Worst incidents of WWE downgrading former World champions?

[HBKevin]

Christian is good in the ring. And I'd like to see him get a world title run. But let's face it, he never was a main event level guy when he was in the WWE the first time, he isn't going to be there now either. Vince has a hard-on for big guys and Captain Charisma doesn't fit that mold.

Well you have guys like Jericho and even Mysterio who broke the size barrier, but even though Christian's taller than both of them, he has a pretty thin build. If he bulked up maybe, but at this point he's a veteran enhancement talent, and good at that role.

 

[XgringolocoX]

Hennig I think would have been World Champ but he hurt his back. After that is when he was gone, a manager, color guy, etc. I mean how epic would a Perfect/Hart fued for the world title been? I bet it could have done huge business and sold plenty of PPVs.
Tazz I also felt like he was given a shitty run. He made a living of wrestling bigger men and being completely believable.
Mike Awesome. I don't need to elaborate on this one.

 

[jds121212]

Where's Booker T, the 5 time, 5 time, 5 time, 5 time, 5 time WCW world champion? I think he should have gotten several/longer world title reigns in WWE. He was just so good, on the mic, in the ring, in the announcer booth, as a singles wrestler, in tag teams, etc. Although of course it's too bad Mr. Perfect never got the world title.

Well Booker T should have been downgraded as he had no right holding any world title once never mind 5 times. He was always a goof and a joke in my eyes and that was even before inventing the spinaroony. The only thing he ever did worth mentioning was his series with Benoit. As for the worst downgrade it would be Vader, he was a dominant force and a multiple time champion in competition with the likes of Sting and Flair who are all time greats and at the time were already there (flair) or well on their way (sting)

 

[TommLew10]

I have to admit I stopped watching wrestling around 99/00 but during and a bit before that DDP got huge pops when coming out in WCW. Even though he wasn't that great a wrestler, he had an energy about him that fans loved and I think that WWE should have given the guy a chance, the same goes with Booker T, I felt he definitely could have been a decent champion. This is definitely why Sting didn't go to WWE, but I wish he would have. Would have loved to have seen some decent matches with Sting vs Taker/SMichaels/Stone Cold/Rock. I also think that Vampiro would have been a great guy for WWE to bring in at some point and time.

Also believe that the 2000's could've been just as huge if McMahon would have basically kept the WCW roster together and had a fued, like he had going with a Smackdown roster and a Raw roster. I think this would have been huge for wrestling in general and got the 2000's off to a good start. Instead McMahon had to show his ego and ruin it all, by doing it the way in which he did. It could have been special and could be an ongoing feud to this day possibly if he found a leader for WCW, but anyways . . . rant over.

 

[One to Remember]

the 2000's could've been just as huge if McMahon would have basically kept the WCW roster together and had a fued, like he had going with a Smackdown roster and a Raw roster. I think this would have been huge for wrestling in general and got the 2000's off to a good start. Instead McMahon had to show his ego and ruin it all, by doing it the way in which he did.

Yeah your talking about the '90s dream matches. NWO vs DX, Sting vs Undertaker, Stone Cold vs Goldberg, etc. It was some what out of Vince McMahon's hands though. All the wrestlers you seen fighting for the Alliance is all he could get. It was the egos of Hall, Nash, and Hogan that prevented a buy out of their contracts. When you think WCW you were thinking a little about the guys in the Alliances, Book, DDP, and a few others, but a lot of that "core group" to quote Sting, was missing due to contractual difficulties caused by Time Warner. [QUOTEjds121212]Well Booker T should have been downgraded as he had no right holding any world title once never mind 5 times. He was always a goof and a joke in my eyes and that was even before inventing the spinaroony. [/QUOTE]Booker is not on the list because I felt like WWE allowed him to work his way back up. Obviously as a prominent member of the Alliance him being busted down by WWE management for a few years made a lot of sense. He was a joke when he lost his "T" and a goof when he was G.I. Bro, but the intensity and athleticism shown during his Harlem Heat days is what first lead me to believe he would pwn WCW one day. Obviously I prefer the Booker T. of 1996 over King Booker any day..

Ok, I have one but its more of a current one. Christian since going to TNA winning their world title has come back and has not been in a main event picture

I SHOULD STRESS that I do not recognize the NWA heavyweight title as a World title and thats why i did not include him. Either way there were only 15 choices allowed. But I think WWE put Christian in the place WWE was always comfortable with putting him in. I think from WWE's standpoint Christian's departure and rise to the top of TNA amounted to a sabbatical. This is one f the few times I'll agree with the WWE brass..

So you're saying that Hogan/Warrior, and Hogan/Slaughter should have never happened? Do you know how much money WWF would have lost by doing that? While I loved Mr. Perfect, he was NEVER half the draw Hogan was, and Hogan still had a lot left in his tank at that point.

Yes and No. I mean without Hogan being fed to Warrior, Warrior would simply starve. The Ultimate Warrior's star power derived mainly from him plowing stars. But anyone, even Mr. Fuji or the Mountie could beat Slaughter at that point and it would go over well.. The WWF in 1990 needed to diversity its main event allotments. It needed to get all of its eggs out of that one basket we call Hulkamania. It would had been beneficial to spread the wealth. More main eventers means more sale out shows in different locations.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I voted for DDP, as much as I know and respect Mr Perfect and Harley Race, I don't know enough about their runs in WWE to really comment on them being wasted. As far as I know though, Perfect had a great career in WWE even without a title run didnt he?

Anyway, back to DDP. What a fall from grace he had. From WCW World Champion, the peoples champion (blatant rip-off from The Rock!!!) to mid carder at Wrestlemania fighting for the European title, a championship held by such greats as Mideon, D'lo Brown and Al Snow......wow

Page was really over when he debuted as the stalker of Undertakers wife, Sara. Although it was a stupid gimmick, the fans were stil glad to see Page in WWE, due to the name value he had in WCW, and initially he did get a push as one of the top guys in the Alliance, but that didnt last.

He ended up as a stupid inspirational speaker. That is not a gimmick that makes me see $$$$$$$$. It was the death knell for Page's career, he never recovered and besides a short run in TNA, he was done.

He was never awesome in the ring, but was someone who WWE could have used better, and he didnt deserve the fall from the top he had.

 

[Alex]

I'm going with Christian.
He started in WWE having several Intercontinental and Tag team reigns, but not really going near the world title picture (save for 2005ish when he had the fued with Cena) He then goes to TNA and pretty much carried them through 2006 as their champion, was one of the most popular superstars and was great on the mic. He comes back to WWE and carries ECW as their ECW champion as ECW needed a veteran who could still go, fair enough. He is then drafted to Raw where he barely does anything and is then sent to Smackdown where he was barely doing anything of note.

Now I know Vince apparently doesn't like him but if someone who is popular with fans and great in the ring and on the mic, how can you not give them a main event push???

 

[nbkush]

I voted for Vader because he was still relevant at the time and the WWF had a lack of established superstars during most of his tenure.
Everyone else listed was either past their prime or couldnt match the current drawing power/populartiy of the top WWF superstars during their time with the company.
Although not listed, I think the real choice is Lex Luger. He was a former WCW world champ and definitly had the look. If Macmahon had not been going thru a steriod scandel, Luger may have done more in the WWF

 

[Constanc00]

I would have to go with Kerry Von Erich. He was a former NWA world champion and he beat Ric Flair for the title. He was very popular with kids and he had the cool music and cool ring robes. He also had the potential. I remember reading one time that had he not died in 93, Vince would have chosen him to lead the WWF into the "Anything can happen in the WWF" era.

 

[RD_21]

I can't believe I will be the first one to mention it but Goldberg (maybe he was champion with WWE but still).

In the mid 90's to late 90's the dream match of every wrestling fan was Stone Cold vs Goldberg. Goldberg came to the WWE and WWE stubborn like they always are refuse to replicate the success another company had. So they tried to humanize Goldberg (same for Big Show) and try to make him do lot of things instead of doing what had worked previously. Then 2 or 3 months later when it was already too late they started to build him like he had been in wCw with the spear on Jamal or was it Rosey through the barricade and such but it was too late.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

DDP, he was one of the first to come into the WWE beforen the InVasion started an he always got the crowds attention, being a former world title, there wern't many who came over straight away, but he was one of the ones that was really over.. I would love to have seen a DDP vs The Rock match, since they both refered themselves to the people champ...but he got treated like crap and buried..hell, he had a good wrestlemania match as well!!

 

[nbkush]

DDP, he was one of the first to come into the WWE beforen the InVasion started an he always got the crowds attention, being a former world title, there wern't many who came over straight away, but he was one of the ones that was really over..

Invasion storyline started about the same time as his Stalking storyline. They should have made him a major palyer in the Invasion from the begining. It would have given it more credibility, especially since the WCW invaders were lacking star-power so much that they alligned with ECW. While I liked DDP in WCW, like most things in WCW at the time, he was not on par with what the WWF was doing..i.e. Austin, Rock, Angle

When WCW was purchased by WWF owner Vince McMahon in 2001, Page was one of the few major WCW stars to sign with McMahon. He debuted in the WWE on the June 18th, 2001 edition of RAW when he unveiled himself as the stalker of The Undertaker's wife, Sara. Page did it to make an impact and wanted to take on the biggest dog in the yard, but he then became obsessed with Sara. Page soon joined the Alliance during the WCW Invasion.
The feud with the Undertaker went on for the best part of Three Months and ended when Undertaker and Kane defeated Page and Kanyon at WWF Summerslam 2001 on August 19, 2001 in a Steel cage match for the WWF tag team championship, where Page got injured which kept him out of action until late October, 2001.
At age 46, he had nagging injuries, including a neck injury he suffered in a match with Bob Holly on the April 18th, 2002 episode of SmackDown, so his WWE contract was allowed to expire. WWE wanted him to do color commentary, but Page opted to take a break from wrestling, citing that he was "burned out."

 

[The Poodle]

Jerry, "The King", Lawler. Over his career in other promotions The King held 170 different titles, including 3 AWA World Titles, and several NWA. The King comes to WWF, and what does he get? Banished to commentating, a feud with Doink the Clown, a Feud with Bret where he has to bring in his Dentist, etc. Look at all of those people you are mentioning. I think Mr Perfect was perhaps one of the best wrestlers of his day and he never got the shot (I equate him to Christian and Matt Hardy now, though I think he was way better than both). But he held the IC title multiple times, which back then was a true honor and accomplishment. Texas Tornado same thing. Steiner, that's a joke right? He held the title while WCW was going down the drain, and thats a major reason why.

This argument really comes down to Dusty vs the King. Both great on the Mic (Dusty a step a head), both great in the booth, and both great in the ring. I just think that the king had done MORE before his time, and at least Dusty was a major player, though not with the titles. King was most of the time pushed to comedy bits and low level feuds, Bret Hart and Jake the Snake not withstanding

 

[Carpathian Florist]

I picked Diamond Dallas Page, mostly for the reasons a few people have already stated in this thread but also because he took a massive pay cut to get out of his contract with Turner so he could wrestle for the WWE, unlike the other top WCW stars who sat out their big contracts. I think the level of dedication and commitment shown by Page, who was indeed a former world champion and at times extremely over with the crowd, should have been rewarded in a sense. It's not like he was some jobber making a loyalty statement to Vince to try and get something in return, he really wanted to compete and add something of value to the (then) current product. I think what they did to him was a massive slap in the face considering he could have got paid more to sit on his arse at home doing nothing. For that alone they could have given him a push at the very least, if he failed to get over with the crowd then fair enough they can do what they wish with him, but if this worst case scenario did happen at least they've built up a credible former star for some new talent to go over to give themselves a bit of credibility in the process. If he did get over, which I think he would have, then they have another big name to milk for a year or so. I think it was a win-win situation personally, shame they wasted it.

 

[Marks "R" Us]

While reading thru this thread I saw him mentioned only in passing but it made me think what a good choice he is, Mike Awesome(R.I.P.). He was a former world champion completely misused but both WCW and WWE. Awesome was big, strong, agile, and a good worker. Given the right push he could have been huge and could have been used to give the Alliance some real credibility (not that it was ever Vince's desire to do that as far as i can tell).
If built right WWE could have finished the fued ECW started and given the fans Awesome vs RVD.

 

[nitro1]

Some solid choices here, but I'm really surprised no one has picked Ricky Steamboat yet. After one of the best matches ever at WM III for the I.C. title his run as champion last only a month or two before losing to an Elvis impersonator. He goes to WCW and has another of the best matches ever against Ric Flair winning the belt. When he came back to WWF he is reduced to a fire breathing midcarder that didn't get another title run. A fine example of how McMahon frowns on success in other companies.

 

[crazmond]

Vince is a business man and, with the exceptions of Goldberg and Flair, the rest of these guys didn't have the same drawing power that would've made enough money in order to warrant a proper World Title push. The other thing you have to factor in is were these guys contracted long enough or reliable enough to deserve that push. There's also injuries and drug/alcohol problems to factor in. Also, did any of these guys want that type of push or did they come in knowing that they didn't need it yet still make alot of money. Don't get me wrong its an interesting question to discuss, but Ronnie Garvin, DDP, Dory Funk Jr.???? Or is it just a case of wrong place wrong time? If Vince really did any real injustice it has to be never capitalizing on Flair vs. Hogan. Both in their prime, both World Champs technically, and we get no real big PPV match. Instead we get Flair vs. Savage (not Hogan vs. Flair, but still a REALLY good match) and Hogan vs. Sid (what a flop of a retirement match) at Mania. Even if WCW did retrieve the belt back they could've written a good story into it leading to the Main Event at Mania that year. I'm sorry but Flair having to win the title via a Battle Royal has to be the biggest slight of them all because in the end Flair and Hogan are going to be recognized as the 2 greatest of the modern era. Only thing I can think is there was too much ego at the time to decide a real winner, Hogan was ready to wind things down for a bit, or a combination where Vince didn't want Flair going over Hogan as it would minimize Vince's creation and Vince didn't want Hogan having the belt due to him not staying around much longer. We know it wouldn't be Flair because he put Savage and Hart over by losing to them for the belt as well as many other undeserving wrestlers over his career. Though it would've been nice to see Flair get the strap one more time like Hogan did in his return to WWE.

 

[The Earl]

I guess I would say Vader. IMO he would have been a better choice for Shawn to drop the title to for the short term than Sid. However, Vader really didnt fit into the Attitude Era, with a prolonged Undertaker fued about the only thing that would have drawn. But the Kane- UT feud got very hot. I just didnt see a place for Vader. Kuwait didnt help.

Harley Race was at the end of his career. Why have a red-hot Hogan drop the title to a NWA man 20 years older. I think they could have had a nice fued, but it would have made no sense for him to get the title.

I'm kind of torn on the Perfect thing. I think he was another victim of poor timing. He could have taken the title from Warrior, but then the Iraq war started and Slaughter was the hottest heel in the business. Time that played out with Hogan, Curt got injured and Flair debuted.

DDP in 1998 and 1999 was a helluva worker and was over as much as anyone in WCW. However, by 2001 age and injuries were creeping in. I hated the self-help angle, but he was in no shape to be worlds champion.

Scott Steiner was booked as a babyface and bombed big time. Had he been brought in as a heel, it may have turned out better.

Kerry von Erich- too many demons there

I have always beleived the only reason Ron Simmons was a world champion was for Bill Watts to make WCW look good. At the time he was worlds champion, he didnt even main event the PPVs. The Dangerous Alliance did. Nothing against him, but I think he did pretty well in the WWE. A good push with the Nation, multi tag champ, and a 10 year run with the company. Damn!

Ric Martel was brought in the mid 80's and became one of the most hated heels of that era as the Model. Do you really think Hogan was going to put over the guy that replaced him in AWA?

Barry Windham held the NWA world title , but it wasnt the main championship. Windham held the title to lose it to Flair. That title would become even more meaningless when the NWA officially pulled out of WCW a few months later. Plus, when he rejoined the WWF, he was overweight and out of shape. Windham in the late 80s was the bomb. Windham in the late 90s was a bomb.

Shane Douglas- Are you kidding me or what. Be glad he at least got to draw a paycheck that didnt bounce for a few months and have about a half cup of coffee with the IC title.

Terry Funk in the mid 80s. Once again..timing. Could have had a helluva fued with Hogan, but Hogan vs Orondorf was selling out the world. Plus Funk retired. Again. As far as the late 90s, Funk was a garbage wrestler by that point. Plus he retired. Again. And when Funk came back in 2006...yeah I can see John Cena jobbing to a 60 year old. Plus he retired. Again.

Jerry Lawler. Never been more than a regional champion. Was anybody watching AWA when he held the title? I'm sure if he had his choice, he would prefer a 20 year plus announcing gig, very few matches, and financial backing for his Memphis promotion, to a run with the world title

Taz. Now the timing on that really sucked. They teased his debut for months, everyone got excited, and he beats a red- hot rookie named Kurt Angle in his debut. A week later, the Radicals appear on TV. Who the hell cares about the orange midget anymore?

 

[mulkeymania]

my choice by far is ddp-i have always felt if he had beaten down taker in their 1st encounter-and im not saying taker needed to keep putting him over-then vince has another star on his hands. why he could not or did not want to see that i dont know but i feel he lost a golden opportunity by not letting page beat taker down on the 1st encounter together.