While the company is still seen as the industry’s gold standard, superstars are beginning to realise that they can be just as successful away from the company, and as a result, we are starting to see non-WWE wrestlers really make a name for themselves on the independent circuit.

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Cody Rhode’s success as booker of the event also proved that there is a life beyond the WWE and that being released, or leaving the company, doesn’t necessarily mean the end of your career.

Countless wrestlers have gone on to make a name for themselves following their departure from the WWE, and some have even gone on to become bigger stars outside of the WWE then they ever were while they were working there. Let’s take a look at 10 such superstars.

#10 John Morrison

Most WWE fans recognised that WWE letting go of John Morrison in 2011 was a massive mistake. The former MNM member was a multiple time Intercontinental and tag-team champion and was, for quite some time, considered a main event talent in waiting.

Morrison would go on to prove that the WWE should have used his talents better, putting on excellent matches and becoming a star in several other promotions, most notably, Impact and Lucha Underground.

There are some fans who remain optimistic about a return from Morrison in the future, but it seems increasingly unlikely as the years go by.

#9 Bobby Lashley

It almost seems hard to remember now, but six months ago, WWE fans were super excited about the prospect of Bobby Lashley returning to the WWE.

Lashley had failed to live up to his potential during his first run in the WWE, but the former US champion went on to become one of the biggest non-WWE stars in the world following his departure from the company in 2008.

While he worked for various promotions during his ten-year absence from the WWE, Lashley really found a home at Impact wrestling, where he would go on to become a staple of their main event scene, lifting their world championship, among other gold, four times.

Lashley would also make a name for himself in the mixed martial arts world, boasting an impressive 15-2 record, and having fought for the likes of Strikeforce and Bellator.

#8 Davey Boy Smith Jr

Davey Boy Smith’s run in the WWE was, in short, a disaster. Despite holding the tag-team titles with Tyson Kidd, the Canadian born star never connected with the WWE audience and never really got a chance to show what he was truly capable of between the ropes.

Just a year after leaving the WWE, Smith would rejoin NJPW, where he had briefly worked earlier in his career and has gone on to become one of the brand’s most dependable stars.

As a member of Suzuki Gun, Smith has teamed with fellow member, Lance Archer to form the tag-team, Killer Elite Squad. The duo has won gold numerous times in the company, and are considered mainstays of the tag-team division.

Smith is also appearing on ITV’s recent World of Sport reboot, performing as British Bulldog Jr.

#7 Trent Barreta

You can be forgiven for not remembering much of Trent Barreta’s run in the WWE. While he was working on television from time to time between 2009 and 2012, Barreta never made any sort of impact during his run on the WWE’s main roster, and it was only after he left the company that promoters began to utilise his talent.

Barreta made his debut in the WWE on the failed ECW brand before moving to SmackDown to become just another jobber. He would then go down to NXT for a year in 2012, before being released by the company.

Barreta wasted no time in getting himself some indie bookings though and quickly became the performer he should have been in the WWE.

Barreta has made for himself in several companies in the last few years, most notably, NJPW. He has worked as a part of the Chaos stable, and has also found success first as a member of Roppongi Vice, and then in Best Friends with Chuckie T.

#6 Austin Aries

Austin Aries’ run in the WWE is better left forgotten. The former TNA World champion was booked poorly during his time in the company, with his only notable contribution being several successive defeats to Neville on pay-per-views.

Aries didn’t stick around for very long, requesting his release from the company a little under 18 months after signing them, and quickly went on to establish himself as one of the must-see acts in the company.

Aries established himself as ’the belt collector’ on the indie circuit, winning world titles for the likes of Impact, Defiant, DEFY and IPW.

Aries is currently wrestling for Impact, where he is the current Impact World Champion.

#5 Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre may have just won the tag-team titles on Raw, but it was only a couple of years ago that he was out proving the WWE wrong on the independent circuit.

McIntyre arrived in the WWE in 2009, being billed as ‘The Chosen One’ by Vince McMahon during his initial run. McIntyre flirted with the main event scene on several occasions but his push quickly died out, and he found himself slipping further down the roster with every passing week.

The low-point of McIntyre’s original run in the company came when he was partnered with Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal as a part of 3MB, the three-man band. The group were a regular joke on television and seriously damaged McIntyre’s credibility. He was then released by the company in 2014 after five years.

McIntyre would then adopt his former name, Drew Galloway and head out to make a name for himself on the independent circuit. Galloway would then go on to establish himself as one of the hottest free agents in the business, winning belts for the likes of ICW, WCPW, and Evolve, as well as having a run in Impact Wrestling.

Galloway’s effort did not go unnoticed, and the WWE promptly resigned the Scotland native in 2017, awarding him the NXT championship within three months of his return.

#4 EC3

EC3 may have returned to the WWE now, but for a long time, he was seen as one of the biggest wastes of talent in modern WWE history.

Back in the days when NXT was one of the worst things on the WWE schedule, EC3 was a contestant on the show under the name of Derek Bateman. Bateman was partnered with Daniel Bryan on the show before making a forgettable debut on the main roster.

The former Impact World Champion’s time in the company was a massive failure, and he would leave in 2013 at the end of his contract. He would then go on to join TNA/Impact, where he rose to the top of the roster playing the entitled nephew of Dixie Carter, Ethan Carter III.

Carter quickly became one of the brand’s biggest stars and after five years with the company, was eventually resigned by the WWE in 2018, making his debut on NXT at NXT Takeover: New Orleans, one night before WrestleMania 34.

#3 Juice Robinson

Remember Juice Robinson’s run in the WWE? No, me either. Robinson, the current IWGP United States Champion, wrestled for the WWE as CJ Parker, back in the early days of NXT.

As Parker, Robinson was woefully booked during his run in NXT and requested his own release from the company back in 2014.

Robinson would then join NJPW in 2015 and has slowly become one of the hottest babyfaces in the company.

His victory over Jay White at the G1 special this year cemented his place as one of the hottest rising stars in the company, and one of the biggest missed opportunities for the WWE in recent memory.

#2 Matt Hardy

A controversial inclusion perhaps, but it is hard to deny that Matt Hardy did an excellent job at becoming a star of the wrestling industry once he left the WWE.

Hardy was always considered a relatively big name in the WWE, but he so often played second fiddle to his brother, Jeff, with the WWE failing to capitalise on his creative ideas and fan popularity.

Many fans wrote Hardy off when he was released from his WWE contract in 2010, but the former US and Cruiserweight champion went on to prove all of his detractors wrong. Hardy was allowed to flourish creatively on the independent circuit and proved himself to be one of the hottest properties in wrestling.

His work with TNA/Impact is some of the finest of his career, and the birth of his ‘broken’ gimmick in 2016 soon saw him become a sensation in the wrestling world.

His work outside of the WWE, and the popularity of his latest gimmick would see the WWE resign him in early 2017, though, they have not managed to maintain the momentum that he built outside of the company.

#1 Cody Rhodes

When talking about stars who have gone to do better outside of the WWE, then it impossible not to talk about Cody Rhodes.

The former Intercontinental and tag-team champion has become one of the biggest stars on the indie circuit since his departure from the company in 2016, and his co-produced All In event has to go down as a landmark event for indie wrestling in the US.

Cody has had exceptional matches all over the world since he left the WWE, and has shown that there is a life for wrestlers outside of the McMahon empire.

Rhodes has shown an acute business sense and an incredible knowledge of the industry since leaving the WWE and has made himself into one of the biggest must-see acts in wrestling. His work in the likes of NJPW and ROH has been nothing short of outstanding and given his current level of success, it seems unlikely that he will be returning to a WWE ring anytime soon.

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