Fall from grace - Superstars who never quite recovered from the fall

In the WWE, competition exists at not only every level, but also at every turn. There are a locker-room full of superstars, all dreaming about headlining main events and going for glory. So, if you are given an early push at stardom, capturing it and putting the opportunity to good use must be a priority because if you fail to do so, and ‘fall from grace’ even once, you may never recover like the following superstars, who are going nowhere with their WWE careers.

1) The Great Khali

The Great Khali with Natalya

Perhaps the most interesting of the lot is ‘The Great Khali’. In the WWE, larger superstars are always favoured ahead of smaller and technical ones. The Big Show, ‘Andre The Giant’, Kane and many others have gone on to headline major events throughout their careers.

Khali too, hailing from India and standing at over 7 foot looked destined for greatness. You judge the depth of your push when you are paired against the Undertaker for starters. Khali had perhaps a dream stint during his initial WWE days. He attacked The Undertaker and wrestled him on two big occasions, even beating ‘The Phenom’ once. He made mid-carders and fan favourites like Rey Mysterio look like jobbers.

He had customized matches like the ‘Punjabi prison match’ to his credit. He won the coveted ‘World Heavyweight Championship’ title in a battle royal and defended it well on several occasions. After he lost the title, the WWE made him switch brand several times to fit him into their system.

It was at this juncture that his ‘domination’ came crashing down. From being the ‘Punjabi Nightmare’ , Khali became the ‘Punjabi Playboy’. He involved himself in cheap antics like kissing random women from the crowd. The fact that he had a segment every week on RAW for this was pretty insane. He squashed jobbers occasionally and aligned himself with various superstars to no avail.

He is still associated with the WWE and is currently direction-less. For someone who feuded with the Cenas, the Batistas and the Undertakers, Khali’s quality has deteriorated, and he has never quite recovered from his drastic fall.

2) Zack Ryder

Zack Ryder

From somebody who was initially a part of Edge’s entourage to becoming an internet sensation, Zack Ryder has come a long way. Who knew long blonde locks replaced by short hair and a skin tan could do wonders? Repacking himself in half trunks and the above mentioned extras, Ryder started wrestling in ECW, but still largely remained unnoticed.

After the brand collapsed, he switched between RAW and SmackDown to no avail. With his career going nowhere, He started a YouTube channel called ‘Z! True Long Island Story’. This move proved to be vastly successful for Ryder, who earned a fan following like none other. Fans wanted to see the new ‘internet sensation’ and were very vocal about wanting his presence. His ‘Woo Woo Woo’ catchphrases and purple shirts were largely in demand.

The WWE capitalized on his stardom and made Ryder the assistant GM of SmackDown, and soon, Ryder started making appearances on both shows on a regular basis. He teamed up with John Cena to headline WWE RAW for the first time ever, and also won the United States Championship.

That proved to be it for Ryder, whose career went downhill soon after. He was involved in various meaningless feuds and a storyline with Eve, who was his on-screen girlfriend. Ryder was ranked by Pro Wrestling Torch as #1 in the “Top 10 Crashing Stars of 2012″.

He must certainly be appreciated for carving his own path to stardom. However, sustaining it was perhaps what cost him.

3) Wade Barrett

Wade Barrett

A few words that would aptly describe Wade Barrett would be cocky, over confident and brash. This towering bare knuckle boxer from England is perhaps one of the best heels in a long time. Making his début in the first season of NXT, Barrett won the event with an impressive display of power and skill.

But his actual call for glory came when he was made the leader of the ‘Nexus’, a bunch of rowdy NXT rookies who constantly interfered in main event matches and wreaked havoc in the WWE.

They targeted top stars including the likes of John Cena and were a largely successful heel bunch. Barrett did most of the in-ring talking on behalf of the group and was very impressive. The Nexus against the WWE feud went on for over a year, including some interesting twists like Cena joining the heel faction.

After the WWE planned to do away with the Nexus angle, Barrett stood out from the group, who eventually became major jobbers barring Ryback. He picked up feuds with Cena, Big Show, Randy Orton and Sheamus, establishing himself as a major superstar on SmackDown.

He became a three time intercontinental champion with notable wins over Kofi Kingston and Ezekiel Jackson. He was also involved in various number one contenders matches for the World title.

Barrett has been a strong solo competitor over the years and has all the goods that can make him a star. After a strong début stint, he has failed to establish himself at a higher level, largely remaining a mid-carder in the past couple of years. He is in his early 30′s and can portray a major heel with utmost ease. However, his career too seems to be on the decline despite a string of impressive performances.

Barrett has never really recovered from his Nexus stint, even though he has tried to reinvent himself on more than one occasion. It is indeed unfortunate however that this beast from Liverpool remains underutilized.