5 WWE jobbers who became World Champions in other promotions
The world of professional wrestling was turned upside down a few months ago when jobber Jinder Mahal shocked fans to capture the WWE Championship from Randy Orton at WWE Backlash 2017, shortly after WWE Wrestlemania 33. It was a meteoric rise for the man who was regularly jobbed out to people without a second thought.
The major reason for the shock is that rarely, if ever, is someone able to overthrow the tag of jobber and turn into a major force. But, what isn't as rare is people who end up leaving their jobber status in the WWE and embark on a tour of the indie scene in order to rebuild their reputations and earn back the respect of the fans.
There are some high-profile instances of superstars leaving the WWE due to the lack of respect afforded to them and then showing exactly what they're capable of by winning championships in smaller promotions.
So, without any further ado, here is our list of five WWE jobbers who went on to become World Champions in other promotions:
#5 Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre's career was supposed to go just one way: up. Debuting as The Chosen One -- a gimmick mirroring real life circumstances where The Scotsman was handpicked for superstardom by Vince McMahon -- great things were expected of him and for a while, he looked on track to achieving those things.
But, then he fell off a cliff, with his whole career reduced to jobbing for people as a member of the 3 Man Band (or 3MB). Ironically, Jinder Mahal was also a part of the group. Then, Drew left to find himself on the indie scene and boy did he do well.
He evolved as a performer and won World Championships in TNA, Evolve Wrestling, WhatCulture Pro Wrestling, as he established himself as one of the best indie performers out there. And, then it was time to come home.
McIntyre signed with the WWE's NXT brand earlier this year and is the current NXT Champion after defeating Bobby Roode for the belt at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III.