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Sometimes it just doesn't work out for the wrestler or the promotion...
Sports Entertainment thrives, lives, and dies absolutely based upon the talent they have signed to their roster.
No amount of production value, marketing, and television polish can help if the talent isn't talented. Naturally, signing good wrestlers is key, but it's a bit more complicated than that.
It's not enough to sign a good wrestler to a contract, one has to sign the RIGHT wrestler to a contract, for the right promotion. Not all seeds grow in all soils, and just because a pro wrestler was a major success in one federation doesn't mean that success will translate to a new one.
Sometimes contract signings look great on paper; remember when Impact Wrestling had a huge amount of publicity for hiring Pacman? But then it all went down the tubes, because Pacman was forbidden from actually wrestling, or even making physical contact with the other wrestlers.
But Pacman isn't the only terrible contract signing in pro wrestling history. Here are ten of the worst contract signings.
Terrible contract signing #1: The Public Enemy
Two former Extreme Championship Wrestling superstars made the transfer to WWE. They end up being an instant sensation, putting numerous big name superstars through tables. They go on to have multiple WWE tag team titles reign and become one of the biggest tag teams in wrestling history.
That's what happened to the Dudley Boyz.
Public Enemy, on the other hand, had a much different experience in WWE. They barely lasted two months with the promotion, and their utter lack of physical conditioning was a major factor. Other than wrestling a pre-Awesome Edge and Christian a few times, they did nothing memorable and were quickly released.
Their career with Vince McMahon's brand was a stark contrast to what they managed to achieve in the ECW.
Terrible Contract Signing #2: Shawn Stasiak
Stasiak is a well respected performer who has held over twenty different championships during his illustrious career. He is a WWE Hall of Fame member and a former WWWF champion--the precursor to the WWE Championship.
Of course, that's Stan "The Man" Stasiak. His son, Shawn Stasiak, accomplished pretty much zilch during his career in either WCW or WWE.
Sure, he was one half of the WCW world tag team champions, but honestly it was at the lowest point of that company's history. He has a record fifteen Hardcore championship reigns, but many of those occurred on the same night; Due to the 24/7 rule Stasiak would be pinned and then regain the title in mere minutes.
Shawn Stasiak was actually a fairly accomplished amateur wrestler, but those accolades didn't translate into professional success. Neither did having a famous father help his prospects much. Overall, fans reacted to Stasiak in any of his gimmicks with a half-hearted "Meh."
Stasiak is yet another example of a wrestler with a great physique who failed to make it big in the WWE despite the brand's penchant to push talent like him.
Terrible contract signing #3: Tank Abbot
Tank Abbot had a mildly successful Mixed Martial Arts career including a pair of stints with the UFC.
Abbot was known as a legitimate tough man, and had an amateur wrestling background. However, he usually preferred using his fists rather than grappling in his many battles in the octagon. Abbot was never a huge MMA star, but had enough of a presence that WCW took a chance on him and signed Tank to a wrestling contract.
Unfortunately, Abbot was in deplorable physical condition, and his hasty training didn't include many of the fundamentals that pro wrestlers need to learn in order to perform well. Tank looked bad in the ring, so bad that he was quickly downgraded from full-time wrestler to glorified valet for Three Count. With Tank's contract reportedly worth millions, this was a huge waste of money and probably helped contribute to WCW's downfall.
The fact that Tank was initially signed to feud with Goldberg makes the story all the more interesting.
Terrible Contract Signing #4: Kharma (Awesome/Amazing Kong.)
Back in 2007, while WWE was still putting on bra and panty matches, TNA signed Kia Stevens, better known by her ring name Awesome Kong.
Unlike other women wrestlers in America during this time, Awesome Kong utilized a brutal Japanese Strong Style in the ring. He size, power, and most of all intimidating presence led to her reigning as Knockouts champion sporadically for two years.
Then, in 2010, WWE hired Kia Stevens and re-Christened her Kharma. She had a few appearances where she attacked Divas, and then broke down and cried in the ring. It seems that Stevens had become pregnant, and had to step down from her contract due to health issues.
Kharma never returned to the WWE, though she did continue to wrestle in Japan. Her signing is considered terrible because of the timing, not because of a lack of ability or charisma on her part.
Kharma also had the distinction of being only the third woman to enter the men's Royal Rumble match.
Terrible Contract Signing #5: Buff Bagwell
In professional wrestling, sometimes it takes more than a chiseled physique and good looks to get ahead.
Marcus Alexander Bagwell was hired by WCW early in its inception and for some reason was treated like a major future star. Bagwell had a great look, but in terms of wrestling ability he was adequate at best.
Still, he had some success in WCW, reigning as world tag team champion with Scotty Riggs before joining the NWO and essentially being drowned out by the bigger names in that stable.
His terrible contract signing was actually with WWE after WCW folded. Bagwell was one of the first WCW stars brought in, but his lackluster in-ring performance and bad attitude backstage quickly led to his release. These days, Eric Bischoff uses Bagwell as an example of why not everyone can be in the main event.
Bagwell's first televised match in the WWE with Booker T has often been lambasted by critics as one of the worst matches in WWE history.
Terrible Contract Signing #6: Tazz (not to be confused with Taz)
When ECW was rising through the ranks of sports entertainment companies, one of their biggest names was Taz.
The former Judo player developed a reputation as an unstoppable suplex machine, and racked up victory after victory. His innovative moves like the Tazplex and the Tazzmission have become legacies in their own right, and he helped keep ECW on the map.
When Taz signed with WWE, many fans rejoiced at the idea of seeing Tazz vs. Undertaker or Tazz vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin. In his debut, he gave Kurt Angle his first defeat.
But then Taz just kind of fizzled out. In ECW, he seemed only a bit shorter than average. In WWE, he seemed like a dwarf. Add in the fact that many of his moves were considered too dangerous for use in WWE and Tazz's career was almost dead on arrival. He transitioned into announcing, which he is probably better known for these days.
Another example of an ECW legend failing in the WWE.
Terrible Contract Signing #7: Master P
Perhaps one of the worst excesses contributed by Eric Bischoff during his tenure as Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling was hiring celebrities and musicians to million dollar contracts.
While it sort of made sense sometimes -- Dennis Rodman was a professional athlete, and therefore could at least work a halfway decent match -- other times you just had to wonder what in the world WCW was thinking. Such is the case with former world famous rapper Master P.
Master P was a big name in hip hop music at the time, but the WCW fanbase didn't trend toward that musical genre. The whole idea was for Master P to bring in new viewers who hadn't watched wrestling before. Instead, his appearances just made fans switch channels to WWE and helped them win the Monday Night War.
WCW has been notorious for splurging money which offered no return and this is just another example of how they added to their bottomline.
Terrible Contract Signing #8: Scott Steiner
Back before the chain mail coif and Big Poppa Pump gimmick, Scott Steiner was regarded as one of the best in ring performers in the business.
His amateur wrestling background certainly gave him great fundamentals, and his innovative moves like the Steiner Screwdriver and Frankensteiner earned him a worldwide reputation. In his youth, he could even perform 450 splashes and moonsaults. These skills helped the Steiner Brothers become one of the few teams to hold both the NWA and WWE tag team titles.
However, a back injury forced Steiner to drastically change his in-ring style. He became less a wrestler and more of a sports entertainer. Gone were his lightning-fast suplexes, replaced with doing push ups in the ring.
He signed with WWE after WCW folded, and that's where the terrible part comes in. Steiner was too physically broken down to create a sensation, and as far as his mike skills go....the less said the better. He left WWE on bad terms and continues to bad mouth the promotion to this day, meaning no one was happy with this contract.
Terrible Contract Signing #9: Mike Adamle
Mike Adamle spent six years playing for the National Football league. While that is quite an accomplishment, Adamle was better known as a broadcaster.
He acted in this role for the NFL, and then was part of a short-lived television program called American Gladiators, where everyday competitors were pitted against body builders and former football players.
Adamle was hired for an announcer position with WWE in 2008, mostly because of his broadcast experience but also because Vince McMahon was a fan of his during his NFL days. For whatever reason, Adamle was terrible at announcing, often mixing up the names and finishers of the different wrestlers.
He transitioned into the General Manager of Raw, but again he fell flat and was released after less than a year into his contract. WWE tried and failed to find a role for Adamle, and thus his contract signing was considered to be a poor decision.
Adamle, during his stint as RAW GM, even went to promote some high profile matches, terming them as 'Adamle originals'. Neither did the branding work nor did his stint.
Terrible Contract Signing #10: Warrior in WCW
On paper, signing the Ultimate Warrior to a contract seems like a great idea. But then you add in the caveats and you know what the result is going to be.
For one, he wasn't able to call himself Ultimate Warrior because that character is trademarked by WWE. Jim Hellwig, the man behind the Ultimate Warrior, solved this by changing his name legally to Warrior.
However, the name was not the only intellectual property owned by WWE. They also owned the rights to Warrior's entrance, which involved running to the ring and shaking the ropes. So WCW was forced to add an unusually smoky 'teleporting' entrance for Warrior.
Hellwig hadn't wrestled in years, and looked terrible in the ring. Add in the fact that he wasn't really the same compelling character he was in WWE and you have a terrible signing of epic proportions.
There you have it; Ten terrible contract signings in pro wrestling history. Questions or comments? Please leave them after the article and as always thanks for reading!
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