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Nobody has grabbed the Brass Ring, not for want of trying, but because it gets snatched away from them for one reason or another.
Ziggler was close. Cesaro was close. They positioned Ryback pretty well then dropped the ball. Ryder gave himself a shot at it before being quickly shunted back to obscurity.
Daniel Bryan is probably the closest thing. He was the hottest act in the company for a long time, then the injury.
I'd argue that WWE have failed in "making" stars for years; even the ones that got there were by fortuitous circumstances.
Cena is "The Guy" but hated by 50% of the audience because he's been shoved down people's throats.
Orton is right at the top now, but their first attempt with him tanked.
Batista was sky-rocketed because they screwed up Orton.
Even Austin - who pushed the company to new heights - got a push through luck. They gave him a shitty gimmick, he won the KOTR because the scheduled winner was shit-canned, he ad-libbed a now classic line...then nothing. There wasn't a long-term plan to push Austin, there wasn't a rocket strapped to him, he beat Mero in mid-card match at the following PPV, then beat Yokozuna in a match on the Free For All before SummerSlam, wasn't booked on the following IYH, etc. Austin's push - in fact, the entire Attitude Era - was a result of desperation. WWF/E was a kids show before WCW started turning the screw, they changed because they had to, then after the demise of WCW they went back to being a kids show. That's what Vince wants.
I don't think anybody will grab the "Brass Ring" until something drastic makes Vince change his mindset/take a gamble. Maybe a downward trend in the Network numbers?
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