The uproar around Dean Ambrose and wrestlers looking toward AEW for greener pastures has the wrestling world all stirred up. The back and forth over whether Ambrose’s departure is a work or a shoot is worse than a CW teen drama. This, of course, has most fans falling back on our favorite pastime: questioning WWE booking habits.
Around Xmas, it looked like Santa Vince was opening up his bag and delivering us a promise of a brave new wrestling world. The whole McMahon family, sans Linda, announced they would listen to the fans and deliver a better product. Then we got more of the same. True, maybe we haven’t given them ample time to right the ship, but we can’t help but look back at some of WWE’s biggest missed opportunities with great wrestlers.
So, with that let’s begin our countdown of WWE’s other biggest misfires and collectively groan over what could have been.
10. Konnan
Unless you’re a frequent purveyor of these sort of lists, you’d be forgiven for not knowing that Konnan had a brief run with the WWE in the early 90s. Before K-Dawg got bowdy bowdy in the WCW, he spent a brief period as Max Moon. Max Moon was like the Burger King Kids Club of wrestlers; colorful, obnoxious, aimed at kids, but no one cared.
Konnan was smart enough to bail on this stupid gimmick before poor Paul Diamond was saddled with it. Could be worse. He coulda been a trashman. Luckily for Konnan, however, he’d make his mark on the industry as one of the most prominent members of the NWO Red & Black.
Unfortunately, WWE missed their chance to push a great wrestler who could have brought a little realism to the federation with his persona. But realism wasn’t the name of the game in the early 90s. Unless the realism they were going for was that they paid wrestlers so poorly they needed day jobs.
9. DDP
“It’s me, it’s me, IT’s D D P!” Dammit wasn’t Diamond Dallas Page cool? He started his career late in life yet rose to be the most beloved member of the WCW roster outside of Sting. DDP also did what no other wrestler could do. He stood up to the NWO and never joined.
Forget the RKO outta nowhere the Diamond Cutter is where it’s at. Maybe I’m biased because I like people who are nice outside of the ring, and Randy Orton isn’t exactly known for being Mr. Congeniality. Seriously, I’ve met Spetsnaz agents with sunnier dispositions.
We all know the WWE screwed up the invasion. The only person to come out the other side looking good was Booker T. While we all lamented the lack of star power coming from WCW it’s probably best they didn’t make the move after what the WWE did to DDP. They managed to turn a hero of the people into a creepy, stalker pervert. It was uncomfortable to watch and did nothing for anyone involved.
I’m an Undertaker mark so I love watching him beat anyone down, but, in retrospect, DDP and Kanyon deserved so much better. What’s even more heartbreaking is that in interviews DDP has said he knew that he was being punished for the sins of WCW and tried to suffer through. The man essentially jumped on a Vince sized grenade for his fellow wrestlers. The man deserves a thank you at the very least. Also, his yoga program is great.
8. Bray Wyatt
I know you’re probably protesting the inclusion of people still with the company, as they may turn it around. You’re so young and full of hope… I wish I shared your optimism. Now, I’ve said it a few times and I’ll say it again: Bray Wyatt brought me back to wrestling after a 10-year hiatus. I’d tune in and fast forward and only watch his segments. I was enthralled by the Eater of Worlds and his minions. Luke Harper may as well be in this entry too, because I may love him even more. That big dude can go.
Not only is Bray fun to listen to on the mic, but the unique way he moves in the ring make him so damn fun to watch. Windam Rotunda made a spooky character believable in this era. That’s no easy feat, man. Bray is genius… or at least he was.
Bray could have been and should have been the new face of fear in the WWE. They even let him say it for a while, but in order to be the man, you gotta beat the man. And the man, as far as fear goes, is the Undertaker. That’s right, hot take right here: Bray could have been the new Undertaker. The only problem is you have to let him take the mantle, retire the Dead Man, and then be booked like an unholy terror from beyond.
So what now for Bray? We haven’t seen him in what feels like ages, and all we have left of the Wyatt Family is Braun talking about his hands. There’s no way now to get the character back to what he was. We won’t buy it now. I hope I’m wrong, but Bray maybe some of the worst wasted potential since…
7. Shelton Benjamin
I used to work for the House of Blues in Dallas. During Wrestlemania weekend Jim Ross did 3 Q&A’s at our venue. I was lucky enough to be assigned to him and I have to say Jan Ross was one of the most wonderful and sweet human beings I’ve ever met and the world is less without her in it. Back to the point though.
One of the questions asked of Good Ol’ JR was which talent did he think the WWE failed the most by not pushing properly. Without a moment of hesitation, he replied “Shelton Benjamin.” Benjamin had all the in-ring talent necessary to be a top level star. He could move like Kofi but had the size to be a threat to the heavyweights. His matches with HHH during his first solo run were evidence of his main event potential.
Instead, they let Shelton languish in the mid-card until he left the company. Then the WWE got a second chance when they resigned him, and what did they do? Well, so far he’s languishing in the undercard. Good job WWE. Way to learn from your mistakes.
6. Kharma
I… I just can’t even express the frustration here. Awesome Kong is who the WWE wishes Nia Jax was. She’s a big bruiser who can believably work with anyone and have a good match. Also, she’s not prone to hurting people in the ring.
I’m loathed to say her pregnancy was unfortunate, but it was at least a bit ill-timed. I’m sure Kia Stevens doesn’t find anything unfortunate about the birth of her child but it sadly cost her run in the WWE. I feel like this sort of thing wouldn’t happen today with much more sensitivity given to these sort of things. However, the WWE ended up wasting a huge talent in Kia Stevens by letting her get away.
https://youtu.be/IMKL-qZZTbE
To clarify timelines here, Kharma did make her Royal Rumble appearance after her pregnancy, so she wasn’t cut loose the second she found out. The problem came when they wanted her back on the road full time and she wasn’t ready, which is understandable with a newborn at home. I’d love to leave you with a punchline, but I’m annoyed thinking about how many WWE Women’s Championships she would have racked up by now.
5. The Good Brothers
I watch WWE exclusively, so I wasn’t familiar with Gallows and Anderon’s time in New Japan. However, the WWE was great at building them up as world beaters when they arrived. I was ready to watch a master class in tag team wrestling and see one of the most dominant tag teams in the world do their thing. Then… nothing.
The Good Brothers are just that, great workers who love the business and can put on a great smash-mouth match. Their use, along with many others, is proof that Vince isn’t into Tag Team wrestling. Just listen to Cornette sometime if you wanna know why tag team wrestling is a division of the sport worth pushing heavily. And speaking of that ornery ol’ bastard…
4. The Revival
If this is what Jim Cornette means by liking vanilla, then sign me up for a big bowl of Blue Bell. Sorry about that. Oli said if I didn’t play up my Texas roots I’d be outta here faster than a greased jackrabbit. Again… sorry.
Let me back up and explain that a bit though. Cornette has always said, when it comes to wrestling, some people like chocolate and some vanilla. Nothing wrong with that, he just prefers vanilla to the triple fudge chocolate that the WWE serves these days. I think by vanilla Cornette means traditional, realistic, smash-mouth wrestling. Which is exactly what The Revival is.
Perhaps its that old-school feel that has caused such difficulties for the WWE booking team. Regardless, the treatment of the Revival, as well as the Good Brothers, is further proof that the WWE has no idea what to do with their tag team division. It’s been suggested that Vince McMahon has no interest in pushing tag team wrestling, and the evidence seems to suggest this may be the case.
Rumor has it that The Revival won’t be with the company much longer, and odds are they’ll be AEW bound. Honestly, that’s the best outcome for them. The WWE roster is bloated and they seem to suck up talent regardless of whether or not they need them. SaNity is proof of that.
Though they’ve given the The Revival the Raw tag team belts, they were still jobbing out to D.I.Y. the next week. Maybe the titles are a nice incentive to stay but it may be too little too late.
3. Dean Malenko
To be fair to the WWE, almost every federation did ‘The Man of 1000 Holds” dirty. Brace yourselves. Dean Malenko has never won a world title. I’ll let that sink in for a moment. Take your time. Not in ECW, WCW, or WWE was one of the greatest wrestlers of a generation deemed worthy to carry the main title. That’s a gross miscarriage of justice if ever I’ve seen one.
If you’re too young to remember Malenko’s work, go watch his last match with Eddie Guerrero. The ECW and WCW at least gave the man some memorable feuds with titles that meant something. His time in the WWE was spent mostly fighting with Scotty 2 Hotty over the Light Heavyweight Championship. And that title was more worthless than the United States Championship is currently.
It didn’t get much better for Dean after that either. He accepted one of Godfather’s hos instead of having a match, and took on James Bond type persona known as ‘Double Ho Seven.’ I can hear the collective groan of all of you reading this.
2. Vader
It’s time! It’s time! It’s… time to completely whiff on one of the biggest (literal and figurative) stars in the industry. Look there have been several WWE superstars who let their ego derail a good thing. That’s why if you’re a fan, John Cena is the most giving and selfless human being who ever lived. If you’re a coworker circa the 2000s, he was a shark looking for blood.
Such was the case in the WWE locker room during the 90s. Vince had lost his stars of the 80s and was desperate the keep the stars he had. That meant putting up with Shawn Michaels. While Michaels has turned his life around dramatically, he was at his most monstrous when Big Van Vader was brought into the company.
Vader has a reputation for being stiff, but, frankly, it’s part of the appeal. Vader could have been a monster heel champion like Yokozuna, but mobile and able to put on a good match. As a child, watching Vader attack Gorilla Monsoon was scary and convinced me he was a terrifying and dangerous man.
Sadly, Shawn threatened his career, bringing the big guy to tears at one point. The backstage politics insured Vader never saw the push he deserved in the WWE and we’re all the lesser for it.
1. Cody Rhodes
https://youtu.be/dF_AGI_A38Y
Ok has anyone else played the WWE 2K19 career mode? Anyone else find it hilarious the story revolves around “Indy guys” sticking it to the WWE? Because no one is sticking to them harder than Cody Rhodes is currently. Apparently, this is what happens when you make someone dress up like Stardust for a few years. They bleach their hair and become the biggest thing in pro-wrestling since the hammerlock.
Maybe calling Cody a misfire isn’t fair. They tried several gimmicks with him and none seemed to stick with the fans. Cody needed the break from the WWE if he was ever gonna progress, and progress he has. The AEW seems like the greener pasture most disgruntled WWE stars are looking for.
All of this because Cody and the Young Bucks were challenged to do it alone. Time will tell if the AEW is a success, but it seems only a Vince Russo level dumpster fire can stop it at the moment.
Comments.
Loading comments…