches with the Dudleyz and Edge & Christian for tag team gold.

After splitting in 2002, the pair both received singles success, with Jeff being pushed on RAW, and Matt receiving his amazing Mattitude gimmick on SmackDown.

Returning in 2006, Jeff would eventually capture the WWE Championship in December 2008, with Matt winning the ECW World Championship around the same time.

#4. Daniel Bryan

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One of the most popular superstars in WWE history, the return of Daniel Bryan from retirement earlier this year was a huge moment for the WWE Universe.

But in 2003, Daniel Bryan was brought into the company as an enhancement talent, appearing in brief matches on C-Shows such as Heat and Velocity.

Whilst he would later gain longer matches on these shows, he would still almost always end up on the losing side, with his 2003 match against a still relatively new John Cena featuring in this year's WWE 2K19.

Leaving the company not long after, Bryan would make his name on the indies, competing under real name Bryan Danielson, before joining WWE again in 2010.

A breakout star from the first season of the original NXT, Bryan would go from strength to strength, winning the World Championship on four occasions, though vacated his last reign due to injury.

#3. Jinder Mahal

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It wasn't too long ago, that many would've scoffed at the idea of Jinder Mahal as WWE World Champion.

Debuting on SmackDown in 2011, it wasn't too long until the Modern Day Maharaja was quickly forgotten about, appearing at RAW 1,000 just a year later, as part of a group of jobbers to be destroyed by the Brothers of Destruction.

After becoming the self-proclaimed 'funny one' in 3MB, Mahal was released in June 2014, alongside fellow bandmate Drew McIntyre.

Despite this setback, Mahal pushed himself more than ever, rebuilding his body and was rehired a few years later.

Being the last eliminated at the WrestleMania 33 Andre the Giant Battle Royal, Mahal would shockingly win the WWE Championship at Backlash 2017, holding the title for the majority of the year.

Despite this loss, Mahal would briefly hold the United States Championships at WrestleMania 34, and now appears prominently on RAW.

#2. Edge

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The Rated-R Superstar has accomplished seemingly everything there is to do in WWE, including being one of just two men to win a Royal Rumble, Money In the Bank, and King of the Ring.

But before his world title glory in the WWE, Edge appeared in WCW, as Damon Striker.

No relation to Matt, Damon Striker made appearances on WCW B-Shows such as WCW Pro Wrestling, facing (and losing) to the Georgia-based company's more established stars.

In 1998 however, Striker (real name Adam Copeland) would be signed to the WWE, appearing as the mysterious Edge, the silent warrior, later accompanied by Christian and Gangrel.

After tag team success against fellow former jobbers The Hardyz, Edge would go it alone, winning the Intercontinental Championship.

Winning his first WWE Champion in 2006, the Ultimate Opportunist would win World Championship gold eleven times, before retiring due to a neck injury in April 2011.

#1.AJ Styles

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When WCW was bought by Vince McMahon's WWF in 2001, AJ Styles had just started hitting his stride with the company.

Whilst the Phenomenal One wasn't initially signed, a deal was later offered. Trying to decide whether to sign or not, Styles appeared on shows such as WWF Jakked and WWF Metal, working as an enhancement talent.

Deciding against signing with the WWF, Styles would join the newly-formed NWA: TNA Wrestling a year later, where he would become one of the company's biggest stars, capturing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, before leaving in 2014.

Joining WWE in 2016, Styles would quickly become one of the company's biggest stars, winning the WWE Championship from Dean Ambrose at Backlash in September.

Capturing the title again from Jinder Mahal in November 2017, Styles has continued to be one of WWE's most interesting stars, with this second title reign approaching close to a year.

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