Main Eventers That Never Happened

[BK Styles]

Ok, haven't posted a thread for a few months, so might be a bit rusty. Basically, i just wanted peoples opinions on something; who in WWE (or wrestling in general) history did you see and want as a future main eventer that never actualy got the push? Why did you like them, and why do you think they never got the push? (feel free to mention multiple superstars)

Essentially, who is your main eventer that never happened?

Mine is Mr. Perfect, Curt Hennig (RIP). He was a fantastic pro-wrestler; he put on some great matches with most people he went in the ring with. My first ever exposure to him was his return at the 2002 Royal Rumble, and I couldn't believe how good he was. At that point I always thought that any wrestler pre 1998 was poor beyond belief. Now I'm less ignorant, and am shocked that he never got the main event status his abilities deserved.
Well, to say I'm shocked is wrong. I'm dissapointed. Old Vinnie Mac and his love for big men. Hennig would have fitted in with todays crop, but back when he was IC Champ, because of his size that was all he ever would achieve.

So, your thoughts?

 

[nbkush]

Carlito Colon. He was a second generation wrestler with good athletic ability and was great on the mic. He debut was was heavily hyped and he had an amazing run in his WWE rookie year, capturing the US belt and having great fueds with Eddie Guerrero and Cena. From what I've read his stock fell in WWE because of his poor attitude.
BTW, Curt Henning was a World Champion and main eventer in the AWA.

 

[BK Styles]

Carlito Colon. He was a second generation wrestler with good athletic ability and was great on the mic. He debut was was heavily hyped and he had an amazing run in his WWE rookie year, capturing the US belt and having great fueds with Eddie Guerrero and Cena. From what I've read his stock fell in WWE because of his poor attitude.
BTW, Curt Henning was a World Champion and main eventer in the AWA.

Good pick. i always thought carlito could have gone far. It's a shame about his attitude because he did have potential.
And I've never looked into AWA at all so fair play, my mistake. I'm only really familliar with Hennig in his WWF/WWE/WCW tenure.

 

[nbrew2119]

I completely agree with Curt Henning. He was an awesome wrestler, and I think he could have been a World Champion in the WWF/E. I know he was a World champion in the AWA, but as far as the WWF/E, he never got past the IC title.

Another option could be Ted DiBiase Sr. Except for when he teamed up with Andre the Giant, at Summerslam against Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, he never was a main eventer. Also, aside from winning the Tag Team titles with IRS, he never held a title either(Sorry, not counting the Million Dollar title).

Two options that were solid wrestlers, always had a good match, but, for whatever the reason, Vince didnt see them as main eventers. To me, this was two cases of "swing and a miss"

RIP Curt Henning

 

[Cats Pajamas]

Couldn't agree more with Curt Hennig, how could you with a class act like him? He was my choice, immediately, when I read the subject of this thread. Very, very underutilized for sure. Then I read the name Carlito which was my second choice! Very good at selling feuds (both of them actually) I've never been quite accepting of Carlito's release from the WWE. I realoly wish Carlito was where the Miz is now

 

[jaceynightheat]

Well when Mr. Perfect was the IC champion it was a lot different than how the belt is currently used. I would say for the most part in that era of the 80s/early 90s the IC belt was a Main Event level belt. Sure where was the WWF World Belt.

Around that era many big names had the IC Title; The Ultimate Warrior, Rick Rude, Bret Hart, Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Kerry Von Erich, The Honky Tonk Man. During the Attitude era is when it like the other titles were swapped a lot.


But one guy I'm surprised didn't make it to the main event was Billy Gunn.

I thought in WCW Lance Storm was going to get to the main event. Mike Awesome could have too. But I guess that's one of the reasons it folded.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Scott Norton - this guy made Mark Henry just look like a fat lump, he was rotund but every inch looked muscular and he could work a match. If ever there was a potential monster powerhouse champion, this would have been the guy.

 

[The Saviour]

TEST:I loved this guy for his smart looks,physique and his tattoo.He IMO had a semi-main event feud with Triple H.But he never made it to the top,he was on a hot streak during 00' and 01' but why he wasn't never given THE PUSH is beyond me.The guy had everything that Vince likes,so I dont clearly know what happened.He had a drug abuse problem I know,but it was not during best time.Guess thats the way it was meant to be.

 

[LegendKiller716]

* Disclaimer* I have never seen a WCW show in my life*

I was always a fan of Mark Jindrak in WWE. I thought he could Make it.

Lance Cade I thought was gonna get the push after teaming with Y2J, but that never happend. RIP.

Sean O'Haire had a great gimmick in WWE, I have no idea why he didn't go farther.

And the guy I think still can make it, Chris Masters. He was on fire until his release, and given the chance he can be a fore on smackdown.

 

[Next Jericho]

Okay good idea on this thread but to be honest I think the only wrestler I think that should have been world champion out off the names throw out and the name is Mr Perfect Curt Henning because he was simple perfect in what he did in the ring. A great example on thr perfect thing he did was the intercontinental champion going against people like Bret Hart and having great matches with him. So that is why I think Curt Henning should have been world champion.

 

[#hamler]

Test

He was just another great wrestler who never got the push he deserved. Test had the in ring ability and a good look, but never had the high profile matches he needed. His big boot finisher was deadly. His shining moment in the WWE was his days with The UnAmericans. That's pretty bad. He had great feuds with Triple H over Test's girlfreind Stephanie McMahon. The Invasion angle didn't do much for his career and neither did T&A. WWE saw nothing in him for some reason. He almost got pushed when he made t to the finals of the King of the Ring tournament in 2002 losing to Brock Lesnar.

He wouldn't see a great feud again until his days with Scott Steiner and even that feud was underrated and over looked. A lot of people look back on Test's career and although he won many championships at a midcard level, he was never quite given the push that would've shown his full potential. It is only after his retirement and his death that people have realized the fact that WWE wasted a top talent by holding him at the midcard level for most, if not all, of his career. He would've done wonders for the RAW or Smackdown main event scene.

Curt Hennig

Mr. Perfect had everything. Elite technition skills, tremendous in ring ability awesome mic skills, and one of the best heel managers ever in Bobby "The Brian" Heenan. I mean WWF had a "perfect" wrestler and could elevate him into the world title picture at anytime. I mean its pretty much a damn shame he was never a contender for the WWF Championship. What was it exactly the WWE didn't like in him? Curt proved himself by putting on great matches with great feuds such as Bret Hart, Tito Santana and even Big Bossman. He was the one who brought the Intercontinental Championship it's prestige. He gave the belt the name "the worker's title". I believe he could've done the same for the WWF Championship or the Main Event scene.

These two were the main eventers that never happened.

 

[MancMark]

Curt Hennig is a really good shout. Why he never made it to that status is beyond me really. I was so impressed when he returned in the Rumble, whatever year that was. He was almost a forgotten man by then, and it certainly shouldn't have been the case.

I agree with someone's suggestion of Lance Storm and Mike Awesome. I imagine Storm would have made it up to that level had WCW not folded. He was certainly on his way and was more or less constantly being pushed. He had a good gimmick as well with the "If I could be serious for a minute" thing. That got heat. As for Awesome, he's one of my favourite big men ever. He was athletic and looked like he would literally kill you. Both Awesome and Storm were misused in WWF/E when they got there, but Awesome was clearly used stupidly in WCW as well. Big mistake to take all of his momentum away and give him the Fat Chick gimmick. I thought Vince would have loved Awesome given his hard-on for big athletic guys. Sadly he was determined to crush the guys that came over during the Invasion.

I think all 3 of the people I've mentioned could, and probably should, have made it really big. It's such a shame that 2 of them are no longer with us and the other isn't active anymore. A real waste it seems.

 

[LKOKDJE]

I remember the WWF (at the time) was hyping Mr. Perfect as if he were going to be the next WWF Champion! Who remembers that great promo when he took Hogan's title and shattered it with a hammer, then looked at the camera and said that "this is not a PERFECT belt"! Mr. Perfect could have been a great champion, even if it were for the short term.

The monster charisma exuded by Ravishing Rick Rude alone would have made for a great champion. He was among the smallest of the big muscular types but he had greater ability than most on the WWF roster. Plus he had one of the MOST devestating finishing moves...the Rude Awakening!

Paul Orndorf's awesome heal turn against his "friend" Hulk Hogan had me and my friends on the edge of our seat at the time that he piledrove Hogan's head into the mat and joined the Heenan family! I thought that he had the greatest chance of taking Hogan's title the way that WWF set up his heal turn against Hogan!

I still don't know what happened to Bobby Lashley! He was incredibly strong, had the monster size that Vince wants, and even headlined Wrestlemania's "Battle of the Billionaires" (along with Umaga.....another lost opportunity)! Lashley could have been HUGE...a multi-time WWE champion! Now...all gone, sadly.

 

[Spotlight Heel]

Owen Hart - The guy who had all. Charisma, Wrestling talent, Aerial or high flying skills, Considerable mic skills and fanbase. One of the greatest wrestlers of all time!

I also agree along with the others for Curt Hennig.

 

[jaceynightheat]

I thought of another one this morning. Davey Boy Smith while I think he was a main eventer at some points in his career, he never got a World Title & I'm shocked by that. Especially when he was in WCW the first time feuding with Vader & Sting.

 

[BK Styles]

Man, there are some AWESOME shouts here! Awesome, to his credit, was a 2 time ECW champion, but it is a travesty he never got the big push in either of the big two. He had the potential, in my opinion.

I never thought of Storm as a world champion, but it could have worked. He just seemed too small to me to be able to achieve it, but hell, how many times have smaller guys made great world champions.

I LOVE the guy who said Test. Totally agree. The guy was a beast when he was allowed to be. When he alligned with Stacy, I was convinced he was gonna get a push to main event level, but sadly, it didn't happen. It's a shame, because he did have potential.

You could argue that Owen Hart didn't get the chance because he never saw his career to the end due to his untimely death. Had he not died, I believe he would have gone to WCW and become champion. But who knows. All we can do now is speculate.

Keep the suggestions coming guys! Thank you so much!

Oh, and the Davey Boy Smith sugestion, agreed, 100%

 

[New Spice]

Mine is Mr. Perfect, Curt Hennig (RIP). He was a fantastic pro-wrestler; he put on some great matches with most people he went in the ring with. My first ever exposure to him was his return at the 2002 Royal Rumble, and I couldn't believe how good he was. At that point I always thought that any wrestler pre 1998 was poor beyond belief. Now I'm less ignorant, and am shocked that he never got the main event status his abilities deserved.
Well, to say I'm shocked is wrong. I'm dissapointed. Old Vinnie Mac and his love for big men. Hennig would have fitted in with todays crop, but back when he was IC Champ, because of his size that was all he ever would achieve.

You are 100% correct my friend so I agree with you just like many others. Now the guy I'm going to have to go with is Razor Ramon/Scott Hall. WWE shouldn't have let him get away. He deserved a World Title. He had it all. He had the look, mic skills, and in ring skills which is everything it takes to be a World CHamp. He had the epic match with HBK that should have took him to the next level but it never really did. He was always competing for the IC title when he should have been moved to the main event. I know he had his personal problems and what not but that wasn't a major issue untill the move to WCW. Now if he had those problems in WWE then VInce could have simply said, " Chiko, get your act together or your main event push will be taken away." He could have gone on to do tremendous things but got held back.

 

[LitasRevenge79]

I will go ahead and agree with Test and Lance Storm. Two incredibly gifted wrestlers while, not the best with the mic, but very sound, and technically able bodied performers that really didn't need all that flashy gimmicks.
Another one I will throw out, again, Lance Cade, the time he was being the protege of Jericho when they were after HBK. I thought that was good. Sadly, he was let go shortly after that started. I had always been a fan of Cade even when he was with Murdoch. The guy was a tremendous performer, and had the abilities, as did the other two I mentioned. Although 2 of them are no longer with us, and all of these guys were grossly underestimated in terms of entertainment a lot of the time, and seemingly used for more comedy value in more aspects. I really do recall their shining moments, and with Lance Storm, he is still teaching to this day, and a highly respected trainer to many. I still root for these guys when I youtube classic clips and go down memory lane.

 

[New Spice]

I really would like to know why noone has even mentioned " The Million Dollar Man " Ted Dibiase. This guy, arguably had the best gimmick in the history of pro wrestling. He is the one who started the whole " rich snob " gimmick. He was so over as a heel and would also get booed out of the building when cutting a promo. His segmants were funny and helped put him over. He should have won at least one WWF world title and he never did. He had a stint with Hogan and Andre for the title but it never worked out for him.

 

[realoldskoolfan]

Gino Hernandez. he had "it". he was the man you loved to hate and if not for his sudden death in 1986, would have surely been snatched up by Vince or Crockett and been the ultimate heel. there was talk of him even being a Horsemen at one time.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Sean O'Haire

As I have said many times, I love this guy. He had it all, and the Devils Advocate gimmick was the finishing touch. For whatever reason, which I guess we will never know, he got released just when he was starting to get over. I am very surprised we never saw O'Haire pop up in TNA, as he definitely had all the tools you need to be a big star in wrestling. I think he was a certain money-maker for Vince, and really believe he would have been a great main eventer

Shelton Benjamin

He is another I saw big things for. It was obvious that WWE wanted him to succeed, with the push he got after his move to Raw, beating HHH a couple of times, but he never quite cracked it and eventually the WWE jut gave up on him and dumped him back on ECW. Shelton had every gift physically and athletically, it was just the lack of mic skills which held him back

If I was him, I would have spent every spare moment I had working on these, speaking to the experts such as The Rock, Triple H, Y2J to try and improve. Did Shelton do this? No idea, but if he didnt then it was a wasted opportunity, because had he cracked the mic skills, then he would have been a world champion no doubt

 

[Chris Jericho Markaholic]

Scott Hall/Razor Ramon/Diamond Studd

Scott Hall Had It All .. I Was A Fan Of His Since His Diamond Studd Days , If He Didn't Leave The WWF and Go To WCW He Would Have Been WWF Champ Instead Of Psycho Sid (Its Hard For Me To Say THat) Just Like Perfect Its An Injustice They Weren't World Champs

I Hate INNER DEMONS!

 

[leeorford]

My two picks would be;

Rick Rude

He could of been a great heel champion in the 80s if it wasn't for Hulk being unstoppable

Golddust

I would have loved to seen this back in the attitude era, him being main man if only for a little while and see how much WWF could of pushed the boundaries (even more so).

 

[The Rob]

Shelton Benjamin

What a waste. The guy was super, super talented, who could pull of some truly incredible things and at times would risk everything for one remember-able moment (WrestleMania XXIV for example). Plus the guy really could work in the ring, even back in his Team Angle days and when he went singles on Raw. The WWE attempted to build Benjamin up in 2004 and 2005 by having him beat Triple H live on Raw, back when Triple H was just about still in his prime as a heel. And I'm pretty sure he beat Triple H more than once. They gave him the Intercontinental Championship plenty of times and back in 2005 he was a crowd favourite. The fact he never became a main-eventer is a true miscarriage of justice and it complete undermined one mans ability in the ring.

 

[apokalypse]

i wonder if Vince sees talent in Curt Hennig? Vince didn't see talent in Austin or Foley. Curt is truly Mr Perfect got whole package, he might not like power drawer but he could have good fued/matches with power drawer guys. it's sad alot of guys like him doesn't have the shot like Christian who got talent but buried just like Mr perfect who got buried in 2002.