Views From The Turnbuckle: Indy Talent Search Vol. 2, Who Is Going To Be Signed Next?

The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of WrestlingInc or its staff.

A little over a year ago I did a piece highlighting some of the best independent wrestlers who could make a big splash in either WWE or TNA. With TNA's future still somewhat of a mystery, it looks like the only real reliable place for a wrestler to earn a weekly check in the United States is going to be WWE. Here are some newer talents who have emerged on the indy scene that could certainly find success in WWE.

Chuck Taylor

WWE has made it increasingly clear over the last few years that they value charisma over in-ring ability. WWE is first and foremost an entertainment company, and the ability to entertain people is much more important than the ability to trade holds. Rusev might not even know how to lock up properly, but because his character is there and he plays the role of a bullish heel well, he is one of the top 5 bad guys in the company.

Chuck Taylor is not the best wrestler on the independent scene. Don't get it wrong, he is a capable in-ring worker and can have a good match with a diverse array of talent, but if this list was determined on pure wrestling ability alone, Taylor would be overshadowed by many of his contemporaries. What Taylor does have that separates himself from the pack is a weird, hard to explain charisma about him that has turned him into one of the more popular wrestlers on the independent scene.

Taylor can sell merchandise and can control a crowd without having to even touch his opponent. Examine any of his exploits with an imaginary hand grenade on youtube and you will have a better idea of what he brings to the table. Taylor doesn't need to work in a whole lot of offense to have an entertaining bout, and he is extremely adept at selling his opponents offense. He can cut promos, and has shown the ability to get over both as a loveable babyface, and a despised heel. Size wise he is always going to be limited, but his skillset should lend itself so that physical intimidation doesn't have to be a big part of his character.

Trevor Lee

While Chuck Taylor and some of the other names on this list are pretty polished, Trevor Lee is the potential stud, someone who may not be as accomplished as Taylor, but has all of the tools to be someone special. Lee recently just turned 21, and despite his youth, has already shown the ability to be a real player in the wrestling industry over the next two decades, barring injury of course.

Lee, who finally broke onto the main independent scene this year in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, has rapidly become one of the fastest risers in the wrestling landscape. Already, he owns victories over major figures on the independents, such as Kevin Steen, Michael Elgin and Cedric Alexander. As a wrestler, Lee has shown a lot of promise and has had some pretty damn good matches. He is an excellent athlete, and he possesses pretty good size, with plenty of room to grow as he matures. His character so far has mostly been that of a brooding weirdo, and not a lot is known about his mic ability, but his success at his age is pretty impressive, and WWE might want to get their hands on this kid sooner rather than later.

Joe Doering

Doering technically isn't really an independent wrestler, but for the purposes of this article, he is an available talent that could be signed by WWE if they were to show interest. Doering wrestled briefly in FCW under the name Drake Brewer back in 2010, but recently he has made tremendous strides in his career.

Doering is a legit 6'5" and 300 lbs, and has proven himself to be amongst the very best big men wrestling today. Simply by the fact that there are not a lot of good wrestlers who are that big that can wrestle that well, WWE should be interested. The Chicago product is probably the most accomplished American wrestler that nobody is talking about. In July, Doering defeated his stablemate Suwama for the All Japan Pro Wrestling Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. Doering has since defended the title against AJPW mainstays Akebono and Go Shiozaki.
Doering has already been through the WWE system, and at 32, WWE might not want to try and bring him back in. But recent Japanese signees KENTA and Prince Devitt (both 33) are older than Doering, and considering the strides he has made over the last few years, he is worth a second look.

The Young Bucks

The Young Bucks worked briefly in TNA, wrestling an exciting series of matches with the Motor City Machineguns and floating around the X Division before leaving due to monetary issues and confused booking. They have also worked in WWE as jobbers, and wrestled a tryout match back in 2011. The Young Bucks have received flack from Rob Van Dam and Booker T for being disrespectful towards the veterans on the roster, so the prospects of them being signed might go beyond their talent.

Quite simply, The Young Bucks are the best tag team on earth right now. They are both very good athletes, and work together better than any tag team that I have ever seen. Their symmetry together is second to none, and they have an endless array of double team maneuvers and never stop experimenting with new stuff. They are also dynamite heels, can attract heat from any audience, and, after hearing what RVD and Booker T had to say about them, there might not be much acting involved in their characters.

The Bucks have some hurdles to clear in order for them to find mainstream success. Besides their potential personality issues, they are very small and hardly cut a striking figure in the ring, and while they are fast and athletic enough to seem believable, having them team up against a team built like The Ascension would look like a total mismatch. If WWE wanted too, they could work that into their character. The Young Bucks are not supposed to be a physically intimidating team, but they are sneaky and clever enough to win matches, and their arrogance on the microphone and in the ring (check out the handspring backrake) to come off across as complete scumbags.

Adam Cole

Trevor Lee is a work in progress, a potential star that needs a lot of work. Cole is the opposite of Lee, someone that is pretty much ready for WWE in every facet of the game. Cole won the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship back in September of 2013, and completely matured while holding the belt. Even though he lost the championship in June, 2014 has been Cole's best year as a wrestler, and he has fully found himself as a complete performer.

Cole has been compared to Seth Rollins, although he isn't quite the athlete that Rollins is. Cole has a good moveset for WWE, and fits the more strike-heavy style that WWE has increased over the last few years, with wrestlers like CM Punk, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan, Rollins and Cesaro. The question with Cole is not a matter of if, but when, because if one person on the independent scene is bound to sign with WWE in the next year, it is Adam Cole.