[loopydate]

Originally Posted by RemyRed The majority of those guys. while talented, wouldn't draw a dime.

No no no. Why does everyone think that "hasn't drawn a dime" and "wouldn't/couldn't draw a dime" are the same thing? Just because someone isn't used properly doesn't mean that they can't be a draw. Stunning Steve Austin wasn't used properly, either.

With the proper push, seven out of the nine guys on that list could/would have drawn.

Rob Van Dam - If WWE had put the title on him in summer 2001, they would have done amazing business. He was the most over guy in the company at that point.

Rhino - Instead of immediately burying him as Edge & Christian's lackey, they should have emphasized the fact that he was the last ECW Champion and had him dominate the Hardcore Division which (let's face it) needed something at that point. Having an unstoppable "rookie monster" become that division's focal point would have made the belt actually mean something and would have made Rhino a star. From there, who knows? A successful Hardcore run leads to the IC division. Put him with a mouthpiece manager (Paul Heyman?), and aim him at the babyface World Champion.

Spanky/Frankie Kazarian/Paul London - Let's not forget that Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were considered too small, too. All three of these guys have tremendous charisma and movesets that get the crowd on their feet. Play Spanky or London up as HBK's chosen successor. Start him in tag team matches with his mentor, where he gets a chance to showcase his moveset. Eventually, when the crowd gets firmly behind this newcomer, start planting the seeds of HBK becoming jealous of his student starting to get bigger reactions than he is. "Miscommunications" in tag matches lead to HBK finally getting fed up and superkicking his protege and boom, you've got a main-event feud.

While the HBK-protege story doesn't work as well for Kazarian, the guy's charisma can't be denied. And his character was starting to get reactions. Maybe (and this is a novel idea) if WWE hadn't stuck him on Velocity for the entirety of his run and had, instead, given him the spot that Ken Kennedy moved into (the cocky, obnoxious heel who, by hook or crook, somehow keeps pulling off these "impossible" upsets). Cocky heels have always drawn.

Dean Malenko - If Chris Benoit can draw, so can Dean Malenko. They're practically the same wrestler, except Benoit had a little more aerial-based stuff.

Charlie Haas - Can we say Kurt Angle?

Akio and Ultimo Dragon, while immensely talented, have the grave misfortune of being of Asian descent. For one reason or another, American wrestling fans just don't identify that well with Asian wrestlers. They'll be amazed by their breathtaking movesets, but they'd never consider them a credible World Champion.