Wrestlers You Thought Would Never Make It Big

[CDoherty]

What my question is, is what wrestler surprised you and made it big or at least made some sort of an impact, even though you that they sucked and could never become a star or get out of the opening match or constant job?

Also which wrestler/s in the future in any promotion do you think sucks (No John Cena or all of WWE/TNA)that won't go anywhere except the unemployment line.

Back when I watched TNA in the early days I thought AMW were a pretty cool tag team, but for me I always thought Chris Harris carried the team and he was going to be the HBK of the team and it was a matter of time before he dropped James Storm and was a main eventer while James Storm would slowly fade away.

The other one I remember off the top of my head was Dolph Ziggler, when the guy first debuted and was repackaged in the new gimmick, and walked around going up to people saying "Hi I'm Dolph Ziggler", I thought he would go the way of Kizarny and have two or three matches on TV then be released.

Guys that bug me now and I think they won't go anywhere, obviously you can tell I have been wrong before!

Abraham Washington - I still can't believe he is still around, although I want more managers he does nothing for me, plus he to damn big to be a manger, other than Heenan I like my manager small and weasely.

Camacho - The dude sucks in the ring and the only reason he is around is to pump up Hunico.

Damien Sandow - I know I'll get heat for him, but the gimmick is super gay, I don't see it actually going anywhere. Go back and have the tag team with KC James again I like that.

Eric Young - I don't watch a lot of TNA so I will go with the guy who I have thought of for years, mediocre in the ring, and to me is a poor mans Santino. I guess I might just not GET what other people like about this guy.

How about you?

 

[dtroppe]

I think that Mick Foley comes to mind. I know he got some recognition as Cactus Jack for years- but I have to say when he came to WWF as Mankind- I did not think that he would get very far. I was a kid at the time and I thought he was just too cartooney and not realistic. I later loved him when he would antagonize Stone Cold and the Rock.

 

[B.Ware]

I know I'll get heat for him, but the gimmick is super gay.

No need for the homophobic comment. You made some good points however.

My choice would have to be Hunter Hearst Helmsley. After debuting in the WWF and feuding with Duke Droese and losing to Ultimate Warrior quickly at Wrestlemania who would have thought this guy would go on to become one of the greatest wrestlers of his era and a multiple world champion. He now holds so much power in the world of wrestling. He's certainly come a long way from his beginnings.

More recently, I'd have to go for Daniel Bryan. I was a huge fan of his during his ROH tenure and loved reading about him in Power Slam and catching his matches on the net. When he joined WWE I thought he could go places but they wouldn't propel him to anywhere near a main event level. Now he's one of the biggest names they have and just goes to show with hard work and a little bit of luck you can get to the top.

 

[jpickens]

Agree about HHH you can add Shaun Michael's too here's another guy that twenty years ago wrote off as a tag team guy that would never go as higher than upper mid card and now look at him same with the Undertaker and Bobby Roode, James Storm and Austin Aries in TNA hell nobody thought that Steve Austin would get far in the WWE.

 

[HBsam31]

I agree with the poster above in HHH, and more recently Daniel Bryan. Hunter Hearst Helmsley had mild success, and then came the punishment for the "curtain call". When he went on that losing streak I just figured he would fade away and not be see again. With Daniel Bryan I just never thought he would have fit the mold as someone Vince would push. I knew he had the talent, but figured he would just fall by the wayside. I am glad I was wrong about both.

 

[NotoriousMEAT]

What my question is, is what wrestler surprised you and made it big or at least made some sort of an impact, even though you that they sucked and could never become a star or get out of the opening match or constant job?

How about Batista? That really caught me off guard. The last thing I ever though would happen when I first saw that guy debut as Deacon Batista, carrying around Reverend D-Von's donation box, is that he'd 3 years later defeat Triple H in the main event of WrestleMania for the World Title. Not to mention becoming one of the faces of era.

Also which wrestler/s in the future in any promotion do you think sucks (No John Cena or all of WWE/TNA) that won't go anywhere except the unemployment line.

--Wade Barrett
I know a lot of people love him, but I just don't see it! They tried with Drew McIntyre, they tried with Alberto Del Rio, and I know they're dying to try with Barrett. I thought both Drew and Del Rio sucked, and predicted they would never each the heights they were originally pushed to, and they haven't gotten close. Sure Del Rio's grabbed two WWE Championships, but with a combined reign of like.. 50 days.. and on the verge of leaving WWE in general, I'd call him a bust. There's nothing about Barrett that screams MAIN EVENTER or WORLD CHAMPION to me.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

The obligatory response from recent years is the Miz. Hell, his character in some ways has always played off the fact that nobody believed he could do it. And no I don't worship the ground he walks on, but he's a former WWE Champion who did a lot with the short amount of time and material he was given to work with. To even allow somebody an angle (let alone 3 or 4) with John Cena, management has to place a lot of faith in them, or just be throwing everything against the wall to see if something sticks - like Tensai.

Another more recent guy: CM Punk. I saw him wrestle in Chicago on many occasions, and I've always been a fan of his in-ring work. But when it came to ever hanging with the main event players, I would have bet money against him each and every time. It really didn't help that his World Heavyweight Championship reign following Money in the Bank was a disaster, and cut short before he ever even had time to develop. If you had asked me two or three years ago if I thought CM Punk would ever be a long-term WWE Champion, or even in the top 2 or 3 faces of the company I would have easily said "no".

Here's a related question I'd be interested in getting some feedback on: has Jeff Hardy ever really "made it". He was another guy I wanted to add to this list, but I'm torn back and forth on whether I actually think he did make it big. On one hand, he was drawing some serious numbers for WWE as the face of Smackdown for a short time; on the other hand it was a very short time. Hardy has become the face of WWE and TNA at two different periods, neither of which lasted more than a couple of months. Can you really say he "made it big" if he always pops in and out, and never stays for more than a quick cup of tea? I'd say he's a recognizable talent in the wrestling industry - in that respect he's definitely made it. But to level of guys like Kurt Angle or even Eddie Guerrero?

What do you think?

 

[Dirk]

Having grown up on the back-end of the Attitude Era, I was used to seeing Bret Hart (my childhood hero), Austin, Taker, HBK, Rock, Foley, etc. It was a time when the Brood scared me a little and I was outraged when Bossman interrupted Big Show's dad's funeral. Then came Kurt Angle...

I thought that wrestling was real and couldn't understand why this guy is so arrogant? And I thought the Olympic medal was a lie, because the Undertaker en Bret didn't have medals...

So now Angle is one of my favourite wrestlers. He was huge in WWF/E and in TNA. He's getting old, but I still love him. I didn't see that coming a decade ago...

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Well immediatley Santino & guys like that come to mind. Even a Brodus Clay doesn't seem like he will advance much. But I will assume most comedy acts or complete wierdos & jokes like Boogeyman & The Gobblety Gooker are off the table, considering most probably think they will never get anywhere.

Top 3:

3.) Doink - I know I said all "joke charcters" were already spoken for, but I think this is special mention. I thought this was terrible in the 90's and I still do. But somehow this RIDICULOUS character is consdiered a "legend" by some, and will make it in the HoF before any Benoits or Ultimate Warriors!

2.) Bob Backlund - Even worse & less entertaining than Khali IMO. Just the worst. I find it ironic that he basiclally got the title because of his amateur pedigree, when these days a guy can be the best mat technician in the world & still lose out on a job to a guy that is more tan or a guy that has big buldging muscles. In this day & age, he wouldn't have been allowed near developmental.

1.) Daniel Bryan - Now this one is different because I actually like Danielson. I'm not a stupid "D-Bryan, Yes Yes Yes" mark but I loved him on the indies & respect his work. But between the firings, the fact that he was "The King of the Indies", & health problems I never saw him making a true name for himself in WWE. But I am happy I was wrong, because he is WAY too talented not to be in the Major company.

 

[bmg82683]

I would like to preface that none of the mentioned are here because i personally thought they sucked but because of booking and company tendencies I did not believe they would be given the chance to succeed.


Miz - I definitely thought that when he and JoMo parted ways that Miz would be the "Janetty" of the two, not cuz I liked JoMo but because of how I thought WWE perceived them.

Dolph Ziggler - He went from being Nicky in the Spirit Squad to "Hi I'm Dolph Ziggler". I was thinking this is just a reboot of Rob Conway's "Con-man" gimmick.


Rey Mysterio - Rey is 5'9 barely 200lbs. I definately thought he would be popular and would fill in as the Ricky Steamboat/Jim Duggan/Koko B Ware dependable baby face who did accomplish more than a mid card title run here or there to set up the next big heel the company wanted to get over. boy was I wrong.

 

[The Hillside]

Mark Henry: I never even imagined him winning a World Title considering he never got any sort of push and top of that he was never a fan favorite (not even the Sexual Chocolate gimmick could get him over), just a match with Shawn Michaels back in early 00's on RAW and nothing else. Then they pushed him in, put the World Title on him and was somewhat a good heel and got over. But looking at it, how long has it taken him to get there? More then a decade of midcarding and jobbing.

The Miz: When he started he looked like a wanna-be, loud-mouth and an annoying mic worker who would be desperate to get attention from the fans and get over. But with time they put him with a perfect tag team partner like Morrison, both of gelled well, had cool gimmicks and got the Dirt Sheet episode gimmicks. Sooner or later he excelled the former ECW world champion Morrison and main evented Wrestlemania with Cena. In other words I believe the push that was supposed to be given to Morrison was given to The Miz.

 

[I'mTheJanetty13]

John Cena: Generic tights, generic music, genric look. He gave Angle a good match in his debut and his first PPV match with Jericho shows potential, but how could anyone watching back then realize how massive he was going to become?

HHH: Seeing him in the ring with Damien Sandow for RAW 1000 just shows how full-circle he has come. When he debuted, he was the snob-type character himself. He came in when gimmicks where still prevalent, and evolved (no pun intended) while other's careers died with the gimmick they were saddled with.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

Rikishi - I never thought he was anything special as the Sultan, and then a big dancing Samoan, yeah that can't work. Ok I was wrong.

As for somebody I would love to see released and yes I know I will get flack for it.... Kofi Kingston. He just seems lost anymore, he is not a tagteam wrestler, so stop trying to package him as one. He needs to move on and gain some momentum elsewhere

 

[Infinity]

The Miz is a good one. If you would have told me the obnoxious white guy from Real World: New York would one day not only be WWE Champion, but would win the main event of WrestleMania one day I would have laughed. So hard.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Mr. Kennedy/Anderson

First time he started talking on the mic, I thought he was a blithering idiot. But he grew on me and I'm glad to see he proved me wrong.