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WWE currently has a plethora of talent that is a mixture of a number of indie darlings and homegrown talent that has managed to provide some of the best in-ring action we have ever seen in the history of the company. However, having so many talented wrestlers on the roster has its fair share of cons as someone will always be underutilized and not be able to fulfill his or her potential. It has happened before and it will happen again.
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Current WWE Superstars such as Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt have had significant trouble earning a sustained run in the spotlight, however, there is still hope for them. This cannot be said for the superstars on this list, though there is hope for the future (look no further than Drew McIntyre), let’s check out the 7 wrestlers whose potential was wasted by the WWE.
#7 John Morrison
‘The Shaman of Sexy’ John Morrison had movie-star good looks, abs carved from granite and a move-set more innovative than the WWE had ever seen. Those qualities alone should have led him to have a sustained run in WWE’s main-event. An argument can be made that he wasn’t the best on the mic, which is true to an extent, but he was still better than a number of Superstars in the spotlight today.
He was great as the braggadocios heel during his time on ECW and was something of a tag-team specialist, forming teams with Johnny Mercury and The Miz at various points of his career. He even went on to win the Intercontinental Championship on 3 occasions.
Morrison put on a lot of entertaining matches and was never afraid of putting his body on the line, but he never made it past the mid-card and very rarely flirted with the main-event before eventually leaving the company in 2011 to try his luck in the independent scene.
It’s a shame because John Morrison should have received much more for his time in the company and he definitely should not have been put in a match alongside Snooki from ‘Jersey Shore’ at WrestleMania.
#6 Shelton Benjamin
As was the case with Morrison, it is easy to point out that Shelton Benjamin never made it to the main event because of his sub-par mic skills. The counter-argument to that would be that he should simply have been given a mouthpiece.
Benjamin's Ohio Valley Wrestling tag-team partner, Brock Lesnar got one of the best speakers in sports entertainment, Paul Heyman, while The Gold Standard got saddled with ‘Momma Benjamin’. That pairing essentially killed whatever hope Shelton Benjamin had of making it to the main event.
A human highlight reel, Benjamin achieved a lot of success in the tag-team division and even went onto hold the mid-card titles, but he could have achieved so much more with the company and one can’t help but feel like his potential was wasted.
He is currently back with the company and is putting in some of his best work, which is a testament to what a fantastic professional he is, though he is now in his 40s and it is extremely unlikely he will ever fulfill his potential.
#5 Damien Sandow
Damien Sandow will always be remembered very fondly by WWE fans. He had all the tools in his arsenal to become a massive success in the WWE. He had great mic skills, was polished in the ring and could draw in audiences and get an impassioned response out of them. Whether he was the ‘Intellectual Saviour of the Masses’ or The Miz’s stunt double, he thrived in every role he was put into.
Regardless of all his positive traits, the history books will remember Sandow as the man to unsuccessfully cash-in his Money in the Bank briefcase. It can be said that his win in the ladder match and subsequent cash-in both came too early, but his career never truly recovered after his loss to then WWE Champion John Cena in 2013.
The WWE completely dropped the ball with him on multiple occasions, most notably how they caused considerable damage to his character in an uninspired feud over the MITB briefcase against Cody Rhodes.
The odds of Sandow returning to the WWE and fulfilling his potential are extremely slim as he is considering acting as his next career path. Hopefully, he will attain more success there than he did in the WWE.
#4 Emma
Sometimes an extremely talented wrestler does something that eventually causes his/her own downfall. In other cases, situations completely outside the wrestler’s control cause them to fade into obscurity. Emma falls into the latter category.
The Australian was one of the best wrestlers while she was in NXT and had endeared herself to audiences with her quirky dance moves and sublime in-ring skill. However, the NXT atmosphere is highly intimate in nature and the main roster is a completely different animal.
Emma was paired with Santino Marella almost as soon as she arrived on the main roster. This was an immediate indicator that the company viewed her as a sideshow comedy act and not a legitimate contender in the Women’s division. She spent most of her career floating in the Women’s Division before a heel turn promised a new beginning (though that ultimately led to nothing as well).
After this, the WWE Universe was subjected to videos hyping her new character ‘Emmalina’, which objectified her and was possibly a step back for the Women’s Revolution in WWE. Luckily, the company abandoned the angle and it never came to fruition.
All of this did nothing to help Emma or salvage her career and once she was released from the company, she was gone from the ring and our minds. The Australian was a highly talented wrestler and good on the mic and deserved much more in a company that has recently become dedicated to showcasing its female Superstars.
#3 Wade Barrett
The fact that Wade Barrett never became WWE Champion will never cease to sting anyone who saw just how talented he was. Great on the mic and in the ring, Barrett carried himself like a star and looked destined for greatness when he debuted on Raw in 2010 as the leader of The Nexus. But whatever momentum he gathered as the faction leader was undone as he fell to John Cena.
He found his way into the spotlight once more as Bad News Barrett. Barrett’s character work was sublime as ‘BNB’ but it seemed as if WWE placed a ceiling on Barrett, one he couldn’t break through despite picking up big wins early on in his career. He spent the bulk of his career in the mid-card, losing every WWE Championship match he was in and it’s a downright shame because the WWE could have built entire shows around Barrett.
#2 Neville
Neville was NXT'S MVP for the longest time and one of the greatest NXT Champions. His call-up to the main roster was met with a lot of excitement as Neville wrestled at a frenetic pace and had an exceptionally innovative offense, with one of the coolest finishers ever. But WWE Creative mishandled his character once he arrived on Raw as he began to fade into obscurity. A move to 205 Live and a heel turn resurrected his character as he dominated the show as 'The King of the Cruiserweights'.
However, Neville chose to leave the company in his prime after he was booked to lose to Enzo Amore, the newest 205 Live acquisition. The decision did not sit well with Neville as he chose to leave the company that had repeatedly undervalued him. It's hard not to think about all that Neville could have achieved if he had been backed by the WWE.
#1 Cody Rhodes
WWE will come to regret not realizing what they had in their hands with Cody Rhodes. As a member of Legacy, Rhodes exhibited the potential to be a once-in-a-generation talent. Once the faction disbanded, Rhodes embarked on a singles run. No matter what character WWE gave him, he thrived. Whether he was 'Dashing' Cody Rhoades, or one-half of Team Rhodes Scholars, he was consistently entertaining and delivered great matches on a weekly basis.
Rhodes reached the apex of his WWE career in a tag-team with his brother as they fought The Shield for their careers in a match that was high on emotion, storytelling and top-notch in-ring action. However, instead of building on that, they saddled him with the Stardust character before he eventually left the company.
Rhodes is still quite young and has been setting the indie scene on fire since his departure. Maybe a return to the company is written down the line?
Do you think there are more wrestlers whose potential has been wasted by the WWE? Share your views in the comments below!
