Could've made it

[Pay Per Ghost]

You know when you rooted for that one guy who was, either jerking the curtain or just in a going-nowhere feud but you squinted your eyes, heard his talk, saw his matches and said...that guy can make it.

Here's a pick:

When the whole alliance thing started I had my very first look at the ECW wrestlers. Never had I heard of ECW, never seen a match or anything because where I live, trust me, I could've never heard anything. (I'm thankful that atleast I got some Nitro). This guy's look and size appealed, but the fact he had a very menacing presence about himself, jumped at me.
Kinda sucked that he won the ECW title barely months before the company went down, but he had time and age on his side when he debuted in WWF in 2001.

Sadly, he was made some sort bodyguard for Stephanie however he still had some stellar matches with Tajiri, Edge at KOTR 2000 and Kurt Angle.

His best angle was probably with Chris Benoit where he was on the bill for WM19 as well.

Drafted to Raw then and then shuffled around before finally being fired due to an argument with his wife.
Last match ONS 2005 vs Sabu, stellar, stellar match.

Even in his time in TNA he has held the starp just once and lost it in 2 months time to Jarrett as well.

Here was a talent that could've been great. Yes his problems were that he was all that good on the stick but he vastly improved (got to showcase) that in TNA resulting in a contract offer from WWE in 2007. The man turned it down.
Maybe he should've taken it and given it a go, maybe he did the right thing; truth be told, he could've made it...atleast as a upper mid-card to sometimes ME'r.

Thoughts and please more of your picks

P.S The man did/does the best spear/GORE that I have seen

 

[Craig-O-Mac]

Sean O Haire

This guy just looked bad-ass. I still get goosebumps seeing him hit the Seanton Bomb. Graceful.... and powerful as fuck!!

His Devil's Advocate gimmick was nothing short of amazing, like an anti-CM Punk of sorts. Encouraging cheating, drinking, fraud etc. Sean had a great look and was athletically gifted also......

....... Hey, I'm not telling you something you dont already know

 

[#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 seen nothing in him for some reason. He almost got pushed when he made it 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 realised the fact that WWE wasted a top talent by holding him at the midcard level for most, if not all, of his career.. R.I.P

Others, Sean O'Haire, Mr. Kennedy (WWE) and Ahmed Johnson.

 

[ScruffDog]

Rhyno is the man. The Gore is the best spear done by anyone, ever. He is a fantastic athlete, and a wonderful wrestler.

Where his skills lack, is in his Speaking ability. Rhyno couldn't cut a promo to save his live. If he could've improved his public speaking he could've been a top main eventer. He is well liked and respected for his in ring ability, but put a mic in his hand and he falls apart.

I feel that Rhyno has been given a chance, But because of his inability to do a descent promo, he will be stuck a step that young wrestlers must pass to get the push over.

 

[radman12484]

Carlito

Here's a guy who was good on the mic and was pretty good in the ring. Played an awesome heel, but never got the chance to shine as a singles champion. Carlito/Cena fued back in the day when they both were on Smackdown could of been a lot better. I blame his lack of success in the WWE on the Creative Team. Hopefully if he ends up in TNA they use him right.

 

[Elementz of Fear]

Ahhh Sean O' Haire I always liked him. Great choice. This is a good thread idea and I'm having a hard time picking just one guy but I'll do my best.

First guy that came to mind was Mr. Kennedy but seeing that he has a big spot in TNA right now who is to say he won't be back in WWE?

As for someone who never really got big push I would have to go with Ken Shamrock. He had some success in the mid-card scene as an Intercontinental championship and even feuded with Shawn Michaels for the title at one point but WWE never pulled the trigger and made him a top draw. He was way over with the crowd and his dangerous man gimmick was perfect for who he was. It's said that if it were up to Bret Hart he would have put Shamrock over for the title when Bret was leaving for WCW but even if that is true it never happened. I was always a big Shamrock fan and I definitely think he could have been a top guy, face or heel, during the latter parts of the Attitude era.

 

[LSN80]

The first name that jumps out to me is Shelton Benjamin. Heres the guy who had all the tools athletically, great mat skills, unique high spots, solid mannerisms, and a cocky heel persona.

The biggest knocks on Shelton were that he couldn't talk, and he lacked work ethic. The mic skills problem could have been fixed easily: give the guy a real manager who could do the talking for him.

As for his work ethic, its obvious the guy worked on taking care of himself, as he was a freakin physical specimin. With as talented as he is, if he truly was lazy, you fix it with motivation. You sit him down, tell him that you want to put the WWE title on him by so and so a date, and you need to see this by then. shelton recently did an interview stating he felt he should have been a world champion, well, if the problem was motivation, theres your solution.

I really thought he was headed for bigger and better when he beat Triple H 3 weeks in a row back in 2005, and had the outstanding gold rush match with Shawn Michaels. I know he was a 3 time IC champion, and won 1 Us championship, but he could have been so much more.

 

[WzTopHeel]

MIKE FUCKIN AWESOME! he was the baddest wrestler back in WCW plus the guy was huge he should have kept his bad ass character in the WWE aslong as he got rid of that mullet.


MONTY BROWN/M Corvon hes the man as well who else can take a pounce and and kick out? he straight wooped christians ass.

as for RHYNO hes days have come and gone but he should try to recreate his look get rid of that nast ass hair, put on a different ring attire, change his move set but keep the spear. he can maybe start calling him self the dinosaur

 

[Whippersnapper88]

Here's a name not many people will agree with, but I feel he could have (and still can be) one of the top mid card wrestlers in the WWE...

Santino Marella

I know, most people see Santino as nothing but a comedy figure, BUT, he could have been something great. He has all the tools, and if WWE would have put a bodyguard behind him (like Koslov when he debuted as the Russian monster), you could have had the man who would have earned the longest IC Title reign in history, and been amongst the top mid carders in the entire WWE. Alas, great promos and a great fan reaction mean nothing when you are getting squashed the way Santino has.

Honorable Mentions

Lance Storm
Shelton Benjamin
Vader

(All three should have recieved more from WWE, but Storm and Benjamin lacked the microphone and promo ability, and Vader was never the monster in WWE that he was in WCW...)

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Muhammed Hassan

This guy was awesome as a character, everything about his portrayal was nailed on... His ring work was improving and he looked right at home in the ring with guys like Taker...when political bullshit got in the way... He didn't choose to have the terrorist angle... Vince did... and basically cheated a talented, future main eventer out of a career. Few guys get their full term contracts paid up by WWE but I am pretty sure Marc Copani did... what happened to him was little short of criminal discrimination.

My other pick would be Paul Burchill - That guy was awesome in the ring... for some reason I still think we will see him back to re-team with Wade Barrett at some point but when he split from Regal he had real potential... They chose a pirate gimmick for him which could have worked with a little more time but I personally felt they should have gone with a Jason Statham style hard man gimmick... he had the look, the skills AND the mic skills to go a lot further than he did.

 

[wushady]

I think Rhyno and Test are great choices. I'm not really sure what went wrong in Rhynos case. Test on the other hand was another unfortunate case of drug problems ruining his career and ultimately ending his life.

Shelton Benjamin would be my choice. He had a pretty successful run overall, but I definitely thought he would have been a main eventer. He is definitely one of the most athletic and talented wrestlers ever. His mic skills never were anything great, but I think he made up for that in wrestling ability. At least he's still young enough to still make it as a major star if WWE brings him back.

 

[neildittmar]

I like many of the choices that have been picked so far. I'll try and stick with a couple names that haven't been mentioned yet:

Zach Gowen - particularly in todays WWE landscape. He would've easily been the "feel good" wrestler that kids and families would've came to see. I'm sure that's what Vince and Company had in mind when they originally signed him. I'm not sure exactly what happened there, but for whatever reason it wasn't meant to be. The fact that he had a lot of talent despite his handicap would've just solidified his spot even more. Imagine a Wrestlemania where he would've overcame adversity, dug down deep, and made his dream come true by winning a World title.

Stevie Richards - athletic, creative, good on the mic. These attributes are typically enough to at least establish yourself as a credible mid-card regular. However, I don't think Stevie has (or ever will) even get even that far. Injuries contributed to some of the hurdles and false-starts. Ultimately I think he played the loser/flunkie role a little too well and ended up being typecast.

 

[Dzone]

Agree with most of the other posters and Rhyno got NO WHERE NEAR the push he deserved to get... just look at him? He had potential as, IMO, a sort of Triple H type heel (obviously when The Game was the "Cerebal Assassin" ¬.¬).

I also think that Benjamin still has got the talent to be a main eventer... WWE are idiots to let such a talent go IMO. If he is in ROH now (haven't been keeping track =|) they have one hell of a talent, if he's not and he joins TNA or returns to WWE ... WOOT.

 

[Brahma Bull]

First, enough with all this shelton love. Not only could the guy not talk, he didnt have any ounce of charisma either. No one gave a shit about shelton, and never will. Hell, the most heat he got was when he brought his mom with him to the ring.

The name that comes to mind is william regel. The guy has a great aggressive quality to him that i hardly see in anyone else. You can always tell that he absolutely dispises his opponents. He has great in ring skills, and can cut a great promo. He even won kotr while still being GM. you could tell he was going to go far. it was a shame he got his drug violation. it pushed him from possible main eventer, to jobbing to jobbers.

 

[triple_b2k]

Great topic! Shelton Benjamin and Sean O'Haire are great choices. Too bad Sean has a bad streak outside of wrestling.

My choice: Brain Pillman.

Before his death, he was in a pretty bad fued with Goldust. Meanwhile, he was in the Hart Foundation. He had a good thing in WCW too while he was in the Four Horsemen. Had it not been for Kevin Sullivan, he could have gone a lot further in WCW.

He was great on the mic and a great wrestler.

Unfortunately he passed away before he could really make it. Unlike some of the other guys mentioned who were kept back or WWE didn't give the proper push, Brian was a huge talent that didn't have the same chance.

R.I.P.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Sadly Pillman's die was cast when he rolled his jeep... it killed the physicality that made him something special over Austin... Had he gotten to WWE healthy then he would easily have been Champion during the Attitude era...

Pillman DID make it, in that he truly was the father of the Attitue Era with his "Bookerman" shoot on Kevin Sullivan... he started it all but most people hang it on Austin 3:16... Once Pillman makes it to the Hall of Fame, the Masses will understand...

 

[Brother Love]

At least Rhino was given a chance, not like my boy Mike Knox. He had a scary persona, was pretty athletic for a big guy, could actually talk, everything that Rhino had. All he needed was some direction and a chance.
Sadly he was released from WWE. Yea he had a few good fueds with Mysterio, but then WWE just lost interest in him. He could have been a monster heel for years, and I hope to see him back in WWE or TNA some time in the future.

 

[HBKStreakbuster]

I would have to say the late, great Curt Henning. Mr Perfect never held the World Championship and that was a damn shame because he could wreslte better than Hulk and Ultimate Warrior put together...but was stuck in mid card status for some reason. Mr Perfect was awesome on the mic and had all the charisma you can ask for, even the way he spit his gum and and hit it was flawless...and definately not easy. In fact, if you try it you will look probably stupid and definately not as cool as when Curt did it. For the youngsters, he is like Dolph Zigger in the ring, but 100x better on the mic.

 

[KoC417]

I know we're doing singles wrestlers here but theres a couple of guys that could have made it IMO in the TAG division: The Basham Brothers...During their feuds they were very sharp in the ring, they had a decent push as JBL's henchmen but I think WWE could reinvent the tag team division and bring back these superstars.

But the one person I think could have done very well for themselves (despite having an apparent stroke) is Luther Reigns (Matt Wiese). Reigns was big, but athletic and he had that rugged history, being legitimately stabbed, shot and having his throat slit but he survived. He could've done very well if given a push in WWE. If nothing else he could have assumed a Diesel type role for a while. Perhaps being a bodyguard (one of his other jobs) than working his way up to the main event scene. Others may not agree with me but the man did have some serious potential and could've had many memorable feuds with top WWE stars past & present.

 

[noly]

Ultimo Dragon

This guy was a great everywhere he went and then they brought him in to WWE and he just fell flat. They pushed him at first (partly due to the success of Rey. Jr) and it just didn't work. This is a guy who at one time held 20 different championships at the same time!

HM
Lance Storm
Mike Awesome
Kanyon

 

[shagonzalez]

My pick would have to be the human suplex machine Taz,here is a guy who could've gone head to head with the best.He's Wwe debut was an impressive victory over then undeafeated Kurt Angle,in Ecw Taz was the man his fead with Bam Bam Bigelow one of my all time favorite.Perhaps his size was a factor but it didn't matter Wwe could've pushed Taz to main event status,put him in there with the best and fans would believe that this 5'9 Tazmanian devil from Red hook was capable of beating anyone in his path,the highlight of his Wwe career was when he was Ecw champ and faced HHH who was then wwf champ.

 

[Pell08]

Not discounting any of the other picks, because I agree with a lot of them, but one name that comes to my mind right away is Lance Cade.

His work with Jericho was great, unfortunately his WWE career was stopped short, and even more unfortunate that his life was cut short before he had a chance to get a second chance. I feel he had the ability and look, mic skills weren't greatest but they were far from the worst.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I know we're doing singles wrestlers here but theres a couple of guys that could have made it IMO in the TAG division: The Basham Brothers...During their feuds they were very sharp in the ring, they had a decent push as JBL's henchmen but I think WWE could reinvent the tag team division and bring back these superstars.

But the one person I think could have done very well for themselves (despite having an apparent stroke) is Luther Reigns (Matt Wiese). Reigns was big, but athletic and he had that rugged history, being legitimately stabbed, shot and having his throat slit but he survived. He could've done very well if given a push in WWE. If nothing else he could have assumed a Diesel type role for a while. Perhaps being a bodyguard (one of his other jobs) than working his way up to the main event scene. Others may not agree with me but the man did have some serious potential and could've had many memorable feuds with top WWE stars past & present.

WWE blundered with the Bashams by not giving them the Demolition gimmick... They were a perfect fit to bring the Demo's to a new Generation... Ax and Smash or a then in serious trouble Crush could have come in for a short time too to give them the rub... Its not too late...

Luther Reigns had lots of drug issues even back in WCW when he was Horshu... that he got some screen time in movies is the best he was ever gonna get out of the business, he was worse than Khali in the ring...

 

[mulkeymania]

tyson tomko was one that i seen great potential in and then when he appeared ready to show it in TNA they squashed it for whatever reason--i might be wrong but he seemed to have it and a vote for the biggest waste of talent ever would go to sean waltman--the guy ruined what could have been a great career with drugs and seemingly not caring about his work. quite the shame

 

[1000julys]

I always thought they missed the boat with Matt Striker, the guy was a heat magnet and a very under rated in ring talent.