How Well Would They do Now?

[Dragon Chief]

We live in an era where independent wrestlers are starting to make an impact in larger wrestling promotions. Looking at how well guys like Daniel Bryan, Ceasaro, CM Punk (not anymore), Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, etc... are doing in the WWE has me wondering how well other former WWE wrestlers who made a name for themselves in the independent scene would do had they debuted in the same era as the wrestlers listed above.

Guys like Paul London and Brian Kendrick were two young talent who were good in the ring but didn't have successful runs in the WWE. Brian Kendrick, almost destined to fail from the start, debuted as a jobber named Spanky in 2003. Paul London was a wrestler who had flashy moves and got decent babyface reactions from the fans but didn't go very far. Now that the WWE is involved with all this social networking, allowing the fans to put their two cents into who they want to see succeed and an increase in fans that are just generally more appreciative of independent wrestlers, do you think these two wrestlers would have achieved more in their careers had they debuted in this era? Had Paul London and Brian Kendrick debuted in this era, do you believe they would have been given more opportunities to succeed? Or were they just not meant to be top stars?

Any other wrestlers you think would be successful in this era?

 

[FeeltheBANG16]

A lot of people talk about Brian Kendrick but honestly I definitely thought Billy Kidman had more in him than either London or Kendrick. From his days as a member of The Flock in WCW I was drawn to the guy but of course WCW being WCW thought he was too small, generic, whatever and didn't give him much of a chance. Than when he came to the WWE I had high hopes for him but his character was so boring it was tough to watch. Guy had the ability in the ring, a decent look, and could have improved on the mic given some time. Should have been more than just a cruiserweight wrestler.

 

[SmattyG]

I'll get flamed for this but I'm going to say Kizarny. He had a solid if not spectacular indy rep, and had a crazy gimmick which could have gotten over given more time.

Kendrick could've been the next Pillman if they let him loose.

And imagine if Samoa Joe wasn't ruined by the last five years or so in TNA. If he came straight out of ROH now, and shaped up a bit more, he would be a big time player.

 

[Slash-LN]

Colt Cabana.
He's got pretty good mic skills and charisma to spare.
He's solid in the ring and he deserved better than what he got as Scotty Goldman.

If he and Punk were just now coming into the company and they brought them in as The Second City Saints and allowed them to keep their names like they did with Punk I think they would be an incredibly popular tag team and when they split they both would be singles stars.

If Chris Hero wasn't released and he and Cesaro had come in as a tag team I think he would do well too.

Kings of Wrestling feuding with The Second City Saints would have done wonders for all four guys and they all four have/had the ability to have wonderful singles careers as well.

I know you mentioned Punk and Cesaro helping pave the way for the indie stars which they did but I think they could have really helped in the tag roles and still gone on to have the singles success they have/had.