With the success of NXT especially after Respect this past Wednesday Triple H’s brand is sitting pretty right now, however every business needs to evolve and so does NXT. Although NXT’s roster is full of internationally acclaimed talent there is still more motivated, skilled stars out there on the independent scene, I’d like to take a look at a few prospects who could make it in WWE.
Adam Cole
Personally there is no other star on the American independent scene better equipped for the world of WWE than Adam Cole. What’s surprising most is that Cole is only 26 years old yet he started his career in 2008 in CZW, the toughest of all promotions to make a name for yourself.
Adam Cole spent 5 years in Combat Zone Wrestling where just like others before him he further perfected his trade in the ultraviolent promotion, although not the ideal starting place for a young talent CZW made the young wrestler double tough. Adam Cole’s reputation spread and therefore his graduated from the world of hardcore to the more wrestling mat based promotions of Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerilla. In the promotions he worked for Cole has been chosen to represent the company as a champion, he has had title reigns in CZW, PWG and ROH. In PWG he is still recognised as their longest reigning world champion and in ROH he has won the world title on two occasions.
If you’ve seen Adam Cole wrestle instantly you will recognise he has all the attributes to
Be a NXT/WWE superstar, he can brawl, wrestle, talk and everything in between, He is more than ready to be on the international stage for a company like WWE, it is surely only a matter of time before Triple H signs Cole to a contract. The scenarios are vast for Adam Cole in NXT/WWE, the match possibilities are endless, the calibre of performance will only go up once Adam Cole arrives In Triple H’s brand.
Michael Elgin
Right from the bat Elgin is another product of the exceptional Canadian wrestling scene, Michael Elgin is a workhorse in the same vein as the likes of Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle with the explosive power of someone like Ryback. Like Adam Cole above Elgin has competed for both Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and in July of this year he made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling.
It was his tenure in ROH where Elgin enhanced his reputation, by facing a myriad of foes he slowly became the talent everyone was watching especially ROH who decided that Elgin was championship material. However the road to his first world title win wouldn’t be easy as on two occasions came up short when it mattered. In his foray into the world title scene Elgin received a five-star rating from the wrestling observer’s Dave Meltzer for his losing effort against Davey Richards, the match was very, very good. He finally captured the ROH title by defeating his long-time nemesis Adam Cole in June 2014, he held the title for 74 days before dropping it to Jay Briscoe.
There is no denying that Michael Elgin has what it takes to make it in NXT and or WWE, the only attribute missing is his obvious lack of promo ability, however ROH rectified this by giving him a manager. He is someone who surely Triple H could use, he can get in the ring with anyone and have a five start match. His potential is far-reaching and there is no doubt that Michael Elgin could be the measuring stick in WWE’s mid-card for years to come.
The Briscoes (Jay & Mark)
Who else deserves a shot in the big leagues more than the Briscoes, they are arguably the greatest independent tag team in the world who have won tag team championships in every promotion they have participated in. As a duo the brothers have fought every tandem who stood in their way and in doing so they earned the plaudits of fans and critics for their innovative crowd pleasing matches,
The Briscoes like many others have wrestled for every mainstream independent American wrestling promotion, they have kept the flag of tag teams flying since 2001 and many have wondered for years why oh why WWE didn’t snap the brothers up to revitalise their stagnated tag team division. Their work ethic alone should grant them a shot at the bright lights, most notably during their time in ROH they really excelled as a tag team where they had celebrated feuds with The American Wolves and the Kings of Wrestling.
In 2013 Jay went into business for himself and tuned into a bonafide main event player for ROH where he has become a two-time world champion and had respectable feuds and matches with Kevin Steen, Adam Cole and most recently Jay Lethal. There is no denying that WWE’s tag team division still requires an injection of excitement and may I say I think the Briscoes are just what WWE have been looking for.
Jessicka Havok
If you’ve seen Jessicka ‘Death-Machine’ Havok in action then you know why she’s on my list. Standing at 6ft and weighing 170 pounds Havok is quite the imposing figure in the female wrestling world, she is slowly becoming a wrestler to look out for on the indie scene where she is routinely putting on very good matches with an array of female competitors.
For those of you who are TNA fans you will know Havok from her brief stint in 2014 – 2015 where she competed in TNA’s One Night Only specials, she also went on to have a hard-hitting feud with Awesome Kong. Since her stint in TNA ended she returned to the independent scene where she routinely works for Shine and Full impact Pro. According to reports she received a try out with WWE in June, however due to some comments made on social media a few years ago the try out was unsuccessful and she has returned to he indies. If there is one woman who would instigate a true Divas Revolution then Jessicka Havok is it.
@Ciaran_1986
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