5 Current WWE Superstars who started on the independent scene and 5 who didn't
Can you believe that there was a time when most of WWE's Superstars came from their own developmental territory? Unless they were a huge name like Goldberg or AJ Styles, most of the performers that eventually made up the WWE roster 10 years ago were first a part of OVW, FCW or NXT.
The journey that those Superstars took to get to WWE developmental, however, has been a different road. Several toiled away on the independent scene in both the US and around the globe. Stars would often take any and all bookings they could just to get their names out there.
A good portion of the roster also consists of second or even third-generation Superstars. Some stars like Natalya, Randy Orton, Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, Bo Dallas, and Curtis Axel all have famous parents or relatives that wrestled for the company.
That isn't to say that those aforementioned stars only got their spots because of their lineage, but it did play some part in getting them through the door. A big way that WWE has signed most of its current talent is to have tryouts open to athletes from all types of sports. Those that are signed have something that WWE feels it can mold into a viable Superstar.
WWE has had a strong developmental system in NXT for almost a decade now. It helped shape stars with little or no experience in the business into viable stars. It also helped refine those that did have prior wrestling experience into performers that were ready for RAW or SmackDown. However, Not every star had the same journey. Here are five current WWE stars that started on the independent scene and five that did not.
#5 Started on the independent scene - Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe was originally one of the talented names from TNA that WWE would never sign. But that mentality changed and him joining NXT would mark the beginning of a lot of further signings from TNA (AJ Styles, Eric Young, Jaxson Ryker, Mia Yim, DJZ, Robert Roode, James Storm briefly, EC3).
Even before his time in TNA, Joe was a staple of Ring of Honor during its earlier stages. He would compete for both promotions concurrently with featured runs in each.
It took the former US Champion a while to get to WWE, but he has since had successful stints in NXT and on the main roster. Joe hasn't captured a major title just yet but has been a part of big feuds with Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Styles, Seth Rollins, and many other top stars.