5 Indie darlings who were heavily underutilized in WWE
WWE's fascination with building talent from the ground up has been both a blessing and a curse to the company. Several of the company's homegrown talents like The Rock, John Cena, Batista, and Roman Reigns have gone on to become household names. For a while, it seemed like that the company was apprehensive in pushing someone who was already an established star before they arrived in WWE.
For the longest time, it was believed that one has to be a great physical specimen to succeed in WWE. The in-ring acumen of a wrestler was secondary when it came to being successful in the Stamford-based promotion.
But, over the past few years, there has been a radical change in the company's perception of what a top star should be. This change was brought about by the changing landscape of the business itself, where in-ring athleticism has become the hallmark of being a good wrestler.
The rise and success of independent wrestling have forced Vince McMahon & Co. to take notice, who has hired indie stars and have made them the face of the company. Names like CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, and AJ Styles had made a name for themselves in the independent circuit before their arrival in WWE.
But for every Daniel Bryan, there have been a dozen other Independent wrestlers whom the company had no idea what to do with. These wrestlers were never allowed to fully shine and ended up having an underwhelming run in the company.
Here are five indie darlings who were heavily underutilized in WWE.
#5. Colt Cabana (Scotty Goldman)
Colt Cabana is a name that has been synonymous with independent wrestling in North America for the last two decades. With numerous championships and accolades to his names, many consider the Chicago-native to be the personification of what an independent wrestler should be. Cabana made a name for himself during the early to mid-2000s working alongside his then real-life friend, CM Punk.
WWE fans might remember Cabana from CM Punk's infamous pipebomb promo where he name-dropped Cabana. But, what many might not remember is Cabana's run in WWE as Scotty Goldman. Hell, even I couldn't remember it only until a few years ago. Cabana worked for WWE from 2007 to 2009 where he was mostly used as a jobber before being released in February 2009.
Cabana currently works for Ring of Honor as both a colour commentator and an in-ring talent. Apart from wrestling, Cabana is also a stand-up comic and hosts a very popular wrestling podcast called, 'Art of Wrestling' (wonder where I heard about that one).