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There's often a stigma against wrestlers who make it big outside of WWE. While the cream normally rises to the top, as was proven by AJ Styles and others in the past, there's a common misconception.
That misconception is about superstars who got sidelined in WWE at some point but are/were big stars in other promotions. What many fans don't realize is that WWE has long had the most stacked professional wrestling roster.
While AEW has undoubtedly signed and developed some big names, WWE still possesses the biggest share of the world's top wrestling talent - with men, and especially, with women.
Although there aren't any women on this list, we focus on five superstars who got sidelined in WWE but succeeded in other promotions:
#5. Shinsuke Nakamura - A multi-time world champion outside of WWE
It could be argued that in 2016, Shinsuke Nakamura was the biggest international superstar signing in WWE history. At the time, the wrestling world was changing drastically, and the highly-accomplished New Japan Pro Wrestling veteran decided to embark on a new adventure.
In the process, he concluded a nearly 14-year run with Japan's biggest promotion. Shinsuke Nakamura was a highly-touted rookie in the early 2000s, becoming the youngest IWGP heavyweight champion in history at the age of 23 - a record that still stands 18 years later.
Overall, Shinsuke Nakamura was a three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and a five-time IWGP Intercontinental Championship. The latter, in particular, was a title that Nakamura was credited for elevating.
While NJPW executives may have initially hoped that Shinsuke Nakamura would take them into a new era, Hiroshi Tanahashi filled that spot. After nearly a decade, Kazuchika Okada came along as well, making Nakamura the #3 superstar in NJPW.
Even then, he has headlined Wrestle Kingdom numerous times and has had some all-time classics. While Nakamura's wrestling style was considerably (and understandably) toned down once he came to WWE, he still got a great reaction between his debut in 2016 and main roster run from 2017-18. However, after losing against AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34, he lost a considerable amount of momentum.
Many fans felt that he should have become the WWE Champion, but it seems like it was never meant to be. Shinsuke Nakamura spent a great deal between 2018 and 2021 being sidelined.
He did, however, add a few big accomplishments to his name since then - namely, two United States Championship reigns, two Intercontinental title reigns, and one SmackDown Tag Team title reign.
He won the Intercontinental Championship a little over a week before SummerSlam 2021.
Despite all this, Nakamura has spent a considerable amount of time in WWE being sidelined creatively.
#4. EC3 - A big star in Impact Wrestling but an underwhelming one in WWE
EC3 was one of the biggest success stories of a WWE superstar who didn't succeed but eventually did in Impact Wrestling. EC3 seemed to have the look, but it didn't work out in his first WWE run.
That didn't seem to matter because his stint in TNA/Impact Wrestling between 2013 and 2018 was a huge success. It was another story of a superstar with potential who couldn't make it at first in WWE but became popular elsewhere.
And by all means, EC3's success in Impact Wrestling was no fluke. He developed a strong character and became the best part of the promotion consistently.
This resulted in EC3 becoming a two-time Impact World Heavyweight Champion before he rejoined WWE in 2018. This time, it seemed as though things would be different for him. EC3 developed a strong persona and was a solid in-ring worker. It came as no surprise that he was fast-tracked through NXT and joined Monday Night RAW.
This, however, was where all the problems began again. Jon Moxley/Dean Ambrose, who was a heel at the time, revealed that EC3 received heat because he wasn't able to get over as a babyface against him.
Additionally, EC3 wasn't even allowed to speak a word - taking away his biggest strength. Unfortunately, it led to him being sidelined in WWE for another year, constantly underutilized.
He would be released by WWE on April 15th, 2020 as a part of the COVID-19 budget cuts.
#3. John Morrison - A bigger star outside of WWE
He might be known as John Morrison in WWE, but outside the promotion, he has had many different names. In Impact Wrestling, he was Johnny Impact. In Lucha Underground and AAA, he was Johnny Mundo.
In the independent scene, he sometimes went by his real name, John Hennigan. Regardless of the promotion, constant success was common for John Morrison outside of WWE.
He's a former Impact Wrestling World Champion, Lucha Underground Champion, and a AAA Mega Champion (the AAA equivalent of the world title). That doesn't mean that he hasn't been successful in WWE either.
Under the WWE umbrella, John Morrison has won ten championships - three Intercontinental title reigns, one ECW World title reign, and six reigns as the Tag Team Champion (three with The Miz and three with Joey Mercury).
While this may not sound like a superstar being sidelined at first, many fans have questioned the company's decision to utilize him in a more comedic role throughout his latest WWE stint.
Regardless, John Morrison has had a few notable moments in and out of WWE and is perhaps one of the most underrated talents of his generation.
#2. Ricochet - A superstar who had a lot of hype outside WWE
Ricochet is one of the most exciting WWE superstars to watch in the ring. Time and time again, he has defied gravity with some mesmerizing high-flying spots.
While Ricochet's style of wrestling has undoubtedly become a lot more common in the past decade, there's something about him that stands out.
Outside of WWE, Ricochet made his name as one of the best wrestlers in the world and impressed fans with incredible matches. His main non-WWE highlights include stints in NJPW, Dragon Gate, and Lucha Underground.
Before signing with WWE in early 2018, Ricochet was among the most popular pro wrestlers in the world. His match against Will Ospreay in NJPW went viral within the wrestling world as well.
While Ricochet wasn't necessarily the top star of every promotion, he always seemed to be a highly-featured and promoted superstar.
Ricochet had an enjoyable year-long tenure at NXT, where he even held the North American Championship. His first year on the WWE main roster in 2019 got off to a great start as he won the United States title and was congratulated by several superstars backstage.
However, Ricochet has been sidelined a lot since then, despite being a WWE title challenger for Brock Lesnar in 2020. Even getting television time on RAW is considered a win for him these days.
#1. Cody Rhodes made his biggest impact outside of WWE
Nowadays, it's commonplace to see superstars who get released from WWE making a promotional video about how they were "trapped" in the company.
When it comes to a superstar having a big chip on their shoulder after leaving WWE, there is no better example than Cody Rhodes. He left WWE in 2016 after requesting his release and made a list of names he wanted to face in the independent scene.
This helped build Cody's image and he quickly became the hottest superstar in the independent wrestling scene. Leaving WWE turned out to be a fruitful decision because of how underutilized he was in Vince McMahon's company.
There seemed to be a lot of promise for Cody Rhodes as a singles star in 2010, but things didn't work out as he would have hoped. However, Cody's stints in the independent wrestling scene, Ring of Honor, NJPW, etc., eventually set up his biggest project - All Elite Wrestling.
While the former WWE star hasn't become a world champion in AEW, he is a crowd favorite and is a featured top star in important feuds.
Cody Rhodes has firmly set his roots outside of WWE to a level where he doesn't need to resurface in Vince McMahon's promotion anytime soon.
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