- 5 weeks ago
Not every superstar fulfils their promise at the home of Sports Entertainment.
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00:00I would like all wrestlers to succeed. Positivity brings positivity, and if you get all doom and gloom, you're gonna be a sad panda.
00:07Also feels like the word flopped is very subjective here, because really, if you sign a WWE deal, you've made it.
00:13Imagine being told that the day after you took your first bump, you'd be over the moon.
00:17We of course all have expectations, however, and really this video is more about WWE letting good talent down.
00:23I am Simon Miller, ball day hole, and let's talk about it.
00:26Number 8, Dean Malenko. So this is a perfect example, because Dean Malenko was great.
00:31Before they put him in ridiculous matches, you could see it every single week in WCW.
00:35If you are looking for a technical master, you will struggle to find better.
00:39Dean made wrestling look legit, and he kind of made it look terrifying.
00:42The issue, though, is Vince McMahon's WWE didn't care about that.
00:47Character and gimmicks were far more important, so as soon as Malenko signed in 2000,
00:50it was only gonna be a short while before he got doled up with some mad idea.
00:54And what did we pick? A James Bond gimmick.
00:58That's right, to this day, I don't know why.
01:00What about the Iceman Scream 007?
01:02Malenko was also put in the light heavyweight division, and even people there at the time
01:06would tell you that title was only introduced so that WWF could be light for light with WCW.
01:12The latter's cruiserweight division was half the reason fans wanted to watch the undercard,
01:15it was brilliant.
01:17And as for the World Wrestling Federation version, well, nobody talks about it today.
01:21You can still find gems join Malenko's WWE run because he was that good, but yeah.
01:25These days, he would be way higher up the card from in-ring prowess alone.
01:29Can you imagine him in AEW?
01:31Man was the best.
01:32Number 7, Hideo Itami.
01:34Or Kenta.
01:35And yes, I mean that Kenta, we don't even need to argue this one.
01:38The man himself has done many an interview saying he didn't enjoy his time in NXT,
01:43because WWE didn't use him in the right way, and essentially sat him down and said,
01:47you know all that innovative offense you have, you're not allowed to use it.
01:52Not a stupid decision.
01:53It was a huge deal because let us be clear about this, Kenta changed the game.
01:57Half your current favorites borrowed moves from the dude, and they loved his style so much
02:01they copied him.
02:02Nobody was cooler than Kenta in Japan, somebody put it on a t-shirt.
02:06Therefore, when he did get picked up in 2014, it was a massive deal,
02:10because it wasn't the usual move that WWE would make.
02:13That's why NXT back then was so awesome.
02:15It opened up so many doors.
02:17He had to go through a name change, because of course he did, and that actually helps now.
02:21Kenta equals great.
02:23Hideo Itami was basically a missed opportunity.
02:26It started well as he had top-tier matches with Tyler Breeze, but in terms of the main roster,
02:30the closest he ever got was the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31.
02:35I think my nan may have been in that one.
02:37Sums it up.
02:38Really what held him back were just some super unfortunate injuries that always seemed to
02:42come about at the worst time.
02:44It meant that Tami could never get any momentum as he came and went constantly.
02:47NXT itself went through so many iterations, he just got lost in the shuffle,
02:51and also the NXT parking lot was not nice to him.
02:54The Avenger of the GTS were then used as fodder for the likes of Bobby Roode and Aleister Black
02:58before he got released, and he was only there three years.
03:02Such a major disappointment.
03:04Oh, what could have been?
03:05Number 6, Sin Cara
03:07All you need to know is that Sin Cara is Mr. Co in CMLL today.
03:11Go and watch that guy.
03:12It's genuinely amazing.
03:14The truth, though, is that this is what he was like before WWE signed him in 2011,
03:19which is why Triple H went after the man to begin with.
03:22Paul Levesque was brand new in his head of talent relations role,
03:24so wanted to find the next Rey Mysterio, which of course is WWE's favourite term.
03:29Everybody thought this would be a home run too.
03:32It was not.
03:32It just felt like the world was against the newly dubbed Sin Cara from day one,
03:36even when it came to his entrance.
03:38He kept screwing it up, which was a shame, because it was quite cool.
03:41He would jump off a trampoline and soar into the ring.
03:44I've told this story before, but I'll tell it again.
03:46The first time I saw Sin Cara was at a house show event,
03:49and I didn't know he had this entrance, so I just thought he was that agile.
03:54Yes, I'm a moron.
03:55The word was always he held himself like a star backstage too,
03:58which rubbed the rest of the roster the wrong way,
04:00and that always seemed strange.
04:01You were always told to act like the man you want to become,
04:04but as he was not already the man, he got told no.
04:07I mean, scratch your head and just say what.
04:09I think it all got on his head because it soon affected his matches too,
04:12as many a compilation video were made of Sin Cara slipping in the ring,
04:16but just not having the same pep in his step.
04:19I would assume he just lost his confidence.
04:21It can happen to the best of us.
04:22There was then wellness policy violations as he was shown the door,
04:25although the character wasn't.
04:27WWE just put Hunico under the mask because they were that desperate to make the gimmick work.
04:32I don't think Triple H wanted to admit this had failed.
04:35Of course, it didn't happen,
04:37and the fact that Mr. Co. then returned to CMLL and became the biggest thing in Mexico,
04:41well, it was just wild.
04:42It must have been something in the WWE water.
04:45It wasn't meant to be.
04:46Number 5, DDP
04:48Diamond Dallas Page was horribly miscast in WWE.
04:53Put it like this.
04:53In WCW, he was the People's Champion before even The Rocks started to say it,
04:57and the audience was totally fine with that.
05:00It's how they saw DDP too,
05:02a guy who had proven all the critics wrong and been a babyface world champion
05:05who was actually liked.
05:07In 1998, that was unheard of.
05:09He was so ready to continue his career,
05:11he sacrificed a lot of money to get out of his WCW deal to sign with WWE,
05:15and man, they ruined him instantly.
05:19The debut was awesome as when Page removed his balaclava on Raw,
05:22the crowd lost their minds,
05:24and all of a sudden it hit home.
05:26Oh no.
05:27He was going to be revealed as the secret stalker of The Undertaker and his wife.
05:31I mean, why are we doing this, not DDP?
05:34It just didn't compute because he had no reason to do this,
05:36and it's sort of underlying Vince McMahon likely didn't watch World Championship Wrestling.
05:41Taker was also booked to kill this dude,
05:43so just beat him up at every turn,
05:46and even Sarah got a pin over him.
05:48We just pulled the legs out from underneath Diamond Dallas Page.
05:51He soon became a smiling motivational speaker alongside Christian,
05:54and while that was fun,
05:55it was proper lower mid-card stuff.
05:57If WWE had just treated DDP like he was in WCW,
06:01who knows where his ceiling would be?
06:03He probably could have had a world title run for sure.
06:05He was beloved, man.
06:07This was so damn dumb.
06:09Number four, Tony Storm.
06:10People forget this nowadays, but before Tony Storm signed with WWE,
06:14she was basically the indie queen.
06:16Didn't just walk through the door.
06:18Tony had travelled the world, smashing it in the UK and Japan,
06:21and it became quite obvious she was going to make it one way or the other.
06:24Triple H must have felt the same as Storm beat Eosky in the 2018 May Young Classic Finals,
06:29before feuding with Rhea Ripley and Shayna Baszler,
06:32and mostly all of that ruled.
06:34She was soon called up to SmackDown,
06:36and from there,
06:37I mean, yeah, who the flub knows?
06:39The big talking point was that segment with Charlotte Flair,
06:42where the queen threw a pie in her face,
06:43and Tony was told to sell it like she was the saddest person in the world.
06:47It just came off strange and awkward.
06:49They then had a match for the women's title,
06:51and Storm lost,
06:53so she didn't even get revenge.
06:55People were so baffled.
06:56WWE needed new females to feud with their top stars,
07:00and the powers that be flushed it away.
07:01But so bad, it certainly feels like Tony asked for her release,
07:04and she got it.
07:05To this day, we don't have much information,
07:08so something must have gone on,
07:09but the proof is in the aftermath.
07:11She joined AEW,
07:12and after a while became the timeless one,
07:14before establishing herself as one of the most popular performers of the modern day.
07:18Storm even said during an interview,
07:19she had no idea what WWE wanted from her,
07:22and would have loved to have sat down,
07:24and come up with some out-of-the-box ideas.
07:27So Tony Storm is absolutely one that got away.
07:30We could have, and should have done so much more,
07:32yet for some reason, WWE just didn't.
07:36Number three, JC Mateo.
07:37So we only put the former Jeff Copp in here,
07:39because I want to manifest the change.
07:42I mean, just go and watch the man in New Japan.
07:44Where is that guy?
07:45Now, it's not too late either.
07:47A copy and paste job will do.
07:48It will work.
07:49A big man throwing do's around with ease is always awesome.
07:53It's been so strange ever since he did debut to help Sola Sakoa though,
07:56because JC Mateo, as he was named,
07:58just stands in the background,
08:00kind of looking like he doesn't know what's going on.
08:02Again, he's part of the MFTs,
08:03but that doesn't mean he needs to be a mute.
08:06WWE seemingly also told him not to wear his old ring gear,
08:09which is way better than just black.
08:11Cobb was a colourful clothes wearer.
08:13We've seen Jeff as part of a stable before too,
08:15as he was in Will Ospreay's United Empire as the heavy.
08:18So WWE could also just copy that,
08:20and it would be totally fine.
08:22Nothing else.
08:23Don't want to be that guy.
08:24But it is better than the current choice.
08:26Like, does anybody actually know he's a former Olympian,
08:28or has faced a who's who in the entire industry?
08:31I don't think so.
08:32And that's because seemingly,
08:33we have taken away all the things that made him unique.
08:36Again though, there's still time,
08:38and talent usually does rise to the top.
08:40If we are trying to make Sola's team look like badasses, however,
08:43just allow Mateo to shine the way we know he can.
08:46If every single member increases their worth,
08:48then the whole team does too.
08:50It really has been very bizarre.
08:52And I tell you, my friends,
08:54I hope WWE goes and proves me wrong.
08:56Number two, Steve Williams.
08:58I can only assume WWE was ready to push Steve Williams,
09:01as Jim Ross had convinced Vince McMahon to have him as a feud for Stone Cold Steve Austin.
09:06Always makes me laugh.
09:07If we got rid of kayfabe names,
09:09this literally would have been Steve Williams versus Steve Williams.
09:12Rather than just let Dr. Death get some worked wins though,
09:15WWE had the grand idea to put him in the brawl for all.
09:19This was a shoot fighting tournament,
09:21and one of the stupidest things the promotion has ever done.
09:24If you tell fans these bouts are legit,
09:26they're actively saying the rest are fake.
09:29It was ridiculous.
09:29It also meant WWE weren't in control,
09:32so surprise, surprise,
09:33during a scrap with Buck Gunn,
09:35Williams pulled his hamstring,
09:36and then got knocked out cold.
09:38Nothing you could do after that,
09:39his aura was gone.
09:40Nobody thought he was going to be a viable contender to the hottest star in the industry.
09:45If you go and watch Steve in Japan especially,
09:46it was all there too.
09:48This could have worked.
09:49And while Williams wasn't WWF champion material as something different for the Rattlesnake,
09:53it would have been very, very good.
09:56Instead, we did this.
09:57It was a total error.
09:59And I tell you, my friends,
10:00Dr. Death Steve Williams never recovered.
10:03Number one, Ricochet.
10:04Right, let me make this clear.
10:06Ricochet had a great run in WWE.
10:09He signed for NXT in 2018 when that brand was so hot,
10:12and he made it even better.
10:14His in-ring skills were unmatched,
10:16and talk about earning the contract.
10:18Rick was one of the best wrestlers on the scene full stop.
10:21Just walked in and carried it on.
10:22Do you remember that time he flipped out of the ring to confront the Velveteen dream?
10:26It's the coolest thing you'd ever seen in your life.
10:28The issue as ever was when he did get called up,
10:30because I don't think Vince McMahon got it,
10:32or just saw him as a flippy dude.
10:34He still had some top feuds and never let himself down,
10:36but he was kept at a very specific level and never allowed to level up.
10:40Some people cited this was down to his promo skills,
10:42but look what he's done in AEW.
10:44They gave him time to find his character,
10:46and now he is a shib talking asshole and it's been great.
10:50The man knows how to wind people up.
10:51I think he'd be the first guy to tell you this as well,
10:54because that's why he did leave in 2023.
10:57He saw his future and felt like his fire for wrestling had burned out.
11:00He wanted to rediscover that passion and he did so in AEW.
11:04And really, he's like a performer reborn.
11:06There's no reason we couldn't have at least tried this in WWE,
11:09especially when they did need new blood at the top of the card.
11:12And even if it didn't work, who cares so what?
11:14You have so much TV.
11:16Instead, he was kind of put in this very specific lane from day one,
11:19and that was that.
11:20And I tell you, my dudes,
11:22we could have done so much more with this guy.
11:24And for whatever reason, we just didn't.
11:26Know of any other performers that didn't make it in WWE
11:29and then likely went on to a different promotion
11:30where it did all come together?
11:32Make sure you let us know in the comments below
11:34before you like the video, share the video, and subscribe.
11:37You can also click the video on the screen
11:38to get even more WWE trivia in your life.
11:40But otherwise, my friends, you know the deal.
11:42Have a terrific day.
11:43I will give you a peppercorn,
11:45and I will speak to you soon.
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