I’m sure that at first glance, some might be shaking their heads in confusion, wondering how in the world could anyone ever regret becoming a WWE Superstar, for many of us, when we were growing up, this was our dream job. If you were anything like me, you would practice your entrance when no one was looking and have matches of your own on your bed, or anywhere else our little creative minds would allow us to wander. Little did we know, but we were suspending our own disbelief.
As we got a little older, many of us would even begin dreaming of one day becoming a professional wrestler. While we knew nothing whatsoever about the logistical side of the business, we still wanted to have a cool gimmick and an intimidating name to go along with it.
As we grew older and began to realise that while becoming a WWE Superstar was still something that could be a profession, it just wasn't a likely outcome for most of us. I say that not to be negative, but to simply insert a small dose of reality into the situation. The bottom line was simply that at some point, our desire to one day become a professional wrestler eventually be nothing more than a dream.
For a select few, our dreams become their reality. Some are so talented that their skills one day get recognised by someone who has the ability to make their dreams become reality and the rest is history.
Many of those who make it to the WWE try to make the best of what could be considered a golden opportunity. However, there are some who reach a point to where they simply want out. There are many different reasons that would make someone regret something that may seem like a dream to others.
Perhaps that person loses the desire they once had, or maybe they feel as if they have been overlooked time and time again, and then some just want the creative freedom that comes with working in the indie scene. No matter the situation, no one can make you feel a certain way, based on their wishes and their dreams.
With this said, who do you think regrets signing a WWE contract? After several days of thought and research, I have come up with the following superstars that probably regret ever signing on the dotted line.
#7 Apollo Crews
When I heard the news that “Uhaa Nation” had signed a WWE contract, I was absolutely stoked. After following him during his run under the Dragon Gate banner, I was convinced this was going to be one of the next big wrestling stories.
When he arrived and made his NXT debut, I still had a lot of premature hope that he would be pushed appropriately. While his NXT run wasn't necessarily the worst, it was still pretty mediocre at best. Apollo should have easily made a serious run at the NXT Championship, but of course, that never happened. Then the 2016 Draft rolls around and Apollo Crews gets sent to the Smackdown Live roster with the number 45 pick overall.
With Crews making the jump to the main roster, there was still that glimmer of hope for fans of Apollo Crews. Sure, he still has plenty of time left for him to be taken seriously, but as it stands right now, things aren't looking too promising.
#6 Kalisto
Kalisto is another great talent taken from the independent scene. Fans who recall Samuray del Sol can testify to the incredible showman he was, long before he was a Lucha Dragon, or a transitional WWE United States Champion.
When Kalisto signed his WWE contract in 2013, he had already established himself as one of the top names in independent wrestling as Samuray del Sol. There was hope that the success he had achieved in some of the top indie promotions around the world, would simply continue on at the highest level, the WWE.
Don't get me wrong, Kalisto is not exactly getting squashed by lesser than’s on a regular basis, but he is certainly not riding a consistent wave of championship runs either.
#5 Cesaro
If you didn't follow Cesaro prior to his WWE tenure, I would strongly suggest you take a moment and search a few YouTube videos under his birth name, which also just happens to be the name that put him on the wrestling map – Claudio Castagnoli. When you hear the phrase “indie darling”, Cesaro is a prime example of that very phrase.
It was his generation of independent wrestlers that truly made the bigger companies take notice and finally come to the conclusion that not only is it okay to sign a star from a lesser known promotion, it was often a great business decision to do so.
Since arriving in the WWE, Cesaro has done everything asked of him and more, to make the powers-that-be pleased. Unfortunately, it seems as if the decision makers don't fully believe in the Swiss Superman. Nevertheless, you can be rest assured that there are other places, such as Impact Wrestling and probably New Japan Pro Wrestling, that would be glad to have him.
#4 Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
While in Japan, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson were among the most feared, revered and respected tag teams and while they haven't necessarily been relegated to mop-up duty in WWE, they certainly haven't been treated with the creative respect that a team as accomplished as The Good Brothers deserve.
Many fans, including myself, truly anticipated and hoped for a WWE version of The Bullet Club. Considering the fact that the company now has Balor, Styles, Gallows and Anderson, one would think they would've made the attempt to put something together by now. Sure, we had the brief splash in the pan that was “The Club” early on, but that was a formation that did zero justice to what could have been done.
When it's all said and done, I would not blame these guys at all if they seriously considered attempting to get free from their current contract and catching a red-eye back to Tokyo. But, I would really like to see all of the former Bullet Club members booked a little more exclusively and maybe taken more seriously.
#3 Sami Zayn
He is the little engine that could, or so that’s how he’s been booked since arriving on the main roster. Sami Zayn had such a great run in NXT, but for whatever reason, the brakes were applied once he was elevated.
If you remember his days as an independent phenom, you probably remember the tremendous cult-like following he carried as well. I don't think any of us expected to see him wearing an El Generico mask into a WWE ring, but I do think most of us expected to see the essence of what was Generico embraced and somewhat welcomed.
Sami is great, however, I just feel that they have capped Sami with a low creative ceiling, similar to what Daniel Bryan experienced. Sometimes it's just best to allow these more experienced WWE newcomers to have at least a minimal amount of creative freedom and be allowed to improv on their own.
#2 Daniel Bryan
Towards the end of his in-ring career, Daniel Bryan was involved in a storyline with Triple H and The Authority where he was mocked as a “B-player”, and that he would never be above average due to his small stature. The irony in all of that is that there were apparently some within the company who literally had those very feelings regarding Daniel Bryan.
Sure, he eventually made it to the top, but at what cost? Was it worth jeopardising his health and his entire career, just for a “Wrestlemania moment”?
Some will argue that Bryan had a great run and that he met the love of his life in the WWE, and that may very well be true, but the fact remains that a superstar as prolific as Bryan is in his mid-30’s and will never wrestle again.
At the end of the day, WWE provided five really good years for Bryan, throughout his entire WWE tenure. The rest of the time was spent on the shelf, nursing injuries. If you take a look at his pre-WWE career, Daniel was almost always healthy and revered as one of the true greats of independent wrestling.
Even Ring of Honor calls Daniel Bryan their “Founding Father”. Other top promotions such as PWG and NJPW always booked Bryan as the top guy on the card. Bryan didn't become a bonafide star at WWE, he already was, long before he ever signed his contract.
#1 Paige
When I think of this superstar, I immediately shake my head in disbelief at all the money that will likely be left on the table, once her WWE career is officially said and done. I can still remember when Paige made her unannounced WWE main roster debut on the post-Mania edition of RAW, back in 2014.
She surprised everyone when she came out and defeated AJ Lee and became the new WWE Divas Champion. It was in that moment that we all knew we had something special.
Paige has definitely had a great run in the WWE, but as soon as Alberto Del Rio came into the picture, everything changed. You can deny that if you’d like, but if you go back and take a close look at the timeline, you’ll see how things fell apart so abruptly around that time.
Now that everything has collapsed the way it has, Paige is in a bad situation. On one hand, she may still have a desire to be in the WWE, but on the other hand, her man is constantly criticising WWE in every way possible, all over social media and in interviews. All of this, combined with the leaked photos, and Paige will surely wish that she could just go back to Norwich with her family.
