5 WWE Superstars who suffered from getting pushed too early by Vince McMahon

While most WWE superstars take years to receive a big push from Vince McMahon, some superstars get it early. In the case of names like Brock Lesnar, there is a fair argument that justifies the monster push they receive.

In many other cases, Vince McMahon jumped the gun when pushing a superstar. Usually it was less to do with them not being worthy of it, and more to do with them not being ready at the time.

Here are some superstars that suffered from getting pushed too early by Vince McMahon, including those that have since bounced back:

#5. Roman Reigns - Vince McMahon's "golden boy"?

Vince McMahon adamantly pushed Roman Reigns for years despite fan protest

It's interesting to look back at Roman Reigns' push between early 2015 and late 2018. Now that the long-demanded Roman Reigns heel turn has happened, there is a lot to reflect upon that period.

Roman Reigns was Vince McMahon's hand-picked successor to John Cena. With John Cena having achieved a record ten-year tenure as the face of WWE, Chairman Vince McMahon knew it was time to build their next big star. The Shield's Roman Reigns was chosen for that spot.

Roman Reigns had the look, and he certainly wasn't a shabby in-ring performer. But once WWE fans got wind of the fact that Roman Reigns was Vince McMahon's chosen golden boy, protests followed. It started with the disastrous Royal Rumble 2015, where Roman Reigns was booed out of the building after winning, despite help from The Rock.

It was clear that Roman Reigns was far from ready to become the next John Cena. When John Cena became the face of WWE in 2005, he was a well-rounded performer ready to take the spot he earned. Roman Reigns was years away from that.

But Vince McMahon persisted for years, and it continuously damaged the perception that WWE fans had of Roman Reigns. Despite WWE commentators acknowledging Roman Reigns as "polarizing," that wasn't the case at all. Most weeks, he would get booed by the vast majority of WWE fans.

Even then, Vince McMahon refused to turn him heel and continued to push him. With four consecutive WrestleMania main events, he still failed to get Roman Reigns over as the company's biggest babyface.

When looking back, it was clear. It was never Roman Reigns' fault. He always had the talent to reach the top, but Vince McMahon refused to turn him heel even though it was a tried and tested formula. Thankfully that changed in 2020, and the formula worked.

Roman Reigns is now the most dominant heel in WWE and is having the best run of his career as the Universal Champion. His face turn is inevitable, but if WWE does it right, then Roman Reigns can be the top babyface star that Vince McMahon always wanted him to be.

#4. Randy Orton - Vince McMahon's original golden boy of the Ruthless Aggression era?

Randy Orton is the youngest World Champion in WWE history

Randy Orton was destined for success in WWE, and Vince McMahon saw money in him from day one. The third-generation superstar was part of a golden generation of OVW trainees - including the likes of Batista, Brock Lesnar, John Cena and Shelton Benjamin.

Within a year of his debut, he joined the Evolution stable, which was meant to propel him to the next level. It seemed clear looking back on it that the plan was always to make Randy Orton the breakout star of the faction, with veterans Triple H and Ric Flair playing the catalysts for his rise.

In 2004, Randy Orton was kicked out of Evolution after he defeated Chris Benoit to become the youngest World Champion in WWE history (a record that still stands). Unfortunately, his babyface turn and World title run were underwhelming, and he lost his main event push quickly.

It was too early and Randy Orton wasn't ready for the spot he was in. He would win his second world title in three years. After losing it and winning it back on the same night, his true rise as a World Champion began.

With that said, Randy Orton didn't suffer as much as many thought in 2004. He still went on to have a memorable feud with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 21 in 2005 and it continued for a good part of the year.

#3. Dana Brooke - Vince McMahon was high on her in 2016

Dana Brooke suffered from the high expectations set for her

Dana Brooke was extremely green when she made her WWE main roster debut in 2016, but Vince McMahon didn't seem to mind that. 2016 was a pivotal point in the history of WWE's Women's division, as Vince McMahon finally ended the term "Divas" after several years.

It was a welcome move, and Charlotte Flair became the first in the new (RAW) Women's Championship lineage. Dana Brooke was paired with Emma. But once the latter suffered an injury, Brooke would soon be paired with then-RAW Women's Champion Charlotte Flair.

She played a big role in Charlotte Flair's corner and rumors emerged that Vince McMahon had a long-term storyline planned for Dana Brooke. These reports stated that Vince McMahon was high on Dana Brooke and viewed her as the future "Roman Reigns" of the Women's division.

Thankfully, this didn't go through, but Dana Brooke suffered from the early high expectations set for her. She was far too green to get pushed at the time, and her limited in-ring work was exposed.

With that said, she has improved leaps and bounds but is yet to realize Championship success in WWE.

#2. Finn Balor - Vince McMahon pushed him heavily upon his debut

WWE fans were almost surprised at how quick Vince McMahon was to push Finn Balor. In what can only be described as the most-anticipated main roster call-up in WWE history, Finn Balor final made the jump when he was drafted to RAW in the first round.

To be drafted that early without a single match on RAW is almost unheard of, and it spoke volumes about where he stood. Balor was selected ahead of the likes of Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, and more.

On his RAW debut, he won two matches and defeated Roman Reigns cleanly to earn his spot against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam, where the first Universal Champion would be crowned. He defeated Seth Rollins and won his first World title only a month after making his debut on RAW.

It was clear proof that Vince McMahon had big plans for him, but an injury during the SummerSlam match changed that. Balor had to vacate the title and only returned to RAW after WrestleMania 33. After that, things weren't the same. He spent two more years on the WWE main roster, but he was nowhere as hot as he was when he made his first splash.

Perhaps the early push was too much for Finn Balor, and although he was ready, it may have had a part to play in his comparative lack of success two years after. He returned to NXT in late 2019 and has enjoyed a fantastic run there, winning the NXT Championship for the second time.

#1. Drew McIntyre - Vince McMahon's prophecy that took 10 years to be fulfilled

Drew McIntyre was dubbed by Vince McMahon as a "future World Champion" in September 2009. It only took him ten years for that prophecy to become a reality. At the time, Drew McIntyre was only 24 years old.

His success was instant, and he was labeled as "The Chosen One". With a great look, good backing, and a great theme song, Drew McIntyre seemed destined for success in WWE.

What he didn't realize was that it would take much longer for that success to happen than he first thought. Drew McIntyre suffered from the early push that Vince McMahon gave him and soon enough, he would rapidly drop down the card. Becoming an enhancement talent, his release from WWE in 2014 was the best thing that could have happened to him.

This allowed three years of rapid growth outside of WWE, where Drew McIntyre changed his physique and improved himself greatly. By 2017, WWE came calling again and he had an instant rise in NXT before making a splash on the main roster again.

Two years after that, his World Championship dream was realized, and he has become one of WWE's 2-3 most important superstars since then.