Worst incidents of WWE downgrading former World champions?

[One to Remember]

What former World champions from other companies in your opinion do you feel WWE failed to utilize or drop the ball with? What is the worst example of WWE downsizing a former World champion who had a lot to offer WWE's upper mid card or main event picture and why do you think WWE failed to act?

Mine wold have to be a three way tie between Big Van Vader, Ron Simmons, and Mr. Perfect. My vote wold have to go to Mr. Perfect though.

I felt like Hennig had what it took to be a WWF champ either as a heel, a face, or some type of morally/ethnically neutral role. I felt like Hulk Hogan should had left the title picture by 1990 and that Mr. Perfect should had been one of several names to feel that void at the top. I felt like he proved his worth in the AWA as its World champion and I felt like an AWA esque push in unison with the character development he received in the WWF made him perfect for the main event picture. I don't think its too far fetched to have a hel champion in the early '90s when we had "Superstar" Billy Graham as a heel champ in the late '70s.

Vader speaks for itself really. I felt like perhaps the WWF could not get over how Vader was the face and power player in WCW for so long.

For Ron Simmons I felt like it took them too long to place him anywhere. He was a lower mid carder as a singles star, then it took what seemed like a life time for WWE to tap into his tagging potential despite the dominate tag team he hd formed with Butch Reed. Ron Simmons past accolades should had contributed to his character.

I was also very disappointed with where Diamond Dallas Page went post Alliance. He cut good promos, great self promoter, lots of energy, charisma, and still willing to push his body to achieve whatever he set out for. They could had done alot better then making him a stalker then some yoga feign.

I would go in depth about Dusty Rhodes in the WWF but I simply do not know enough about that era. Harley Race too was slighted by the WWF.

 

[tvcolosi]

Well as far as Harley Race goes, I was very young, but I believe he was billed as a "former worlds champ" which is more that some of the guys on your list. He was also in his late 40's but was main eventing house shows with Hulk Hogan.

My vote is for Dusty, simple put... Polka dots. Big, silly, ugly, yellow Polka dots for the greatest mic man of his, and arguably any generation. I ask you older fans, how great would a Dusty Rhodes vs Rock battle on the mic have been. If you haven't you should give the Dusty DVD a look, its probably one of the best WWE Documentaries they have put out.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

I felt like Hennig had what it took to be a WWF champ either as a heel, a face, or some type of morally/ethnically neutral role. I felt like Hulk Hogan should had left the title picture by 1990 and that Mr. Perfect should had been one of several names to feel that void at the top.

Hogan out of the title picture by 1990? 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. That's like saying Stone Cold should have been out of the title picture by 1999, so that he could make room for Ken Shamrock.

But on to the topic at hand, I voted Taz. He was so much better than what they did with him, while he wouldn't have been a megastar, he would have been a solid main eventer for a couple years. Hell, he'd probably be a lot slower to retire too

 

[Attitude]

I voted for Diamond Dallas Page. He was hugely over and the most over guy at the time WWE signed from WCW(during the Invasion Angle). Yet he ends up jobbing and having a mediocre WWE career. His rivarly with the Undertaker was good. But than after that he went to the undercard. He should have stayed in the main event. But it's probably one of those DDP wasn't a star Vince made so he didn't go any farther.

Tazz was a good choice. But the stories with Tazz is he had neck injuries and WWE wanted him to get surgery. Tazz refused and I think that's why he never went further. I don't know how true that is but if I were the WWE I wouldn't want my top guy to be injured or injured anymore than he was during a match and be the one liable for it. So I don't blame the WWE for that.

 

[CAPT SPAULD1NG8]

i have been a wrestling fan for 15 years and to be honest i have been most upset with wwe crowning sheamus wwe champion so early in his career. dont get me wrong i like sheamus. i see him being a big powerhouse in the future. my problem is with the fact that just because he worked out with triple h he had special treatment. triple h saw something in him and i have no problem with that i just think there were more deserving superstars. kofi kingston, john morrison, r truth, william regal (who i believe should have been champion once in his career), finlay, and christian. i like sheamus. i just feel that hes not gonna stay in the main event picture for his entire career. with that being said he has already held the most prestigious title in the buisness and he can only go down from here.

 

[dude_d_dude]

Gotta go with DDP on this one, he was incredibly over and a multiple time WCW champ and WWF just slapped him with a stupid gimmick, what did they really expect would happen?

That was a royal piss-off because DDP was one of my faves (so obviously I'm a little biased) but there's still no excuse for the way the WWF/E/whatever dropped the ball with him.

He didn't need to jump directly into the title chase, he could've been a good IC champ or something, but no let's have him be some sort of Richard Simmons/Jillian Michaels crap

 

[JackGallow]

For me the one man on that list that stood out like a sore pimple on prom date was none other than Mr. Perfect. For all his years in the Wrestling business along with the talent he posessed to me it is a crying shame he never won at least one WWE(F) title in his tenure with the company. At the very least he should have been a main eventer for a long standing amout of time because of his ability to be a babyface/ heel so well plus his outstanding in ring work that great stars today who will be our future in wrestling try to emulate today (I.E. Robert Roode.) Tazz is somebody else i feel that the WWE didnt capitalize enough on however I understand that his neck injuries were alot of the reason he didnt get to have that longevity of an in ring career that i feel could have very well led to a main event run.

 

[wushady]

My top three in no order are.

1) Ron Simmons first black WHC Then debuts in WWF with a horrible gladiator type gimmick. Then he had a descant run as the leader of the Nation of Domination. After that he had a devil worshiper gimmick in the Ministry of Darkness. It wasn't till the APA were he had moderate success in the WWF.

2) DDP I never was huge fan of his, but I think he deserved better than the European title run he had. When he debuted as Undertakers stalker I thought he was going to be a top guy, but once that feud was over it was all down hill from there.

3) Barry Windham had a descent run in WWF as a tag team in US Express before going to WCW and winning the WHC. After he returned he had one bad gimmick after another including the new Blackjacks as Blackjack Windham with Bradshaw. the Widow Maker, and the Stalker.


The WWE has never really brought in a former WHC from another company, and gave the a major push right off the bat. There have been a few exceptions.

I didn't add Curt Henning because although he didn't win the WHC in WWF he still had a great career with them. He also got injured and couldn't wrestle for a long time. He may have one the big one if he hadn't got hurt.

Steiner was given a huge push in his WWE return in '02, but in my opinion he dropped the ball. Plus the fans had turned on him. I blame him not WWE for his horrible last run in WWE.

 

[koolaidx]

I think Mr. Perfect was the clear choice here, with Vader being second.

DDP was a 3 time world champion, but his reigns were short lived. I never saw him as "the guy".

As far as Taz goes, somebody already nailed that one earlier in this thread, he would have never been a megastar. He was trying to get through to the main event scene with guys like Austin, Rock, Jericho, HHH, Foley and Angle at the forefront. Getting the belt on anybody else was difficult during his run with WWE.

Most of these guys fell victim to the times, when there were far less PPVs. If Mr. Perfect were in his prime today, no doubt he'd get a run with the belt, maybe a few runs. During Hogan's time he had the belt, he was the champion, and that's what made money, end of story. Guys like Windham, Martel, Henning, Race, and a long list of others simply didn't have the drawing power.

 

[Maestro48239]

I had to go with Harley Race myself, here's a guy that won Numerous world titles in many different organizations, including NWA, WWC, AJPW, and more all over the country. he also has the same birthday as I do, so that should count for something also!

and after winning so many titles, he gets clowned by the WWF, the King Harley Race, 2nd winner of the King of the Ring tournament. and a slammy for best ring apparel. he did get inducted to the Hall of Fame, which is a small something I guess

 

[RicSpade]

Honestly Mr. Perfect was probably one of the greatest heels to have never won a wwe or wcw world title, because it made him such an immense heel and always seemed to be in a main event situation with your top guys, Ric Flair, Macho man, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart. I don't think he needed a WWF or WCW run.

Vader is another example, Vader was in the main event scene for almost 2 years, and he helped make guys like the Undertaker, Austin and HBK much bigger and badder but never lost credibility similar to Jericho now.

Really my choices are either Shane Douglas or Dusty Rhodes and the reason is similar they were put in a role where they weren't the face of the company. Dusty had helped guys like Macho man and had amazing feuds, but never got a top face run like the Ultimate Warrior did. Shane Douglas when he left ECW he had a teaching gimmick, and had some success in WCW but no where as near as his run in ECW...

 

[Oracular Spectacular]

All most every body on this list has been in a main event type feud in the WWE/F so I really dont think anyone here got disgraced by any means.

Vader is a guy I would have liked to see have a title run, I would have rather seen him with the title going into Mania 13 defending against Taker, that small run would have done wonders for him. Remember though he continued to feud with big name guys like HBK, Kane and Taker until 97 when he was the "jobber to the stars" and at that time he was getting old and more and more out of shape.

Sure DDP could have been used as the People's Champ and then maybe had a small feud with The Rock but I always saw DDP as more of a midcard champion. Giving him a European run with a pretty solid feud against Christian wasnt bad, but they could have kept him around to feud with more guys....Yet again he was getting old and couldnt bump.

The only former champ that I think they could have done more with was Raven, Of course personal demons were in the way, but I would have liked to see a nice midcard feud and maybe a new Flock show up.

 

[AmericanDragonSW]

This is a tough call. Shane Douglas was rookie when he was first in WWE and I never felt he got enough of a chance. Kerry Von Erich could have been huge if it weren't for his own problems. Both Harley Race, Terry Funk and Dusty Rhodes, I think WWE was thinking short term with them more than Long Term. I think Curt Henning was pretty much screwed to the mid-card level. With Vader's last venture in WCW, I would have thought that the WWE would have given him the strap at least once. Not only did they not give it to him, they didn't give him any gold period. Scott Steiner as a singles wrestler was never any good to me. His matches with Triple H should have shown that. It's hard for me to go into Ron Simmons with how much WCW botched his world title reign. Overall I think going by his history in WCW prior to WWE, I'd say Vader probably got jammed the most of these guys.

 

[WCWMondayNitroOnYT]

It's not listed on here but I would have to go with Rugged Ronnie Garvin. Former NWA World Heavyweight Champion becoming a lower-level midcarder and jobbing out to the likes of Dino Bravo. It can't get much lower than that.

 

[VinnieSunshine]

My vote is for Mr. Perfect.

But some of these guys really didn't have what it takes to be a WWE champion. Example, Terry Funk. The man was known more for his hardcore wrestling style than anything else. Dusty Rhodes is another example. I've heard in the past (I believe it was on the Rise and Fall of WCW) that Dusty was not in the best shape but was athletic...but could speak better than he could wrestle.

I would however like to take one name off of here and its Taz. By the time he got to WWE, the fans didn't really know who he was. When WWE started to push him, even Taz said that his body was in no more shape to wrestle. Thats why he went behind the announcers table. I believe in his prime he would've been good, but years of ware and tear got to him like it did to Stone Cold.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

DDP was not of the level of many of the other guys... he was more akin to a Ronnie Garvin or Kerry Von Erich...

Vader suffered by the "lost in the shuffle" nature of the 1997 WWE, they had Owen. Davey, Bret, Faarooq, Goldust, DX and too many heels...

I think the worst case was not on your list... Macho Man Randy Savage.... Randy was still a great worker in the mid 1990s but was inexplicably mothballed by Vince, from World Champion to "Guest Host" of Wrestlemania in 6 months? That was odd... Randy went to WCW and the rest is history...

 

[THTRobtaylor]

My vote is for Mr. Perfect.

But some of these guys really didn't have what it takes to be a WWE champion. Example, Terry Funk. The man was known more for his hardcore wrestling style than anything else. Dusty Rhodes is another example. I've heard in the past (I believe it was on the Rise and Fall of WCW) that Dusty was not in the best shape but was athletic...but could speak better than he could wrestle.

I would however like to take one name off of here and its Taz. By the time he got to WWE, the fans didn't really know who he was. When WWE started to push him, even Taz said that his body was in no more shape to wrestle. Thats why he went behind the announcers table. I believe in his prime he would've been good, but years of ware and tear got to him like it did to Stone Cold.

Terry Funk was not known for anything approaching Hardcore in the mid 1980's... He was a former NWA champion along with his brother Dory who teamed together for a spell in WWE... Now Dory Funk Jr, perhaps does belong on this list for not being allowed to use his name, they called him Hoss... They didn't last long but I think that was more their fault than Vince's...

Shane Douglas screwed himself with Vince on his first run, leaving when he was going to get the HBK push for family reasons...then immediately signing with WCW... Steiner did similar in 1993, Vince was going to push him, but he refused on money grounds to fight Rick.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

Well. Look at my avatar and you can guess my vote. That's right: Vader.

As said before, Vader had a nice tear in his debut with guys like Taker, Yokozuna, and Michaels. Also one or two matches with a young Ken Shamrock including a lovely incident at an IYH pay-per-view where he knocked Shamrock silly with one giant right hand. But then Vince apparently realized that HE didn't make Vader and started jobbing him out. Sadly most recent wrestling fans will remember Vader for either muttering on the mic after a loss that he was "a fat piece of s***" or the incident in...'05 I think... where he fell climbing out the ring. Sad ending of a WWF/E running for a man who's easily in the top 5 foreign stars in Japan (one of the others being Stan "The Lariat" Hansen)

Side note: Imagine him feuding with Bigelow in WWF with quality matches like they put on in Japan! That would have been awesome!

 

[natlee75]

My vote is for Vader. The guy was a monster heel coming off a hot run with WCW as well as international glory over in Japan. What I heard was that WWE didn't like his big fat ass and when he couldn't (maybe wouldn't) slim down and tone up, they basically just did nothing with him. Maybe it was a case of simply keeping him away from the competition. Epic fail IMHO, though, especially that joke of a match against HBK for the WWF Championship.

Ron Simmons on the other hand wasn't all that much of a big player in the wrestling game. He was part of an "okay" tag team in WCW, but I think the only reason he had the World Championship - and no offense meant to him at all - was because he was black and Bill Watts didn't want to look like the racist bastard he was. I remember talk of Watts enduring some allegations of racism which is why I came to that conclusion.

Don't get me wrong - I think Simmons should have had a title run in WWE. I forgot who the champion was at the time, but Simmons as NOD leader Farooq had a title shot at a PPV but ended up losing. NOD was a pretty slick heel stable perfect for the kind of trash talking, holier-than-thou promos that heels with title bragging rights are expected to give.

Mr. Perfect? Well, he's one of my favorite wrestlers of all time (RIP) and I personally would have loved to see him as World champ at one point but I also recognized that during that era WWF was all about the big giant Adonis type (and I'm not talking Adrian Adonis here) muscle bound brutes at the World level. Guys like Perfect, Rude, etc. were tailor made for the mid level I-C belt, which is the one that the guys with *real* talent in the ring always vied for.

I'd like to throw Ted DiBiase into the mix, but I'm not sure if he was a "top champion" level guy in other federations prior to joining Vince's company. As far as I remember, DiBiase never held a real singles championship in his entire WWF career which in my mind is an utter travesty. He's easily the best wrestler to never hold a WWF singles title, and he's definitely one of the best to never be WWF Champion. Again, business always wins out.

 

[natlee75]

I voted for Diamond Dallas Page. He was hugely over and the most over guy at the time WWE signed from WCW(during the Invasion Angle). Yet he ends up jobbing and having a mediocre WWE career. His rivarly with the Undertaker was good. But than after that he went to the undercard. He should have stayed in the main event. But it's probably one of those DDP wasn't a star Vince made so he didn't go any farther.

Tazz was a good choice. But the stories with Tazz is he had neck injuries and WWE wanted him to get surgery. Tazz refused and I think that's why he never went further. I don't know how true that is but if I were the WWE I wouldn't want my top guy to be injured or injured anymore than he was during a match and be the one liable for it. So I don't blame the WWE for that.

DDP? Ugh. The guy wasn't marketable as a top level champion. I dare say he shouldn't have even had the U.S. title in WCW. Talk about overrated... although really you need to have critics actually say good things about you to be overrated.

When Tazz first came over and went nowhere, I kind of thought that a little but then realized the dude is like a midget. As much as I loved ECW, it really was a nothing company compared to the WWF behemoth - I mean, the biggest guy there physically was probably Mike Awesome (I don't count Big Dick Dudley since he hardly ever wrestled) and that guy was maybe Razor Ramon's height. Sure, Razor was one of the taller guys in WWF but think about Awesome being the exception in ECW... most of the guys were cruiserweight sized.

 

[natlee75]

Ron Simmons first black WHC Then debuts in WWF with a horrible gladiator type gimmick.

Good Lord, I forgot about that gladiator gimmick. Ugh.

To be fair, though, he was only WHC once, held it for five months or so, then went nowhere for the next two years before going to ECW for a little bit, going nowhere, then ending up in the WWF. His "I'm a top level guy" train left the station a long time before he joined Vince's crew.

Barry Windham had a descent run in WWF as a tag team in US Express before going to WCW and winning the WHC. After he returned he had one bad gimmick after another including the new Blackjacks as Blackjack Windham with Bradshaw. the Widow Maker, and the Stalker.

Can someone explain to me what was so great about this guy? US Express was before my time, but I remember his second run with WCW where he beat a Japanese wrestler for the NWA Championship. I kept wondering why those Southern "wrasslin" fans loved him so much.

The WWE has never really brought in a former WHC from another company, and gave the a major push right off the bat. There have been a few exceptions.

The obvious one being Ric Flair, LOL.

I didn't add Curt Henning because although he didn't win the WHC in WWF he still had a great career with them.

True, but as a huge fan I would have loved more for him... although I understood why they didn't do it.

Steiner was given a huge push in his WWE return in '02, but in my opinion he dropped the ball. Plus the fans had turned on him. I blame him not WWE for his horrible last run in WWE.

How about because he couldn't wrestle to save his life after he went from plain roided to super roided? The guy had virtually no mobility out there. I remember watching him towards the end of WCW and when he joined WWE later and wondering why he moved like he was a geriatric cripple who had to crap really bad.

 

[Krobra]

I am going to pick a current WWE wrestler: Christian. This guy is World Champion material, and has yet to receive a shot because of his past promotional work with TNA. I'd hate to see Christian to retire without a World Championship run in WWE.

 

[HBKevin]

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.

 

[wwefan2010]

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, unless u want to include ECW which then u could say he was the equivalent of the 3 ECW champs on the list above, just wasnt with the WWE. Christian should be given a WWE or World Title run as he is DUE for one. Christian was a World Champ in TNA and has been ECW champ as the closest so I believe it counts as a downgrade.

As far as past DDP was seriously downgraded when he came to WWE with his big bright white fake teeth gimmick. As for Scott Steiner he could have been a champ in WWE but he would have had to been used right which WCW was able to do. Then there is Booker T, yes he had a few short runs but I still believe he was downgraded when he came to WWE. Looking at these 3 and how they werent used as main event status like they should have been was probably a huge part of why Sting didnt want to come to the WWE, he all ready knew he would get downgraded into the midcard and misused.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

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, unless u want to include ECW which then u could say he was the equivalent of the 3 ECW champs on the list above, just wasnt with the WWE. Christian should be given a WWE or World Title run as he is DUE for one. Christian was a World Champ in TNA and has been ECW champ as the closest so I believe it counts as a downgrade.

As far as past DDP was seriously downgraded when he came to WWE with his big bright white fake teeth gimmick. As for Scott Steiner he could have been a champ in WWE but he would have had to been used right which WCW was able to do. Then there is Booker T, yes he had a few short runs but I still believe he was downgraded when he came to WWE. Looking at these 3 and how they werent used as main event status like they should have been was probably a huge part of why Sting didnt want to come to the WWE, he all ready knew he would get downgraded into the midcard and misused.

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.