Never In WWE

[TUFFY54]

Almost every major star in the history of wrestling has worked for the WWE. However, things started to change a few years ago with the rise of TNA and ROH. There were also many talent guys in WCW towards the end that never did much with their career.

WHO WOULD YOU HAVE LIKED TO SEE IN THE WWE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN A PART OF THE COMPANY?

Notes:
1- Don't say Sting. He is obviously everyone's number one pick.
2- I'm talking about people that were actually part of the WWE, not guys who had a contract for a while and jobbed on Velocity. (EX. AJ Styles has never been a WWE superstar)
3- You can use guys from the past or present, but give reasons or it's spam.

My Picks:
The Wall - This guy had a lot of talent a potential. He also had a great look and was over with the crowd. I would have loved to see him dominate in the WWE for a few years.

Scott Norton - Another guy that was really underused in WCW. He is a multiple time world champion in Japan. Great look also.

Vampiro - Great gimmick and look. Could have had a great feud with Undertaker, Mick Foley, or Austin.

Kings Of Wrestling - I think these guys are the best tag team in wrestling today. They seem like a real team that could help bring the division back. As long as Vince didn't split them up after a month, they could be great in the WWE.

 

[akathelaw]

AJ Styles - TNA misuses him, I think he'd be really over in WWE

The Briscoes - My favorite ROH tag team, I'd like to see them win the WWE tag titles

Daffney - With Kharma's debut in the books, this is the other Knockout I'd like to see demolishing "divas"

Motor City Machine Guns - TNA's best tag team would fit in well on Raw or Smackdown

 

[kyle51512]

Motor City Machine Guns - TNA's best tag team would fit in well on Raw or Smackdown[/QUOTE]

That wouldnt work....remember? Vince hates tag teams now for some reason...

 

[JJohns]

The Great Muta - Amazing talent, one of the most influential wrestlers of all time, put modern day puroresu on the map. Keiji Mutoh was able to work not only a high flying style (he popularized the Moonsault in the States), but also is still an amazing technical worker as well.

Jyushin "Thunder" Lyger - The most influential flyer in history. Without Lyger, guys like Evan Bourne simply would not exist. His matches in the early 90s WCW Light Heavyweight Division were amazing. The fact that after having brain cancer can still put together a great match is a testament to his phenomenal ability.

Hayabusa - He could have been a staple of the WWF Hardcore Division. Take Sabu, put him in a mask, and remove 10-15 botches per match, and you have Hayabusa. When you talk about a wrestler that is just fearless, that's what you got. Again, could work both the high flying and technical styles.

Just to throw in some non-Japanese wrestlers -

Bruiser/King Kong Brody - Best brawler of all time says it all. He was a true original, tough as nails, and extremely intimidating. One of the primary influences for what would become the "Hardcore" style of wrestling, who's influence can really be seen when you look at wrestlers like John "The Berserker" Nord, Necro Butcher and Mike Knox. He also legit scared Lex Luger out of a steel cage match.

Kevin Sullivan - The Grandmaster of the Dungeon of Doom, one of the greatest ring psychologists that ever was in the business. Sullivan could tell a story better than just about anyone.....at least as a wrestler. One of the most unique characters to come along, was a staple in Florida and WCW for many years.

 

[LFC till i die]

Definitely The Motor Machine Guns. When i used to watch TNA (complete waste of my time that was) The Motor City Machine Guns where the best thing on TNA. Their chemistry between the two was amazing. They did moves that i'd never seen. If only they were in the WWE, it would certainly help the tag team division.

 

[wrestling fan 666]

I have never dismissed any comments before or argued with anyone. This being said, I have to disagree with JJohns for one of his list. Bruiser/King Kong Brody was indeed in the WWF. If you look back at old footage from the 70's, he was actually tag team champion and had several title shots against then champion Bruno Sammartino.

My list would be:

Rick Steiner/the Dog-faced gremlin. The man was a technical wrestler and the Steiner Brothers never teamed in WWE.

Kevin Sullivan: the man had a great gimmick with the devil worshiping thing and would've been used with Papa Shango or someone like that.

Messiah and Supreme from XPW: these guys can work like no one's business.

Abdullah the butcher: he could have been a bounty hunter or something.

 

[JJohns]

One other thing that I want to bring up in this topic, if we are looking at just people that have never taken a single paycheck from WWE, there are a bunch of people already mentioned that should be taken off this list. Alex Shelley and AJ Styles both wrestled in televised WWF/E matches before they went to TNA. Claudio Castagnoli, The Wall and Daffney all had WWF/E developmental contracts.

The reason that I point this out is because, especially in this era, people tend to overlook the earlier histories of some major names in the business, and that for some reason, they had an opportunity to show what they were capable of to the "Big League" and never made it to a prominent on-screen position, whether it be because of WWE dropping the ball on them, or their not wanting to be there for some reason.

 

[JJohns]

I have never dismissed any comments before or argued with anyone. This being said, I have to disagree with JJohns for one of his list. Bruiser/King Kong Brody was indeed in the WWF. If you look back at old footage from the 70's, he was actually tag team champion and had several title shots against then champion Bruno Sammartino.

My list would be:

Rick Steiner/the Dog-faced gremlin. The man was a technical wrestler and the Steiner Brothers never teamed in WWE.

Kevin Sullivan: the man had a great gimmick with the devil worshiping thing and would've been used with Papa Shango or someone like that.

Messiah and Supreme from XPW: these guys can work like no one's business.

Abdullah the butcher: he could have been a bounty hunter or something.

If I'm wrong, hey, I'm wrong. I'll go back and look, but I know Brody never held the WWWF, WWF or WWE tag team titles, but possibly the old WWWF United States Tag Team Titles. But, I will also point out that while I may be wrong about Brody, Rick Steiner most certainly was a two time WWF tag team champion with Scott.

 

[pg04]

Rick Steiner was definitely in the WWE Before. This match is one that they had.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpCIDDeZzio

Anyway, my Pick would be AJ Styles. I think that he would definitely get over in the WWE, and even though the "wrestling" is out of WWE, I think he could "entertain" and be a good high mid-card "superstar"

 

[daddyJ_t]

interesting thread, i was hoping someone would have made the correction bout rick steiner. hey wrestling fan.... have u never seen a little wrestling event in las vegas a few years ago. called WRESTLEMANIA 9? now thats handled. i totally agree with with vampiro minus icp or the misfits by his side. la parka couldve been fun or maybe glacier. and buff bagwell.. too bad dick the bruiser never made it to the wwf/e

 

[sfury2005]

If I'm wrong, hey, I'm wrong. I'll go back and look, but I know Brody never held the WWWF, WWF or WWE tag team titles, but possibly the old WWWF United States Tag Team Titles. But, I will also point out that while I may be wrong about Brody, Rick Steiner most certainly was a two time WWF tag team champion with Scott.

Bruiser Brody was listed under WWE Alumni for the year 1977. I found it under an WWE Alumni list but was under his real name first which is Frank Goodish. Then had his ring name listed next to it as Bruiser Brody. Just an FYI.

 

[TUFFY54]

One other thing that I want to bring up in this topic, if we are looking at just people that have never taken a single paycheck from WWE, there are a bunch of people already mentioned that should be taken off this list. Alex Shelley and AJ Styles both wrestled in televised WWF/E matches before they went to TNA. Claudio Castagnoli, The Wall and Daffney all had WWF/E developmental contracts.

The reason that I point this out is because, especially in this era, people tend to overlook the earlier histories of some major names in the business, and that for some reason, they had an opportunity to show what they were capable of to the "Big League" and never made it to a prominent on-screen position, whether it be because of WWE dropping the ball on them, or their not wanting to be there for some reason.

I addressed this in the OP. Yes, AJ Styles has wrestled a match on WWE tv and Claudio Castagnoli was under a developmental deal for a while. This does not make them WWE wrestlers. When I say work for the WWE, I mean have a gimmick, entrance music, feud, appear on a main show, etc.. Basically all the things that you think of about a WWE wrestler. I'm not overlooking anything, but being in FCW for a month is not the same thing as being a WWE wrestler.

Mick Foley and a tag partner had a job match at a house show in the 80's against the British Bulldogs. Mick says himself that his WWE career started in 96.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I never want to see Kings of Wrestling in a WWE ring. WWE is sports entertainment, and the Kings are...well...Kings of Wrestling. They wouldn't be allowed to be half as good in the ring, and there isn't a single team that could handle working with them anyways. They'd be around for six months, maybe win the belts, and eventually they would broken up to feud with each other. WWE doesn't use tag teams well, or even above average. Tag team wrestling in the WWE is dead. Most wrestling in the WWE is dead. If you can't "sports entertain" the WWE doesn't want you, and you won't get used even if you slip through the cracks. For evidence of this, see Daniel Bryan.

*EDIT* WWE had a phenomenal tag team in Brian Kendrick and Paul London. They even let them dominate the division for a long time before replacing them with Miz and Morrison, another amazing WWE-created tag team. They HAVE had amazing tag teams that they've used well (WGTT, Dudleys, etc.), but Londrick was the last technically gifted tag team the WWE has used, and probably will use in a LONG time. The Usos have the potential to be amazing, but I doubt we'll see them shine. Sending Beer Money, Motor City, the Kings, or the Briscoes to the WWE might give them giant paychecks and give them the chance to wrestle the "boyhood dream", but it will be the end of their days as true tag team wrestlers.

I can't think of many people I'd rather see in the WWE than where they currently are... Maybe ROH's Mike Bennett. He's a charismatic guy that I don't think quite fits the ROH style of wrestling. He's got enough in-ring ability to pull good matches in the WWE, and I think he'd be used better there too. Nothing against Bennett or Ring of Honor.

 

[muzz-rocks]

I really think Abyss with Father James Mitchell. Would have done well in WWE. I could imagine abyss going against kane, foly or even the big show. Maybes even kali. Oh!! How about the nexus?

Or how about having mikey whipwreck? This guy could take a bump so well and his gimmick could be a huge thing for WWE, especially with young kids who consider themselves rock. I would put him up against the miz

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Rick Steiner/the Dog-faced gremlin. The man was a technical wrestler and the Steiner Brothers never teamed in WWE.

Yes they did.

My pick would be Steve Corino. He has worked some dark matches in the past but was never signed to a WWE contract. He can wrestle, he can talk but he doesn't have the size that Vince goes for.

I think Corino would have fitted right in with the WWF Hardcore division, as som many ex ECW wrestlers (Raven, Rhyno, Dreamer, RVD, Credible etc) did. Plus, he would be an excellent mouthpiece for someone too, Corino is extremely talented and deserved a shot

 

[Sleep Time]

There is so many people I could say but I think I'm going to stick with one particular country. Japan. NOAH contains many of the greatest wrestlers in the world, people like

Kenta Kobashi would have destroyed a lot of people in the WWE. I know that he could wrestle guys in the WWE because hes fought guys like Mike Awesome, Vader and Steve Williams.

Another guy is a little bit more WWE material, Jushin Liger, sporting a red super hero outfit, this is one of the best wrestlers ever, THE ONLY JAPANESE WRESTLER TO GRADUATE FROM THE HART DUNGEON.

There is two Canadian guys I wish could have wrestled in the wwe, Dan Kroffat and Doug Fournas, one of the most underrated tag teams/single competitors ever.

The Great Muta, Keiji Mutoh invented the shining wizard, and he is indeed a large wrestler, very suitable for the wwe.

Samoa Joe a more obvious dude, very talented, should have been added to the WWE.

 

[TUFFY54]

There is two Canadian guys I wish could have wrestled in the wwe, Dan Kroffat and Doug Fournas, one of the most underrated tag teams/single competitors ever.

These guys were in the WWE. They were on a Survivor Series team in 97. I enjoyed them as well. Always thought they should have won the titles.

 

[daddyJ_t]

These guys were in the WWE. They were on a Survivor Series team in 97. I enjoyed them as well. Always thought they should have won the titles.

out of curiousity, didnt they go by doug furnus and phillip lafonte or something like that? i believe furnas ripped the door off the cage in a match one time

 

[MPM]

Motor City Machine Guns ... I think they could get tag teams going again in WWE. They one of the few reasons I stop the DVR on Impact. Even individually, they could have great matches with Morrison, Bryan, Bourne, Sin Cara, etc.

AJ Styles is a no-brainer and not certain they'd be able to package Samoa Joe properly

 

[jbwphoto1]

I could never figure why Nikita Koloff never ended up in WWF/WWE? Yeah, I know he sustained a career ending injury, but still, in some capacity as evil Russian enforcer or bodyguard.

If Daffney heals safely, I think she still has a chance in WWE. But I'm not quite sure where Vince and Company stand on employees suing their employers.

 

[rexbox82]

AJ STYLES is the obvious choice. He is the most talented wrestler on TNA programming but if he was to go to WWE he should be sent to smackdown out of the way from all the veterans politics on raw but i still feel WWE wouldn't use him right he would be a mid card wrestler kind of like christian and he probably wouldn't be going by the name of AJ Styles, any wrestler that signs with wwe anymore gets a new name so the WWE owns copyright KHARMA, DANIEL BRYAN etc. but saying that the big leagues of wwe are more appealing than being a big fish in a small pond in TNA.Sting had a very succesfull wrestling career without ever being on wwe tv but back then you had wcw, tna is nowhere near half as big as the wcw was. so aj needs to make the swap rather sooner than later.