The biggest misses of the 2000s.
 

Of the guys who have come (debuted) on or after Jan. 1 2000 and left before 2010 in a big promotion (WWE, ECW, WCW, TNA, ROH) who do you think had the most potential to make it big but didn't?

They cannot currently be working in any promotion I've listed. They could have debuted before 2000 but not worked in any of the major promotions.

Taz, TBK

Awesome Kong, Vickie Guerrero, Mickie James

There have been a few, but one that stands out is Mr. Kennedy

I only agree with Kennedy and Taz so far. Kennedy because he was really really good on the mic. I know people say he was a one trick pony, but he differentiated himself big time early on. If not for the injuries, I can 100% say he would of been WWE Champion by now.

Brian Kendrick? Really? He was always going to be a midcarder, nothing more and certainly less.

Sean O'Haire, while the gimmick was tremendous, it was always going to be short lived in my eyes. I never saw him lasting too long

Some that come to mind

RVD: Missed a huge opportunity in 2001. Luckily the guy was always over anyway. But I feel by not putting him against Austin in 2001, the WWE kind of set themselves back a bit


Muhammad Hassan: ugh, don't get me started.


Eugene: There was something special here. I felt like he could of had much more of a run. Bur he aligned with Evolution and it faded after that


Garrison Cade: lol, just kidding

I think TBK w/ Ezekiel as a strong threat could've worked. Could've played the "wild, unpredictable" scarface type of guy and had like a 3-4 man stable with everybody wanting to get rid of him but thought he was too "out there" and would have to look over their shoulders...could've definitely played a "you're either with me or against me" type of angle..could've been big.

Sitting at ringside during the main events at different shows, climbing over the rails and distracting wrestlers, referees, joining the commentators unannounced, etc. With Zeke there, Cole and King could sound intimidated and distracted. He could arrive in limos, ladies all around him...man, Noid would definitely agree with me on this..

I'm not arguing that an angle like that might have had a chance to make it, but I am being realistic.

Can you really honestly tell me Vince McMahon would of ever let Brian Kendrick work in a top spot?

Is it just me or will the product go back to its heydey when Vince is gone..God forbid..

I don't know, it really seemed like Brian Kendrick was getting an epic push when he first got the gimmick. He got to go over guys like Jeff Hardy, and Zeke got to no-sell chair shots from Triple H. Kendrick would have had Shawn Michaels backing him, and given that Kendrick can do it all (cut promos, wrestle, etc.), I think the only issue was his size -- and given how smaller guys get more opportunities these days, and Kendrick did have Zeke backing him; I really think it could have worked.

I truly feel he would have won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match this year if he didn't get stuck into the weed. And that would have almost definitely gotten him one World Title reign (Kendrick was all about using his brains, so he would have cashed in very effectively). But Kendrick fucked up his own push, and by the time he ended up on RAW, the "little snot that you want to see get his ass kicked" thing was being used more for comedy than to create a character people could care about.

Hassan, then Kennedy.

In that order.

The biggest missus was probably Awesome Kong.

Dave Mercy.

Simon Diamond is a guy that I'm shocked didn't make it.

Brock Lesnar. Didn't even scratch the surface on how great he could have been. Sad that we only got to see him on the main roster for just 2 years.

Muhammed Hassan is another, could have been an awesome long term heel, an easily hateable persona.

Rob Van Dam, if he would have been utilized/pushed in WWE like he was in the original ECW, huge upside and unlimited connection with the fans.

I also think that Armando Alejandro Estrada would have been huge as a manager. You could see it when he was managing Umaga, and would say "In case ju haven't heard, my name is Armandooooo Alejandroooooo Estrrrrrrrrrrrrrada" and the crowd would say it with him, then the WWE just put a stop to it, stupid choice IMO.

something special about Eugene?

interesting choice of words

Seriously, I think Hassan had greatest heel of all-time potential.

I think Abyss is stealing Eugene's clap lately

Taz/Tazz if you ignore his neck injury that limitted what he could do after a while in the WWE.

RVD, DDP, and Booker T were all misses mainly because they got their push too late (RVD, Booker T) or were misused badly (DDP).

Before he got hired back to the WWE, Christian could also be on the list based on how much Vince refused to push him when he was hot. Can't remember any other recent time when Vince was dead set against pushing someone that the crowd really loved and was a good wrestler.

I love you, Skip.

If they had Nick Dinsmore toss his retard character aside at One Night Stand II, instead of playing the "sports entertainment" character, and just being there to get whooped by Sandman -- I think he could have become a mainstay technical icon for the WWE.

Guys like Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and even Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels aren't always used to their full potential, or anything, but in this day and age it is hard to find a guy who you just always expect great matches from. That workhorse constantly winning mid-card titles that you just want to see break into the main event for that special moment. Dinsmore could have been that guy. Tremendous worker, and the "Eugene" character showed that he actually has personality and the ability to connect with an audience and such.

Around this same period, I remember thinking how cool it would have been if Nick Dinsmore, Chavo Guerrero and Brent Albright all defected to ECW, and took on the roles of the next gen Dean Malenko, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Benoit, etc. Over time, I think even Chavo Guerrero and Gunner Scott would have become associated enough with good ring work to be in the position where they were guys you wanted to see main event RAW or SmackDown!.

Not really huge business misses, but I think those men could have had much, much better, and ultimately more important careers.

Nobody cares about those guys Noid. Even Benoit hardly got a reaction towards the end of his career.

Albright didn't get a fair shake in WWE. If he did his mercenary gimmick in WWE, it could have helped him out instead of being Benoit Jr for a couple weeks

Easily this guy:

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/.../08/ohaire.jpg

Mike Sanders and Nathan Jones

ORLANDO JORDAN.

if it weren't for the fact that the Iraq/Iran heel/sympathizer gimmick has been done twice already before. Iron Shiek was the original Middle Eastern heel and Sgt Slaughter was a Middle Eastern Sympathizer....the gimmick always goes over because Americans always have a sympathetic issue with hating or disliking people of that nationality/background.

speaking of Mike Sanders....wtf did ever happen to that guy

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He Kanyon and Raven sued the WWE over the independent contractor clause in their contracts.


But yeah I'm gonna go with DDP and Kanyon as my answers to this topic.

Dean Malenko

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Bill Alfonso.

totally have to agree on this one...if Fonzie had been brought into the "E" and stayed on as RVD's manager, I think RVD's lackluster path to stardom would have been alot different in WWE from 2001 and by 2003 could have been champion instead of waiting till 2006.

Mr. Kennedy, D'Lo Brown, Rene Dupree, Kenny Dykstra, etc.

and sadly his family had to die for it :(

That was sort of my point?

I think Johnny Jeter was a reasonable sized miss. The dude could talk, wrestle and such. He just...disappeared.

-<s>D'Lo Brown</s>
-Daniel Puder
-Sean O'Haire
-Muhammad Hussan
-RVD
-Brock Lesnar
-Randy Orton
-John Cena

Puder's not very charismatic. He only shines when fighting. I saw him KO some can a few months ago and holy shit. I wouldn't want any of that guy in a fight, but he'd still be a lousy superstar, if not just a lousy wrestler.

Didn't Puder also have attitude issues which made almost everyone hate him from the start?

During Tough Enough 4 (i.e. when they were hosting it on RAW I believe), Puder was getting some pops from the crowd due to the fact that he was dominating the competition.

Given how MMA/UFC was really starting to trend upwards around this time, I think both the WWE and Puder could have used that to their advantage. Puder may not be very charismatic at the current time but if he stayed in the WWE, I think he would have improved in that area over time.