Who is the biggest star never to sign with WWE?

[Creepy Old Man]

The standard answer is now gone! Survivor Series confirmed the end of 25+ years of refusal.

So, who is the biggest star never to sign with WWE? There's no-one the size of Sting but names like Magnum TA and The Great Muta are viable.

 

[obamartins]

I'd say Bob Sapp who became a megastar in Japan. He was under developmental contract in WCW until the buyout. He was voted the "best box office draw" by Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 2002 & 2003. Bob Sapp vs. Akebono kickboxing fight in K1 drew 54 million viewers in 2003 - the biggest for a fight in Japan since Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki in 1976. He was also voted the "most charismatic" by the same publication in 2003 & won NJPW's IWGP Heavyweight Championship in 2004. He turned down a $1 million per year downside guaranteed contract from WWE in 2006 & 2007 because he would have been taking a drastic paycut from what he was earning in Japan (apparently Bill Goldberg also had a lot to do with that decision).

Wrestling Observer Newsletter (2nd November 2006): Bob Sapp met with Vince McMahon and Johnny Ace at the 10/15 WWE SuperShow in Los Angeles. His name has been brought up several times before, but this is the first time in which a serious deal was being offered. However, there are major roadblocks preventing the deal from being made. The main one being that he can make more money in MMA in Japan, not to mention that he gets movie work, and WWE likes to "own" their top stars. If the deal is made, it would show that WWE wanted him badly. It was said that there was a better than 50% chance of a deal being made after the meeting, but within the last week or so, its probably less than 50%.

Wrestling Observer Newsletter (18th December 2007): TNA is in negotiations with MMA star Bob Sapp. TNA has offered him an initial four-month deal, in which Sapp would be paid $2,500 per match. TNA wants Sapp to work a program with Kurt Angle, and then later with Samoa Joe. Sapp is paid about $35,000 per match for Hustle (he is under contract with Hustle for one year), and has received a seven figure offer from WWE. It appears WWE has been in talks with Sapp once again. Apparently, WWE and Sapp had serious talks a few months ago. There was talk that WWE would promote Sapp as a combined MMA/pro wrestling star.

After Bob Sapp it's basically for the most part all the Puroresu guys. I think Great Muta, Masahiro Chono & Kensuke Sasaki had the best chance to succeed in WWE as in my opinion they had the qualities to crossover & appeal to the American audience.

 

[That N Word]

Considering the fact he "technically" never signed with WWE AJ Styles.....But then again there is the Japeneese legend The Great Muta

 

[Navi]

I'd say Bob Sapp who became a megastar in Japan. He was under developmental contract in WCW until the buyout. He was voted the "best box office draw" by Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 2002 & 2003. Bob Sapp vs. Akebono kickboxing fight in K1 drew 54 million viewers in 2003 - the biggest for a fight in Japan since Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki in 1976. He was also voted the "most charismatic" by the same publication in 2003 & won NJPW's IWGP Heavyweight Championship in 2004. He turned down a $1 million per year downside guaranteed contract from WWE in 2006 & 2007 because he would have been taking a drastic paycut from what he was earning in Japan (apparently Bill Goldberg also had a lot to do with that decision).

Wrestling Observer Newsletter (2nd November 2006): Bob Sapp met with Vince McMahon and Johnny Ace at the 10/15 WWE SuperShow in Los Angeles. His name has been brought up several times before, but this is the first time in which a serious deal was being offered. However, there are major roadblocks preventing the deal from being made. The main one being that he can make more money in MMA in Japan, not to mention that he gets movie work, and WWE likes to "own" their top stars. If the deal is made, it would show that WWE wanted him badly. It was said that there was a better than 50% chance of a deal being made after the meeting, but within the last week or so, its probably less than 50%.

Wrestling Observer Newsletter (18th December 2007): TNA is in negotiations with MMA star Bob Sapp. TNA has offered him an initial four-month deal, in which Sapp would be paid $2,500 per match. TNA wants Sapp to work a program with Kurt Angle, and then later with Samoa Joe. Sapp is paid about $35,000 per match for Hustle (he is under contract with Hustle for one year), and has received a seven figure offer from WWE. It appears WWE has been in talks with Sapp once again. Apparently, WWE and Sapp had serious talks a few months ago. There was talk that WWE would promote Sapp as a combined MMA/pro wrestling star.

After Bob Sapp it's basically for the most part all the Puroresu guys. I think Great Muta, Masahiro Chono & Kensuke Sasaki had the best chance to succeed in WWE as in my opinion they had the qualities to crossover & appeal to the American audience.

Bob Sapp the MMA fighter. He's the one who lost to Lashley I think, and he's a prat. He used to be good, but admitted that he would just show up and if he didn't feel like fighting that night, would take the first blow lay down and not bother to get up. Then he would collect his paycheck and go home. He's a joke.

I would have gone with the Great Muta, or Vampire. Would have loved to see Vampire go against Kane or the Undertaker.

 

[obamartins]

Bob Sapp the MMA fighter. He's the one who lost to Lashley I think, and he's a prat. He used to be good, but admitted that he would just show up and if he didn't feel like fighting that night, would take the first blow lay down and not bother to get up. Then he would collect his paycheck and go home. He's a joke.

I would have gone with the Great Muta, or Vampire. Would have loved to see Vampire go against Kane or the Undertaker.

No Bob Sapp is an pro wrestler/MMA fighter. After the NFL, he trained to be a pro wrestler in NWA Wildside & the WCW Powerplant. After the WCW buyout he went to Japan to be a pro wrestler but couldn't get any work so he went into MMA instead. He became a cultural sensation in Japan. He had to squeeze in training between television and promotional appearances. His name and likeness appeared on every product imaginable. Now finding work as a pro wrester wasn't so hard. To this day he still pro wrestles & recently went to North Korea to work on a show Antonio Inoki put together.

Bob Sapp in Japan at his peak dwarfed Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Rock at their peak in their prime combined. Bob Sapp was a HUGE draw that drew HUGE money.

It's Vampiro not Vampire.

 

[Darkshadow1234]

Kenta Kobashi was a big star in japan, he never stepped foot in a wwe ring.
Mitsuharu Misawa has never step foot in the a wwe ring.
Magnum TA. Former US champion never signed with wwe.
Great muta and Masahiro chono. never stepped foot in a wwe ring

I know there is more. But can't think of anyone else

 

[Navi]

No Bob Sapp is an pro wrestler/MMA fighter. After the NFL, he trained to be a pro wrestler in NWA Wildside & the WCW Powerplant. After the WCW buyout he went to Japan to be a pro wrestler but couldn't get any work so he went into MMA instead. He became a cultural sensation in Japan. He had to squeeze in training between television and promotional appearances. His name and likeness appeared on every product imaginable. Now finding work as a pro wrester wasn't so hard. To this day he still pro wrestles & recently went to North Korea to work on a show Antonio Inoki put together.

Bob Sapp in Japan at his peak dwarfed Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Rock at their peak in their prime combined. Bob Sapp was a HUGE draw that drew HUGE money.

It's Vampiro not Vampire.

Sorry that was a type, I typed the right name and the spellcheck kicked in.

Yea it's the same Bob Sapp. He used to be good, but before he retired he was known for just laying down after a couple of punches.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...g-on-his-ground-skills-but-i-dont-believe-him

 

[obamartins]

Sorry that was a type, I typed the right name and the spellcheck kicked in.

Yea it's the same Bob Sapp. He used to be good, but before he retired he was known for just laying down after a couple of punches.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...g-on-his-ground-skills-but-i-dont-believe-him

This is about the biggest star to never work for WWE so I don't understand what point you're trying to make.

What does your subjective opinion about whether he was good have to do with anything?

Why does it matter if he phoned in during an MMA match to get an easy payday?

The FACT is he's a MEGASTAR star in Japan.

Bob Sapp captured the imagination of Japan's huge fighting sports industry, endearing himself to the children who watched cartoons and the adults who watched things like Samurai TV for its violent content. He was huge in a way that nothing has been in contemporary America since perhaps the peak of Michael Jackson.

The Japanese press voted Bob Sapp as pro wrestling's MVP in December 2002. What is remarkable about that was he was the first gaijin (foreigner) to win the award in 29 years and that he won the award with only two matches under his belt.

At six feet seven inches tall and 375 pounds of solid muscle he was tailor made for WWE who attempted to sign him on multiple occasions.

 

[Jimmy Carter]

Absolutely astounding that no one yet has mentioned New Jack. Why, he'll be the first to tell you!

Other than him, was Juan Cena ever officially under contract?

 

[Navi]

This is about the biggest star to never work for WWE so I don't understand what point you're trying to make.

What does your subjective opinion about whether he was good have to do with anything?

Why does it matter if he phoned in during an MMA match to get an easy payday?

The FACT is he's a MEGASTAR star in Japan.

Bob Sapp captured the imagination of Japan's huge fighting sports industry, endearing himself to the children who watched cartoons and the adults who watched things like Samurai TV for its violent content. He was huge in a way that nothing has been in contemporary America since perhaps the peak of Michael Jackson.

The Japanese press voted Bob Sapp as pro wrestling's MVP in December 2002. What is remarkable about that was he was the first gaijin (foreigner) to win the award in 29 years and that he won the award with only two matches under his belt.

At six feet seven inches tall and 375 pounds of solid muscle he was tailor made for WWE who attempted to sign him on multiple occasions.

I know they tried to sign him but for some reason they didn't. Whether it was them or him I have no idea. But my point is this. If Sapp had signed we would have another Lesnar on our hands. He didn't care about the product he only cared about the money.

Personally I want to watch wrestlers that are passionate about the product, guys who bring something to the ring. Sapp lost that somewhere along the way and he would have been useless. He wouldn't have done the schedule that they others do and would have ended up as shame to say a jobber on the midcard. We have enough of those already.

 

[FromGlasgow]

I always thought guys like Chris Adams and Bobby Eaton were underated and could of had a great run in the WWE and kind of think their history feels overlooked now because they never had that WWE run and probably loads in Japan such as The Great Muta.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I'm not gonna pretend I know a lot about Japanese wrestling, so I'm gonna say AJ Styles. The guy carried TNA on his back for the longest time, was a multi time champion in both TNA and ROH , and is currently killing in it New Japan.

 

[CKDaimen702]

You could rattle off many TNA main eventers past and present and have an argument: AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Bobby Roode are the first three to come to mind.

This is a good thread, though, because it makes you realize just how many people have signed at one time or another with the WWE specifically form WCW and ECW. So then it becomes an issue of how much do you respect the star power of TNA wrestlers? The fact that posters are turning to stars in Japan/MMA stars as an answer to this thread speaks to the continued lack of respect TNA receives from the IWC.

 

[The Boss]

Well, WWE wasn't around then but I'll have to say Gorgeous George. Other pre WWE names that were really big are Ed "Strangler" Louis and Frank Gotch.

 

[CKDaimen702]

@The Boss, yeah I didn't even think of going that far back, but what about Lou Thesz? I'm fairly certain he never signed with the WWE...if I am correct, then he would definitely be at the top of the list.

 

[The Boss]

@The Boss, yeah I didn't even think of going that far back, but what about Lou Thesz? I'm fairly certain he never signed with the WWE...if I am correct, then he would definitely be at the top of the list.

I know he did wrestle for them at least once. He won the old timers battle royal in 1987. Others involved included Pat O'Connor, Nick Bockwinkel, Bobo Brazil, Gino Brito, Edouard Carpentier, Al Costello, Reggie Lisowski, Dominic DeNucci, Tony Garea, Rene Goulet, Gene Kiniski, KillerKowalski, Pedro Morales, Baron Mikel Scicluna, Arnold Skaaland, Ray Stevens, Chief Jay Strongbow & Art Thomas.

 

[NotoriousMEAT]

How about Hiroshi Tanahashi. He's been a staple in New Japan for a long while now. He really feels like the Japanese John Cena to me. He's got a great look, great charisma, and can easily work any style match you want. If you told me WWE wanted to grab a Japanese star to build and legitimize to really grab the audience over there.. I would have really expected Tanahashi over KENTA. Granted WWE probably woulda had to pay a shit ton more for Tanahashi, the top star in the top promotion, over KENTA. I think it'd be incredible to see him in a WWE ring.

 

[sanefan_har]

The Great Antonio. Lol.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lXAGZtMxU8


Also Dara Singh from India. He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Hall of Fame in 1996.

 

[thebarber]

Did Nick Bockwinkel ever wrestle in the WWWF or WWF? ;Pretty sure he didnt and was one of the greatest heel of all time. Apparently he was Vinces first choice for the Million Dollar Man gimmick but Bockwinkel was too old to consider seriously taking on the role. He would have to be the guy, Verne Gagane the other obvious one

 

[nbieclkl91]

AJ Styles
Samoa Joe
Bobby Roode
Christopher Daniels
James Storm
Motor City Machine Guns
Nigel McGinnis
Abyss

As you can see, all of these guys either are or were TNA Wrestlers at some point. The reason I have these guys is simply because they are the biggest names to have wrestled in the company. I'm sure it's crossed all their minds at one point or another to make the jump to WWE but in reality, would they have been as big? You can almost guarantee that they would be sent to NXT before getting called up. Regardless, these are huge names that I consider the last 'non-wwe' guys left.

Honourable mentions are The Beautiful People (Velvet Sky & Angelina Love).

 

[MoxleyCrue]

I think Bill Dundee is certainly worth a mention here as well. His work with Lawler in Memphis raised the game to a whole different level.

 

[MoxleyCrue]

Thinking about it, Jushin Liger only ever signed with WCW, not McMahon. Not too many bigger names than him who never signed.

 

[The Boss]

Did Nick Bockwinkel ever wrestle in the WWWF or WWF? ;Pretty sure he didnt and was one of the greatest heel of all time. Apparently he was Vinces first choice for the Million Dollar Man gimmick but Bockwinkel was too old to consider seriously taking on the role. He would have to be the guy, Verne Gagane the other obvious one

Yes he did. After losing the AWA World title to Curt Hennig in 1987 Bockwinkel signed with WWF as an announcer. He competed in the old timers battle royal (which I already listed earlier) in November of that year.

 

[Paramecia_eater]

I would have to say aj styles not taking anything away from great muta but I think he's alittle out his prime. As for aj if wwe ever does sign him they would probably make him change his finish seeing as he recently broke former wwe performer yoshi's neck

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Giant Baba, Mitsuharu Misawa and Tatsumi Fujinami technically never "signed" with WWF, but they did have occasional matches for the company at different shows, so I don't think we can count them. Billy Robinson was also a pretty big name who worked with WWF occasionally.

As far as I know, Jumbo Tsuruta, Shinya Hashimoto, Satoshi Kojima and The Great Muta are truly the only megastars who have steered clear from the WWWF/WWF/WWE ring.

State-side, I think Verne Gagne was a pretty popular guy and he never signed with WWF. Of course, that's because he owned his own company, but the fact is, he never stepped foot in a WWF ring.

Right now, I think AJ Styles, Kenzuke Sasaki and Hiroshi Tanahashi are probably the biggest stars who have never signed with WWE. Technically, AJ was employed by WWF by a technicality when WCW was bought out, but he was let go and never used. I think Toshiaki Kawada has never wrestled for WWF, but I'm not sure about that.

Perro Aguayo has never wrestled for the WWF and he was huge in Mexico. He definitely deserves a mention. Then there's Kenta Kobashi, Dos Caras, and plenty more.