Your best example of wasted potential
 

Who do you feel is the best example of a wrestler who had the potential to become a big name but didn't. I would have to say either Shelton Benjamin or Carlito

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Kenny Dykstra

I never saw what everybody else saw in Carlito, just like I don't understand the fascination with John Morrison but who am I to judge?

My pick would be Paul London.

evan bourne, shelton, mike knox

Natural Born Thrillers.

It's easy to pick talent who were booked badly and say they never reached potential. Carlito really is the one who stands out in my mind for being lazy and not taking advantage of his push, and I'm a huge Carlito fan.

Of all time, I'd say Big Show, and people will argue with me on that, but it's my opinion. Yes, he's been world champion, yes he's main evented WrestleMania (once), but he's never been built up the way he could've been. Big Show is so unbelievably big, so athletic, and he can actually talk for himself. He's Andre the Giant version 2.0. Americanized. He should've been built up as the unstoppable monster. Instead he's been beaten by just about everybody. He should've been the Andre of the new generation, but instead he's kind of just another guy.

Right now, I would say Samoa Joe, who should really jump to the WWE. He has the potential to be the next Umaga - the next Yokozuna if given the chance - but he's being wasted in TNA.

Brian Kendrick. The guy was getting a nice push but wouldn't lay off the weed for 5 minutes.

Especially "Above Average" Mike Sanders.

What's the deal with all the love for Carlito?

Never got it. I can spit apples too, yakno'.

I totally agree. I can't believe he was not included in the Invasion angle. He was a big part of WCW at the end

The thing with a "monster" gimmick is that it has a shelf life. He wouldn't be able to be on top forever, he would HAVE to lose at some point. And the more that happens the more the "mystique" is chipped away at.

More so, would you trust him to be on top given his penchant for laziness?

Carlito, if the guy hadn't given up on himself, purposefully gotten in shit with management and swollowed his pride he could have been a world champion.

They paired him with Ric Flair for a while. Could have been good rub, but of course it didn't happen

Muhammed Hassan...

Sean O'Haire and, to a lesser extent, Teddy Hart.

To be fair they WANTED to push the guy (or it seems that way anyway) but then real life terrors came up...

Scotty Goldman
Evan Bourne
Christian
Matt Hardy (though he pretty much blew it himself too)

WCW - Majority of the lower card especially during the Russo and NwO Hogan years. Booker T might have been the only developing rising star WCW managed to create in the late years of the company for the main event division.

WWE - Before returning back to the WWE, Christian would have been an example since in his case Vince was completely against pushing him even though he was popular with the crowd and developing into a future main event star.

Brandon Walker :shifty:
John Morrison
MVP

Offtopic here but am I the only one that wants to see...

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ks...o95uo1_400.jpg vs http://jack-swagger.org/updates/092.png

and on a unrelated topic when searching "Gobbledy Gooker" this pic came up:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/201/4...119ff14bf7.jpg LOL

Definitely Carlito. I don't remember exactly when it was, but I recall seeing him come out and totally Punk Cena out, something along the lines of "everybody in the back hates you, and I'm taking a stand on it." He had the best look he ever had, with the longer hair and a pointy little beard/moustache combo. The man has talent that looks effortless, but for whatever reasons he's never really put it out there. If he had any kind of driving passion he would probably have been a world champion, since he draws in crowds with ease. He's honestly the one guy in the past 20 years that I really feel could have been a mega-star if he wanted to put in the effort.

I also agree with Kendrick, I just don't know if he would have been the sure thing Carlito would. I'd also throw Brock Lesnar into the mix. As much as he did accomplish, he could have been even bigger if he hadn't left when he did. I'm not one to blame WWE, but if he hadn't gotten so much so fast he could have ruled the company for years. His early matches with Cena were excellent, and I'd love to see what they could have done a few years down the road. I'd also have loved to see him go up against the Orton we know today, Jerichi, HHH and HBK in high-level programs.

Test.

This is a good one..... The guy was pretty good...... I gotta go with Nathan Jones though..... If given time to develop, this guy could have been over huge.....

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...HAIRE/0629.jpg

But it's hard to pick just one, Shelton Benjamin, Carlito and Test all belong up there in that 'biggest waste of talent' category. If Christian never gets a decent main event run, then I think he belongs there too.

As for people like Evan Bourne and John Morrison, I think it's too early to judge them.

And time to learn how to wrestle.

Oh Charlie Haas. Guy has great in-ring skills and charisma. Never even get a decent midcard push.

benjamin and test were both given sufficient opportunity to put themselves over, but they lacked the charisma. also, test was one of the biggest roid abusers in the business. carlito never had the size or the look.

don't know how you can call evan bourne wasted talent, he's way too young. he doesn't have the size to become a maineventer though.

i agree they've been sitting on john morrison way too long. this dumbass jim morrison gimmick is holding him back i think. hopefully he's getting the push he deserves right now.

Mike Sanders - guy was great on the mic

Gino Hernandez - Had a ton of charisma and really good heel

He just couldn't kick his coke habit

Most of the guys listed here weren't good enough consistently, couldn't promo, or didn't have the WWE look. They aren't wasted if they won't draw.

I didn't call Bourne wasted... in fact, I said the same as you. :wave:

These things fall into two categories for me:

1) Those with talent that goes to waste because they are misused by the company they are in (Benjamin, Test in 99/2000, Christian in 05, etc)

2) Those with talent that goes to waste because of themselves (Carlito's lazines, Kendrick's weed consumption, Regal's drug abuse, etc).

Two different questions really.

Regal's drug abuse only really came about since the drug testing was put in place. Before that he was wasted by way of the companies he was in.

I thought wasted potential meant anyone who didn't win a world title.

Oh, did not know that.

Okay then.

Yeah Regals drug habit killed his first WCW run, First WWF run, then his 2nd WCW run as well. Then it killed his biggest push.

I will say Chris Candido and Brian Pillman. Either could have been much bigger than they were, even though both, especially Pillman, had good careers. But attitudes and drugs ended it all early.