Now that Sting is in WWE, who is the greatest wrestler to never compete on a major WWE show?

[KaiserGlider]

AJ Styles is a good shout in my opinion. I know he wrestled Hurricane on a random episode of Velocity once, but I don't think that should really count as him being "part of the WWE roster". So, what say you?

[ShaneOfan]

Chris Benoit. Dude was great in WCW and ECW. Shame he never showed up in a WWE ring

[Hanley!]

If Styles counts then Styles for sure. He's the greatest wrestler in a lot of categories, in my book.

Now that Sting is working with WWE, I'm not sure there has been another obvious, iconic wrestler since the beginning of the Wrestlemania era who hasn't worked with the WWE. Unless you consider wrestlers who are only known for their work in Japan and/or Mexico.

[The Legend]

So I did a quick google search on the topic and 2 years ago WWE did a topic about this on their site and Sting was #1, They said Abdullah the Butcher was #2 and Great Muta #3. New Jack and Vampiro were 4 and 5.

[Kirbi]

It's gotta be Styles for me - my knowledge of historical, and non-Western wrestlers being small, and my love of the drop-kick being great.

[VaderBomb]

Wahoo McDaniel - A Native American and legend of the Mid-Atlantic NWA territory, he was a pro for over thirty years debuting in 1961 and retiring in the late 90s. He had some awesome feuds with Dory Funk Jr., Johnny and Greg Valentine (respectively), Ric Flair, Harley Race, Roddy Piper, Nick Bockwinkel and while he wasn't quite as great as all of those guys, he was a major stone in the foundations of all of their careers.

Akira Maeda - Fired from New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1987 for breaking the orbital bone in Riki Choshu's face by purposely delivering a legitimate kick to his face, the legendary Akira Maeda was notorious for shoot-fighting. He was one of the creators of the UWF, which was a Japanese wrestling promotion that incorporated shoot-fighting. He is considered to be one of the forefathers of MMA. His current record is 7-5 with three of those losses being his first two and final fight.

Samoa Joe - One of the major names from the legendary 00s ROH roster to have never been signed by WWE. You all know who he is.

Blue Demon - Alongside his longtime rival El Santo, he's the most famous Mexican wrestler of all time. He was pro for 40 years, 1948-1988. His son Blue Demon Jr. carried on the Blue Demon legacy and became a legend in his own right.

Magnum TA - Considered by many to be a Tom Selleck lookalike (hence the name), Magnum TA had countless feuds with many NWA legends in the 80s including the classic bloody steel cage match against Tully Blanchard and a 30 minute classic with the Nature Boy. A car accident ended his career but thankfully he lived. He was being groomed to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship prior to the accident.

Akira Taue - A great singles competitor but he's best known as Toshiaki Kawada's partner in the Holy Demon Army, who feuded with Misawa, Kobashi, Akiyama etc. throughout the 90s. having countless 5 star classics. If you're a Japanese wrestling noob but have attempted to check out some old AJPW 90s shit, Taue's the sort of lanky, sort of pudgy dude tall in the short red trunks. He retired about two years ago.

Austin Aries - It's a fucking travesty that WWE refused to sign him because of his size. Fuck you Vince. You fucking sack of shit.

Rikidozan - The father of Puroresu (Japanese Wrestling), Rikidozan was practically the Lou Thesz or El Santo of Japan. He was an absolute superstar. He had many classic feuds in the 50s and early 60s but his career was cut short after getting stabbed to death by a member of the Yakuza with a urine-soaked blade. He never worked for Vince's dad to my knowledge.

El Santo - The most famous Mexican wrestler of all time, he was pro from 1934-1982! He was in dozens of films playing his wrestling character alongside his rival Blue Demon. His son El Hijo Del Santo carried on the family legacy and became arguably the top Luchador of the past 30 years.

Masahiro Chono - Masa Chono is one of the most prolific villains to work for New Japan in the 80s and 90s. He went on to work for WCW as a member of the nWo during their partnership with NJPW. Debuting in 1984, he's still wrestling to this day.

David Von Erich - The "Yellow Rose of Texas" was the best of the legendary Von Erich brothers. He was primed to beat Flair for the NWA title at Texas Stadium but died tragically during a tour for AJPW in 1984.

El Hijo Del Santo - Like I said earlier, he was arguably the top Luchador of the past 30 years alongside Mistico. I know that HFX is a huge fan, as am I.

Namichi Marufuji - Now that his major rival KENTA and fellow Jr. Heavyweight Prince Devitt are signed, Marufuji is the name that they're missing. Alongside the previously mentioned, he's the best junior heavyweight from Japan since Tiger Mask. He's had numerous 5 star matches in my book.

Jushin "Thunder" Liger - From NJPW to Stampede Wrestling, from WCW to ROH, from TNA to CMLL. Liger has worked virtually everywhere but WWE. He's been pro for 30 years and is still at it. Not familiar with him? Google image search him and you'll see some fun stuff.

Shinya Hashimoto - Known for his stiffness, Hashimoto was one of NJPW's greatest big heavyweights. Debuting in 1984, his career ended in 2005 after he died from a brian aneurism. After his death, NJPW retired the second IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt as Hashimoto was the first to wear it.

Dos Caras - Alberto Del Rio's father and my personal favorite Luchador, he surprisingly never worked for WWF. He did some great work in both Mexico and Japan, he went pro in 1970 and is still an active pro wrestler.

Jun Akiyama - One of my absolute favorites of all time, Akiyama was the young face who teamed with Misawa and Kobashi in AJPW in the late 90s. He also had many classic 5 star singles matches against both Misawa, Kobashi and their major rivals. He went on to become one of the most honored and respected wrestlers in Japan and became a legend in Pro Wrestling NOAH and AJPW.

Riki Choshu - One of NJPW's biggest heels of all time, Choshu has been pro since 1974 and is still wrestling today. He invented the Sharpshooter, which he called the Sasori-Gatame and worked for promotions in North America. He never worked a match for WWF but would have fit in perfectly, especially in the 80s and 90s.

Verne Gagne - AWA's Vince McMahon was not only the owner of his promotion but he was one of the greatest technical wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of boots. It's pretty obvious why he never worked for Vince, considering he was one of the major contributing reasons why the AWA fell apart. He was pro from 1949-1981 and his song Greg carried on the family name.

Keiji Mutoh/The Great Muta - One of the most decorated and famous Japanese wrestlers of all time, he would have been a top draw at any point if signed by WWE. He's been pro for thirty years and still kicking ass. The Great Muta vs The Undertaker would have been an ultimate dream match.

Lou Thesz - In his prime, he was the most televised man in the world aside from local news anchors. He's clearly and objectively the biggest name to never work in WWF.

Kenta Kobashi - Japan's greatest face alongside Misawa, Kobashi was a total badass. He would have been a huge success in WWF in the 90s, he was a 10/10 wrestler and had an incredible look. Vince would have drooled over Kobashi.

Jumbo Tsuruta - One of the top ten greatest wrestlers of all time. Jumbo was the first man to lose the AJPW Triple Crown to Misawa. He had countless feuds with Stan Hansen, Billy Robinson, Bruiser Brody, Genichiro Tenryu, Abdullah the Butcher, Terry Funk, Dory Funk Jr., Mitsuharu Misawa, Harley Race, Verne Gagne, Rick Martel, Riki Choshu, Jack Brisco, Ric Flair, and Nick Bockwinkel among others.

Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW's greatest heel of all time = the greatest heel of all time.

Mitsuharu Misawa - AJPW's greatest face of all time = the greatest face of all time.

[Twister]

AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Austin Aries are the ones who come to mind first and foremost for me.

I also think Bobby Roode could be up there too.

[VaderBomb]

Anybody think that we'll ever see Roode in WWE?

[UTK]

So I did a quick google search on the topic and 2 years ago WWE did a topic about this on their site and Sting was #1, They said Abdullah the Butcher was #2 and Great Muta #3. New Jack and Vampiro were 4 and 5.

New Jack is considered a wrestler? Huh. You learn something new every day.

[Kirbi]

Anybody think that we'll ever see Roode in WWE?

The time for that was in 2013(?), when his contract was up. I think they were mad not to go for him then; he wrestles a WWE friendly style, he's a top notch all-rounder, and has no problems with behaviour that I've heard of.

I think of him as one of those solid workers who can really make a match work, but also a genuine star in terms of personality - and I've never seen a male wrestler that's not particularly tall run such a successful line in intimidation.

[War Daddy]

It's a damn shame we'll never see themetalmessiah in a WWE ring.

[Daz]

"The British Rose" Daz

[Hanley!]

New Jack is best known for being the vilest piece of human filth that can technically be referred to as a professional wrestler. The guy is pure scum.

Anybody think that we'll ever see Roode in WWE?

Not happening. They didn't bite in 2013, so they never will. That was the perfect time to bring him in. He was on top form, but not getting a huge amount of play in TNA so WWE would have had plenty of leverage to bring him in on a less than stellar deal. They really could have used some good midcard acts around then too.

There's really no reason they shouldn't want Roode though, it's just Vince being an idiot about TNA. He probably figures anyone who has worked over there isn't worth looking at. But Roode is everything they look for in a wrestler. He's got the look, he's got the mic skills, he's incredible in the ring while still working a very WWE-friendly style. He has a presence. If he had come up through FCW a few years ago, he'd probably be a world champion by now. They're foolish to not have made a play for him by now.

[Everlong]

It's a damn shame we'll never see themetalmessiah in a WWE ring.

Don't you remember? Vince McMahon offered him a contract but he turned it down

[DBSoT]

It really odd to me that WWE turned down Roode is 2013, but is reportedly signing Samoa Joe in 2015. Joe is older, his match quality has been down, and he doesn't have the same talent on the mic as Roode. It is stuff like this that blows my mind. Unless WWE is just bring Joe in as a NXT "guy" like Rhyno and just transitioning him into a trainers role after. I should add that I like Joe and think he has a good chance to be awesome, but its just odd in comparison.

[Hanley!]

It really odd to me that WWE turned down Roode is 2013, but is reportedly signing Samoa Joe in 2015. Joe is older, his match quality has been down, and he doesn't have the same talent on the mic as Roode. It is stuff like this that blows my mind. Unless WWE is just bring Joe in as a NXT "guy" like Rhyno and just transitioning him into a trainers role after. I should add that I like Joe and think he has a good chance to be awesome, but its just odd in comparison.

I think that signing Joe is only a possibility because of NXT. They're looking to make that a brand now. Not everyone on that show is intended to debut on Raw anymore. Some guys will probably be left as journeymen on NXT. Joe, Rhyno and The Brian Kendrick probably all fit into that bracket. Their potential to be major future stars is limited, but they add a bit of name value to NXT when the show is being taken on the road.

[The Legend]

It really odd to me that WWE turned down Roode is 2013, but is reportedly signing Samoa Joe in 2015. Joe is older, his match quality has been down, and he doesn't have the same talent on the mic as Roode. It is stuff like this that blows my mind. Unless WWE is just bring Joe in as a NXT "guy" like Rhyno and just transitioning him into a trainers role after. I should add that I like Joe and think he has a good chance to be awesome, but its just odd in comparison.

I think that signing Joe is only a possibility because of NXT. They're looking to make that a brand now. Not everyone on that show is intended to debut on Raw anymore. Some guys will probably be left as journeymen on NXT. Joe, Rhyno and The Brian Kendrick probably all fit into that bracket. Their potential to be major future stars is limited, but they add a bit of name value to NXT when the show is being taken on the road.

I would agree with this and even just bluntly say Joe even in 2015 is a bigger name draw than Roode has ever been. Not nearly the performer, but as a pure financial business draw from a name alone Joe wins. The NXT crowd even takes off on Joe's famous chant with their own "Bayley is going to hug you" chant.

[Hanley!]

Joe is a bigger name, so I do think he would do better business with WWE. Plus he made more of his name on the indies than Roode did. Roode is mostly a TNA grown guy from what I know. WWE seem more comfortable getting into bed with ROH talent than TNA talent.

On the other hand though, I reckon if Roode's contract was coming up now, maybe they'd want him for NXT too. But they'd probably want him to stick around on NXT also, to put their future prospects over. And while I think that's a good position for Joe at the moment, Roode can offer a lot more. So I hope he stays in TNA really.