Wrestlers Who Never Quite Reached Their Potential

[whoopin' ass]

modern era: Carlito, John Morrison, MVP and Shelton Benjamin. i can't say they are entirely to blame as wwe could have given them the ball to see what happened but they just didn't seem to want to.

if you want to look further back, Billy Gunn. He had a good tag career but i thought his singles career should have gone better. the guy is still in fantastic shape and can work a good match so it is just a little weird that he didn't do better.

 

[The Extract]

Now my answer depends on if we are talking about promos, and the ability to draw heat. If the promos/heat have anything to do with it then the easy answer for me is:

Muhammed Hassan- he easily drew heat with his anti-american character. He got one of the fastest pushes I have ever seen! But he deservede that push because he was so good!!!

But if it is only on athletic ability then to me, then obvious choise is:

Shelton Benjamin- My favorite wrestler to watch since 2004 until he left the WWE! He could have been main event, and I thought he was going to in 2005, but for some reason, WWE held him back!

 

[anvilx8]

I don't think Goldust should be on the poll. Goldust for sure reached his potential, and he'll be in the HOF one day. Sure, he never won a world title, but when he was in his prime wrestling had SO many stars, it wasn't easy to standout.

 

[Killercam]

First i think you have to stick with guys who never won the world title, so with that said you have to look at A: guys who didnt reach their potential due to injuries or other unfortunant circumstances and B: guys who never got the world title push they deserved I have to go with Ahmed Johnson for category A, He was getting a top 3 pop from the very beginning, he was dominant, had a good look and I think they missed a possible great angle in having him try to be the first black wwf champion. He wasn't very good on the mic and did have injuries but Im surprised he never reached his potential. With category B I list guys like Perfect, Jake Roberts and Carlito.

 

[relentless1]

Mr perfect and scott hall come to mind, if it wasnt for his drinking problems scott hall couldve been a world champ more than once in wcw or wwf, as for curt, god only knows why he never got the big strap but its a travesty, he had the look, the skill (10x over) and he could talk, too bad he got injured in the mid 90s because i think he wouldve been champ if that didnt happen

 

[Ding_Dong_#2]

Slightly controversial but I have to say Scott Steiner.

A great innovator as part of the Steiner Brothers. Intense, focused and never had a bad match. It is clear, judging by the time limit draw he had with Ric Flair at Clash of Champions, that this is what they had in mind for him.

When Steiner became "Big Poppa Pump", he became slower, more focused on his image as opposed to professional wrestling. Yes, he won a World Title but at a time when WCW was on it's knees.

As the years have passed, Steiner has become a very bitter and twisted individual that has clearly held him back, particulary in his final and very brief WWE run. He could have carried the NWA/WCW, no question - he never had a bad match.

On the list provided, the standout choice would have to be Ken Anderson. I admire him for trying very hard in TNA and his character as it is now would have worked well in WWE. Clearly a smart man who could do a lot of this business if given free reign but there is no way back it seems.