Superstars you think they dropped the ball with...

[Hammy]

Who could of WWE done more with, who had all the talent but was ruined by poor booking or a poor gimmick, who had a great gimmick but wasn't given enough time to get over in your view?

Sean O'Haire - When they brought him back with those "I'm not telling you anything you don't already know" vignettes I thought the sky was the limit.  They kept airing one after another but suddenly it was like creative didn't plan past them.  He ended up as Piper's lackey and when Piper was fired his days were numbered and after toiling away on Velocity he was done.  This was a guy who showed he could wrestle, his senton bomb off the top for a guy his size was a joy to see, he was a good talker as evidenced by the vignettes, he had a good look and his "Devil's Advocate" gimmick seemed to have so much scope and potential depth, and they just never followed through with it, what a waste!

Elijah Burke - Admittedly him and Terkay was not a good start but he then flourished in his role as the Leader of The New Breed, a quality mouthpiece he also had some good matches with CM Punk, but post New Breed they just forgot what to do with him and eventually released him.  How they could let someone with that much talent go just baffles me, the other month he worked a TNA Dark Match so hopefully they will pick him up and show WWE what they are missing.

Paul Burchill - Burchill obviously has trouble getting himself over.  He was brought in as a sinister heel and paired with Regal, when they didn't get over (after being little chance to get over and no real reason to care about him), he became a fun babyface pirate and enjoyed a solid run and seemed kind of popular but I read reports he wasn't and he got canned pops.  Word is Vince never got the gimmick either because he had never seen Pirates of the Caribbean which would explain why the gimmick was ditched about a month or two before the new movie came out.  On RAW it seemed like his last chance, and despite a heel push he was suffering from the "Conway Pop" and after being jobbed out has now shown up on ECW, now I still feel he hasn't been booked properly, because with his talent to of made so little progress with him is a crime.  He strikes me as the sort who would benefit from being in a team, acting as the workpiece paired with someone who has charisma but medicore wrestling.

Domino - Deuce N' Domino were pointlessly split up for starters since they went nowhere afterwards.  They got decent heat but never enough mic time.  From development videos I have seen the guys were solid talkers, in a company with a shortage of tag teams to split them was a waste but fine they did but then they never followed up with Domino despite the quality video he sent them as his proposed new gimmick...Global Dominotion!

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/domino+wwe+global/video/x6e716_domino-global-dominotion-wwe-unused_sport

There are more but those are the immediate ones that come to mind for me....

[James Lofton]

Barry Windham was totally wasted in WWF as The Widowmaker. Nothing wrong with the gimmick, but he simply didn't get any push whatsoever. He was a very good technical wrestler, and had sufficient mic skills. Could have been used a good heel to go up against Hogan, but I think he deserved an IC title run instead of Honkeytonk Man. That Honkey reign was absurd. Vince buried ten tons of talent so that dipshit could have an almost two year reign? Gimme a **** break.

Terry Taylor squandered as the Red Rooster. I actually felt sorry for him. He had recently had a run in UWF in a Flair like role(and the skills to back it up), gets buried by NWA during the NWA/UWF merger, then Vince makes a mockery out of him.


Nikita Koloff deserved a run in WWF during his peak, and this is probably the only time I would sympathize with McMahon. He knew the potential in a Hogan/Koloff showdown, and basically offered Nikita anything he wanted. Nikita almost went(I think this was in 86), but was loyal to Crockett and Dusty so he turned down the offer.

This actually worked out for McMahon though, because if Nikita shows up in late 86, that Hogan/Andre feud to set up Wrestlemania III never happens.


Bad News Brown had an undefeated streak going for about a year, and it was simply a blown opportunity. I think he eventually lost to Hogan in like a 5 minute match, but there was no point in building him up with that streak if nothing was going to be done with it.

Bundy should have won the belt at Wrestlemania II.

[Hammy]

Barry Windham was totally wasted in WWF as The Widowmaker. Nothing wrong with the gimmick, but he simply didn't get any push whatsoever. He was a very good technical wrestler, and had sufficient mic skills. Could have been used a good heel to go up against Hogan, but I think he deserved an IC title run instead of Honkeytonk Man. That Honkey reign was absurd. Vince buried ten tons of talent so that dipshit could have an almost two year reign? Gimme a **** break.

Terry Taylor squandered as the Red Rooster. I actually felt sorry for him. He had recently had a run in UWF in a Flair like role(and the skills to back it up), gets buried by NWA during the NWA/UWF merger, then Vince makes a mockery out of him.

Did you ever see Windham's 1996-1998 stint in the WWF.  As The Stalker and then in the New Blackjacks with Bradshaw?  I didn't mind the New Blackjacks but The Stalker was awful, really really bad.

As for Terry Taylor and his Red Rooster gimmick I always here the story of how he was originally meant to have the Mr. Perfect gimmick, do you think he could of pulled it off?

[James Lofton]

As for Terry Taylor and his Red Rooster gimmick I always here the story of how he was originally meant to have the Mr. Perfect gimmick, do you think he could of pulled it off?

Absolutely. Taylor is up there with Flair, Hart, Steamboat, Hennig,etc. in the technical department. Taylor was great when he was National Champion in NWA back in 85 and UWF champ in 87. One of my grandpa's favorite wrestlers actually.


Totally missed Windham's second run in WWF. If it was worse than the initial run, glad I missed it. 

[Hammy]

Totally missed Windham's second run in WWF. If it was worse than the initial run, glad I missed it. 

Be amused, be very amused...



I really need to get the WWE - World Class, AWA and Starrcade DVDs.

Being a WWF/E fan most of my life and with limited access to other shows over here although I've heard great things about them I've seen virtually nothing decent as far as Windham and Taylor are concerned, I seem to vividly remember seeing a pretty decent Flair vs. Windham match on my Flair DVD though thats about it.

[James Lofton]

Windham could have been one of the greats, even though that insane vid would prove otherwise.  He was popular as a babyface, and just killed as a heel. Almost like Flair in the sense that he could rile up a crowd no matter who he was facing. His heel turn on Luger is classic and literally a highlight of 80s wrestling. It just came out of nowhere. If anything, a Luger heel turn was expected.

As far as DVDs of old wrestling goes, I have always wanted McMahon to release a box set of just some of those old NWA Saturday Night TBS shows. Maybe like a 10 disc set encompassing the whole era. Downside to this is very few main event matches, but you would see killer promos and even without a bunch of starrcade like matches, would see what that whole era was all about. This would not sell like hotcakes obviously, but there's gotta be a niche market for this out there. Old school fans scope out youtube for this **** all the time.

McMahon also needs to pay tribute to Magnum T.A. at some point.  Never wrestled in WWF, but the guy had massive potential and he's the biggest "What If?" story in wrestling. It would be like Sting or Triple H being cut down just as their career is about to explode.

Very tragic story.

[BlowUpYourVideo]

Def agree with O'Haire. That was a cool character while it lasted.

[D]

Yeah agree Lofton

Magnum T.A. easily a HOF guy if not for the accident


I will always be a defender of Stevie Richards. I always felt he had the look, the mic skill, the ability


Even though he had a short reign and shot himself in the foot, I never felt they used RVD right

They still drop the ball with Christian as well. He should be Edge like.

Kenny Dykstra I thought had loads of talent as well.

[BlowUpYourVideo]

Kizarny. I don't know if they even picked the ball up with that one...



(Though it was perhaps more to do with him not being great in the ring, the gimmick could've worked somewhat I guess...)

[Axl4Life]

It's possible this could still be rectified as he's still with the company but they have dropped the ball with one Matt Hardy on numberous occasions. I've always been a strong defender of Matt Hardy but I have a terrible feeling he's in a downward spiral that he's not going to escape from this time. Between 2005-2007 Matt was at the peak of his career. His whole "I Will Not Die" gimmick was great when he first introduced the camo pants and the long black hair fixed down and not tied back like he'd had it for all of his career prior. He looked cool, his wrestling skill was at the top of his game, and his mic skills were at at all time high (party because they were fueled by real emotions via his gripping battles with Edge and Lita in 2005.) Speaking of Edge, I believe if it wasn't for a worthy foe like Hardy, Edge may never have got his big break. This was the first time the WWE didn't properly capatilize on Matt. His popularity at this point had caught fire, and when he was fired fans could be heard passionately chanting "We Want Matt" and "You Screwed Matt" throughout Raw broadcasts. Bottom line is, the company made a stupid mistake. They elevated Edge to main event status when the fans had certainly accepted Matt as a big name draw, thus should have been elevated aswell.


In 2006 we saw Matt job out to many people inferior to him but his popularity remained very strong and on some occasions he was getting the biggest pops of the night on Smackdown, yet they continued to job him out. WWE still didn't get it.

In 2007 we saw Matt engage in what was dubbed by fans, insiders and marks as the best fued going on WWE television at that time: His fued with M.V.P. over the U.S. title. We saw Matt and Montel try to one up each other of sorts in various skits and competition segments all of which helped to improve Matt's timing, mic skills and further his relationship with the audience. After a minor injury and a few months on the shelf, Matt returned and finally defeated M.V.P. for the U.S. title. This was supposed to be the turning point in Matt's career as this was his first major singles championship. Sadly, a little over a month after he'd won it, Matt was booked to lose it in a nothing match with Shelton Benjamin. All that work for nothing.

After almost a year and an underwhelming run on ECW including a brief run as it's champion Matt is now back where he began on Raw, floundering in the midcard scene, his monumental victory over his brother at WMXXV seemingly forgotten about. Now out of shape and seeming to become ever more fed up with the position he's in it could only be a matter of time before he's "future endeavoured." It's a shame as Matt Hardy imo is the definition of wasted talent.

[D]

Awesome post Axl4life.

agree 100 percent. His new ring attire is very unappealing also.

[Hammy]

It's possible this could still be rectified as he's still with the company but they have dropped the ball with one Matt Hardy on numberous occasions. I've always been a strong defender of Matt Hardy but I have a terrible feeling he's in a downward spiral that he's not going to escape from this time. Between 2005-2007 Matt was at the peak of his career. His whole "I Will Not Die" gimmick was great when he first introduced the camo pants and the long black hair fixed down and not tied back like he'd had it for all of his career prior. He looked cool, his wrestling skill was at the top of his game, and his mic skills were at at all time high (party because they were fueled by real emotions via his gripping battles with Edge and Lita in 2005.) Speaking of Edge, I believe if it wasn't for a worthy foe like Hardy, Edge may never have got his big break. This was the first time the WWE didn't properly capatilize on Matt. His popularity at this point had caught fire, and when he was fired fans could be heard passionately chanting "We Want Matt" and "You Screwed Matt" throughout Raw broadcasts. Bottom line is, the company made a stupid mistake. They elevated Edge to main event status when the fans had certainly accepted Matt as a big name draw, thus should have been elevated aswell.


In 2006 we saw Matt job out to many people inferior to him but his popularity remained very strong and on some occasions he was getting the biggest pops of the night on Smackdown, yet they continued to job him out. WWE still didn't get it.

In 2007 we saw Matt engage in what was dubbed by fans, insiders and marks as the best fued going on WWE television at that time: His fued with M.V.P. over the U.S. title. We saw Matt and Montel try to one up each other of sorts in various skits and competition segments all of which helped to improve Matt's timing, mic skills and further his relationship with the audience. After a minor injury and a few months on the shelf, Matt returned and finally defeated M.V.P. for the U.S. title. This was supposed to be the turning point in Matt's career as this was his first major singles championship. Sadly, a little over a month after he'd won it, Matt was booked to lose it in a nothing match with Shelton Benjamin. All that work for nothing.

After almost a year and an underwhelming run on ECW including a brief run as it's champion Matt is now back where he began on Raw, floundering in the midcard scene, his monumental victory over his brother at WMXXV seemingly forgotten about. Now out of shape and seeming to become ever more fed up with the position he's in it could only be a matter of time before he's "future endeavoured." It's a shame as Matt Hardy imo is the definition of wasted talent.

Nice post dude, only just seen it.

Agree with a lot of that its strange how they dropped the ball with him recently as well.  I thought this feud with his brother was a chance to elevate both of them but even with the Wrestlemania win, once the feud ended he was struggling in the RAW midcard.  Him and Regal sucking up to Vickie although heelish and suiting their nature just come off as them being lackeys and I know the cast was the excuse for him losing all the time but it didn't do him any favours, they should of just kept him in a non-wrestling role.  And now he's back on Smackdown but with another injury he's out for what, 2...2 and a half months.  Be interesting to see where he slots in when he comes back.  I don't think you should worry about him being future endeavoured, I think he'll remain in the midcard, solid and dependable but never being pushed enough to achieve his full potential.  Thing is despite being a technically better wrestler than Jeff and more passionate about the business, Jeff is always going to be more over with the fans.

[More Cowbell]

Recently I think I remember that TNA guy Chris Sabin?  Kept him off TV for months he out on weight, dragged him out in a plain black singlet and wrestled for 2 weeks before being cut, seemed they didnt give him any time.

[Hammy]

Recently I think I remember that TNA guy Chris Sabin?  Kept him off TV for months he out on weight, dragged him out in a plain black singlet and wrestled for 2 weeks before being cut, seemed they didnt give him any time.

Chris Harris aka Braden Walker, an IWC legend 

[Rankin]

I'm likely the only one who thinks this but Chuck Palumbo with his heel biker image, he was getting alot of heat for those Jamie Noble beatdowns and then they pointlessly moved him to Raw where they didn't even let him debut. He would have been great as a top heel for ECW right now.