5 Vince McMahon-backed stars who failed in the WWE main event picture

Can Roman Reigns become the WWE’s go-to man?Vince McMahon seems bent on pushing Roman Reigns to the WWE main event picture at WrestleMania, just like last year. But the fans have not jumped on the Reigns bandwagon just yet. Although, that would hardly seem a reason to stop McMahon from pushing the guys he feels are good for business.McMahon hasn’t learned his lessons from his past experiences with the likes of Billy Gunn (as a singles star), The Great Khali, Mr.Kennedy and a host of others and it doesn’t seem like he is going to start now.This list takes a look at the top 5 stars that Vince McMahon pushed to succeed as a main event star in the company, but failed.

#5 Mabel

At least he got to smooch Lillian Garcia

King of the Ring is a jinxed tournament – sure, the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle and Edge did win the whole thing and went on to have a glorious time in the WWE main event.

However, most of the superstars who won the prestigious title have never had a sniff of the WWE title. The likes of Billy Gunn, William Regal and even Wade Barrett are all examples. But no one defines it more than Mable aka Viscera. Another of Vince McMahon’s pet projects, the near 500 pound Mabel seemed set to follow Andre the Giant and Yokozuna as the next great WWE giant.

Mabel would win the 1995 King of the Ring and would challenge Diesel for the WWE title at SummerSlam. That would be the end of his push and he would soon be viewed as a terror to work with inside the ring, with his tendency to injure fellow wrestlers including Diesel and the Undertaker.

He was released soon after, even though he returned twice more to the WWE in 1999 and 2005.

#4 Vladimir Kozlov

Vladimir Kozlov failed in the WWE main event picture as well

Another Vince McMahon guy who was pushed purely due to his size and nothing else. True, Kozlov had a kickboxing background and wasn’t limited in the ring like the Great Khali.

However, he had no charisma whatsoever and the fans did not even care to boo him just because he was billed as Russian. It also did not help him that the Creative was trying to inject him to the WWE title picture on SmackDown when it was contested by the likes of Edge, Triple H and the ultra-popular Jeff Hardy whereas Kozlov never looked like he belonged.

Kozlov’s standing with the fans was never more apparent than during a WWE poll where the fans had an option to choose Triple H’s title challenger – it could be either Kozlov, Hardy or a triple threat involving all three men.

WWE went in to overdrive with their push for Kozlov to ensure that the fans voted for the final option. However, Hardy won the poll with an overwhelming majority and Kozlov was never pushed the same again. He would later have an entertaining comedy gimmick with Santino Marella that yielded a tag team title, but he never got over as a singles superstar.

#3 Jack Swagger

Jack Swagger beat Chris Jericho for the World title once, but hasn’t had a break since

Considering Swagger’s current position on the WWE roster, it is difficult to imagine that he was once the World Heavyweight champion.

Swagger debuted in the WWE as part of the ECW brand and was booked as a cocky loudmouth. He had entertaining feuds with the likes of Christian and seemed a shoo-in for a future title shot.

He would win the 2010 Money in the Bank Ladder match. He would cash in the contract the next week on Smack Down against an unsuspecting Chris Jericho to win the World Heavyweight title.

However, once he won the title, he developed into a more serious character without the usual chirpiness. This caused more harm than good to his persona and the fans became bored of Swagger soon enough.

He would hold on to the title for a couple of months and would have an entertaining triple threat title match against Jericho and Edge which was a great contest.

But with Jericho and Edge moving to Raw, Swagger could not find the guys to have matches with so as to put him over. Swagger would lose his title to Rey Mysterio in a fatal four-way and would never again come close to the main event picture.

#2 Bobby Lashley

Lashley never quite made it in the WWE

Lashley was another one of Vince McMahon’s pet projects. Sporting an extraordinary physique, Lashley was billed as a destroyer from the start of his WWE career. He would capture the United States and ECW Championships in quick time.

He would even have an angle with McMahon himself as he would battle Umaga on the side of Donald Trump against McMahon in the Battle of the Billionaires at WrestleMania 23.

However, Lashley was never a great talker and his lack of charisma did not adhere well with the fans. They never really appreciated Lashley winning the ECW title at the controversial December to Dismember PPV ahead of the likes of popular stars such as Rob Van Dam and CM Punk.

Lashley even got a WWE title match against John Cena, but it was as good as it got as his inability to connect with the fans led to him getting released from his contract while he was out with an injury.

#1 Lex Luger

Lex Luger never captured the WWE title

WWE was looking to move on from the Hulk Hogan era after the legend left the promotion in 1993. Vince McMahon’s choice for succeeding the Hulkster after his differences with the Ultimate Warrior was none other than Lex Luger.

Luger had the physique, the move set as well as a proven track record and when he body slammed Yokozuna atop an American war vessel, he seemed set to be unveiled as the next great American hero. Luger would tour the country in his ‘Lex Express’ tour bus and interact with the fans, campaigning for a WWE title shot.

Luger would be the co-winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble but in a sense of things to come, would lose his title match at WrestleMania to Yokozuna.

Meanwhile, WWE fans were getting behind more athletic wrestlers like Bret Hart – who would beat Yoko at the same event to become the WWE Champion. Luger’s squeaky clean babyface act lost its shine pretty soon and Vince’s expectations of him ended as soon as he agreed to a big money move to appear on the very first episode of WCW Nitro in 1995.