Chairshot Top 5: Wrestlers You Forgot Appeared in WWE

AJ Styles, MJF and other major wrestling stars made forgotten WWE appearances before becoming famous elsewhere.

Before they became champions and major stars elsewhere, these familiar wrestlers made brief WWE appearances that have nearly disappeared from wrestling history.

WWE has employed thousands of wrestlers over the years, but signing a contract is not the only way someone can appear on its programming. Independent wrestlers have routinely been hired for tryout matches, enhancement bouts, security roles and other assignments that barely register when they happen.

Those appearances become much more interesting after the anonymous extra or unfamiliar opponent becomes famous somewhere else. A wrestler once introduced without fanfare can eventually headline pay-per-views, win world championships and help build an entirely different promotion.

The WWE archives are filled with future stars hiding in plain sight. Some competed under their familiar names, while others played disposable characters who were never expected to be remembered after the show ended.

#5: Frankie Kazarian

Frankie Kazarian is primarily associated with TNA, Ring of Honor and AEW, but his wrestling résumé includes an easily forgotten stop in WWE.

Kazarian signed with WWE in 2005 after establishing himself as one of the most promising wrestlers in TNA’s X Division. He was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling before making several appearances on Velocity, WWE’s secondary program attached to SmackDown.

Unlike some of the wrestlers on this list, Kazarian was not merely brought in for one enhancement match. WWE had signed him and appeared to be preparing him for a possible place on the main roster. He defeated Nunzio in his televised debut and also wrestled Paul London and Scotty 2 Hotty during his brief run.

The relationship ended almost as quickly as it began. Kazarian requested his release after determining that WWE’s plans for him were unlikely to lead anywhere meaningful, and he soon returned to the wrestling scene where his athletic style was already appreciated.

Kazarian eventually became an important part of several promotions, winning championships in TNA, ROH and AEW. His WWE career remains a short detour between much longer chapters, making it easy to forget that he briefly looked destined to become part of the company’s cruiserweight division.

#4: Britt Baker

Years before becoming the first woman signed to an AEW contract, Britt Baker appeared on WWE Raw as an opponent for Nia Jax.

The match took place on July 25, 2016, during the first Raw following WWE’s brand split. Jax was being established as a destructive new member of the Raw roster, which meant she needed an opponent who could make her offense look overwhelming.

Baker received no entrance and little opportunity to demonstrate the personality that would later make her one of AEW’s most recognizable wrestlers. She was introduced as a local competitor from Pittsburgh and quickly defeated in a match designed entirely to showcase Jax.

The appearance became more notable after Baker’s career accelerated. She continued wrestling while attending dental school, eventually building her “Role Model” character around the fact that she was both a professional wrestler and a practicing dentist.

When AEW launched in 2019, Baker developed into one of the company’s foundational performers and later captured the AEW Women’s World Championship. That success transformed an otherwise routine Raw squash match into a fascinating look at a future star before the rest of the wrestling world knew her name.

#3: AJ Styles

AJ Styles arriving at the 2016 Royal Rumble felt like something that had once been impossible. After becoming synonymous with TNA and establishing himself as an international star in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Styles was finally standing inside a WWE ring.

It was not his first time there. In January 2002, the future world champion appeared on WWF Metal against The Hurricane. Styles was only a few years into his career and had not yet become the wrestler who would help define TNA’s X Division. He showed flashes of the athleticism that would eventually make him famous, but The Hurricane defeated him in a short television match.

Styles also wrestled a dark match against Rico Constantino around the same period and participated in an earlier WWF tryout. WWE reportedly showed interest, but Styles declined an opportunity that would have required him to relocate and disrupt his family’s plans.

Fourteen years later, Styles returned under entirely different circumstances. He was no longer an unknown prospect hoping to earn a contract. He was one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the world, and the Royal Rumble audience immediately treated him like a major star.

Styles went on to become a WWE Champion and WrestleMania main-eventer. His eventual success makes the old footage surreal because WWE once had “The Phenomenal One” on television without any idea how important he would eventually become.

#2: The Young Bucks

Matt and Nick Jackson became two of the most influential tag-team wrestlers of their generation. Before helping launch All Elite Wrestling, however, both brothers accepted some unusual assignments from WWE.

Matt Jackson appeared on SmackDown in 2008, first losing to Chuck Palumbo and later serving as Big Show’s opponent in an exhibition Last Man Standing match. The future Young Buck was identified as an unsigned wrestler and sent crashing through a table as WWE demonstrated how dangerous Big Show would be under the stipulation.

Matt and Nick appeared together on ECW later that year, but they were not presented as The Young Bucks. Instead, they dressed as Triple H and Shawn Michaels for a parody of D-Generation X involving The Miz and John Morrison.

The Jackson brothers had already begun developing their identity on the independent scene, but WWE viewers had no reason to recognize them. They were simply young local wrestlers playing disposable roles in segments built around established stars.

The Young Bucks later helped redefine independent tag-team wrestling through PWG, ROH and New Japan before becoming executive vice presidents and performers in AEW. Their WWE appearances are especially remarkable because the company once used two future industry disruptors as anonymous stand-ins for D-Generation X.

Honorable Mention: Christopher Daniels

Christopher Daniels had one of the most successful careers of any wrestler who never received a meaningful run in WWE. That did not stop him from making several appearances for the company before becoming “The Fallen Angel.”

Daniels worked enhancement matches for the WWF during the late 1990s and early 2000s, appearing on programs such as Shotgun Saturday Night, Sunday Night Heat and Jakked. He wrestled established names while WWE evaluated whether he might fit into its increasingly crowded roster.

He also appeared beneath a mask as one of the wrestlers portraying Los Conquistadores during the 2000 storyline involving Edge and Christian. The role made Daniels technically part of a memorable WWE angle without allowing viewers to know it was him.

Daniels eventually became one of the defining wrestlers of early Ring of Honor and TNA, where he could showcase far more than WWE ever allowed during his brief appearances. His career proved that being overlooked by the biggest company did not prevent him from becoming one of the most respected performers of his generation.

#1: MJF

MJF has built his career around demanding attention. During his WWE appearance, his job was to stand in the background and be shoved out of the way.

Before NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II in 2016, Samoa Joe arrived at the arena as security attempted to control the situation surrounding the NXT Championship match. One of the young security guards positioned near Joe was Maxwell Jacob Friedman.

MJF was still early in his wrestling career and looked nothing like the polished star who would eventually become an AEW World Champion. He wore a black security shirt, followed instructions and received a forceful shove from Joe during the brief segment.

The footage became popular years later as fans realized who had been standing beside the future WWE champion. MJF’s facial reaction already showed some of the exaggerated personality that would become central to his success, but there was no indication WWE considered him anything more than a local extra.

That tiny role creates an irresistible piece of alternate history. WWE had one of the next generation’s biggest stars on camera, but he was not cutting a promo or competing in a match. He was there to make Samoa Joe look intimidating.

MJF eventually became one of AEW’s most important original stars and one of wrestling’s most effective villains. His transformation from anonymous NXT security guard to pay-per-view headliner makes his cameo the WWE appearance fans are most likely to have forgotten.

Brief appearances rarely feel important when they happen. An enhancement wrestler loses, a security guard gets shoved and the show moves on to the people WWE is actively trying to promote.

Time completely changes those moments. AJ Styles facing The Hurricane becomes footage of a future WWE Champion before his rise, while The Young Bucks impersonating D-Generation X becomes a strange preview of two men who would eventually help create WWE’s largest American competitor in years.

These appearances also demonstrate how unpredictable wrestling careers can be. The performer treated as anonymous background talent one night may eventually become a world champion, company executive or defining figure of an entire generation.

WWE did not necessarily miss on every wrestler who passed briefly through its doors. Sometimes the timing was wrong, the performer was not ready or the available role simply did not fit. The fascinating part is realizing how many future stars were already standing on WWE television before anyone understood what they would become.