15 Wrestlers Who Surprisingly Made It to Wwe (But Totally Flopped)

Every wrestler with big aspirations aims to be part of WWE one day and many of these stars start by making names for themselves on the Independent Circuit. Over the past few years there have been many superstars who were already known to the wrestling community when they joined WWE, but sadly they were unable to continue to shine in WWE's spotlight. While it is the grandest stage in the world, it is also completely different from playing to small crowds. Storylines run the game, and no matter how good a wrestler is in the ring, sometimes they just can't bring the same success they had on the indies to WWE.

The NXT brand has allowed a number of superstars from other promotions to come over to WWE and test their mettle with a much easier traveling schedule, but some stars were unable to make an impact in NXT, despite already being relatively known all over the world. WWE is a hard company to adapt to when it comes to some of the rules backstage, and a lot of worldwide stars have been unable to make a career in the biggest wrestling promotion in the world actually work for them.

The following list looks at just 15 wrestlers who were shockingly finally able to make it to the bright lights of WWE, but when they did they completely flopped. This could be based on injury, booking or even just personal attitude.

15 Austin Aries

Austin Aries was a huge star in TNA for a number of years before he finally made his way to WWE back in 2016, like many other stars at that time, Aries made his debut on the NXT roster before an orbital socket injury forced him into a commentary position for the 205 Live roster.

Despite the pedigree that Aries came to WWE with, the company was reluctant to push him outside of the Cruiserweight Division.

This caused him a huge amount of frustration. Aries battled Neville for the Championship a number of times, but the duo was only able to gain a spot on the WrestleMania 33 kickoff show, which didn't sit too well with Aries. WWE has had a number of former TNA stars head to the company in recent years, but Aries was one of the most disappointing stints.

14 Colt Cabana

Colt Cabana and CM Punk made names for themselves all over the world, but when Cabana followed Punk over to WWE back in 2007 he was unable to mirror the success that his long-time friend had. Cabana was never given the opportunities he deserves in WWE, which could be why he was released less than two years after he originally signed and was then able to return to the Independent Circuit and continue to make a name for himself.

Cabana was able to become known as quite a comedy wrestler throughout his career, but WWE wasn't the place for him to earn his craft at that time and he has since gained more success outside of the company than when he was part of it.