The One's that got away .......................And Missed Opportunities

Just abit of fun

Which wrestlers/characters/gimmicks which ever way you want to put it , for whatever reason failed to take off but could/should of been a huge success.

Lex Luger WWF stands out for me , he was one of the big stars in NWA/WCW yet never got over in the WWF were at the time i thought his size and look would of made him their poster boy for years to come .

I also prefered Randy Ortons Legend Killer character to his Viper persona .
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I was going to start a separate thread for this but there will be cross overs so will tag it on here .

What were the missed opportunities when a company failed to pull the trigger on someone or when someone should of won a important match that they didn't .

Pirate Burchill was one they should have continued - how can Disney copyright a pirate?

I nominate Mr Kennedy.......Kennedy

If it werent for injuries and suspensions, should of and could have been bigger.

The whole Illegitimate Mcmahon son story lined bombed as it was meant to Kennedy but he got suspended.

Was meant to win world title but had to drop MITB shot as was injured

MetalMotty wrote:I nominate Mr Kennedy.......Kennedy

If it werent for injuries and suspensions, should of and could have been bigger.

The whole Illegitimate Mcmahon son story lined bombed as it was meant to Kennedy but he got suspended.

Was meant to win world title but had to drop MITB shot as was injured

This

As standard bearer for the IWC I wish to nominate Scotty 'Colt Cabana' Goldman.

I would throw Big Van Vader into the WWF/WWE section

For me it will be Shelton Benjamin, I think he was so ridiculously athletic, good in the ring, had a great look and was actually underrated on the mic. He should have been a success, but for whatever reason WWE never really got behind him.

I'm not too sure about Kennedy, time was when I would have agreed with you, but bar a brief period in 2010, he's not exactly been showing WWE what their missing in TNA.

Can't really think of much off the top of my head, Muhammed Hassan is usually a good one to bring up in these discussions, rumour has it he was set to beat 'Taker at the GAB and take the title of Batista at Summerslam, sadly the perfect storm of a tasteless WWE angle and the 7/7 bombings ruined what could have been as he was a great heel.

Kenny wrote:I would throw Big Van Vader into the WWF/WWE section

I would say that he was hugely over for quite a period. I wouldnt say he is one that got away.

Adam D wrote:

Kenny wrote:I would throw Big Van Vader into the WWF/WWE section

I would say that he was hugely over for quite a period. I wouldnt say he is one that got away.

I always thought he was set for the WWE title , i know some dont see the titles as the be all and end all but as a fan i did . With the belt he could of been a even bigger in the US

He's not quite gotten away yet and maybe a slight controversial choice but I'd like to throw Christopher Daniel's name into consideration. Even though he's still got a couple of years left competing at the very highest level, for me he's one of the most consistent, entertaining, innovative & safe wrestlers over the past 10-15 years. You could place him wherever you wanted on the card against arguably anybody and he'll put on a performance. He works exceptionally well getting over as either a face or a heel and is comfortable on the mic/cutting promo's. We normally have threads on here that crop up from time to time about wrestlers who never "won the big one", for me Daniels falls into that category now. How he's never been a TNA or ROH world champion is beyond believe.

Sticking to the original topic, I'll nominate one of my personal favorites of all time - Raven. Again one of the better talkers getting themselves over and has no problems drawing heat or getting under the skins of the fans and somebody who for me as always had a unique, mysterious character... While he did gain certain success in ECW, and to a degree in WCW he was never quite used to his full capability. Then after joining WWF/E he just got berried just like the rest of the WCW/ECW talent that joined during that period of time.

Lex Luger, Vader and Mr Kennedy could've been bigger in the WWF/E, but as former World Champs (in the other Fed), and former WWF/E main eventers, I wouldn't consider them one's that got away. They all had their chance, it just didn't work out for them.

Sticking with the big two, and trying to avoid those who got injured or worse, I'd look at people like Terry Taylor, Tom Pritchard, Stan Lane, Steve Keirn and Matt Borne. They had the ability, they had the talk, and they were all in pretty good shape too, but for whatever reasons neither of the big two were really interested in doing anything with any of them.

Drew McIntyre for me was the right guy in the wrong time. It was always going to be hard to have him a believable "Chosen One" by McMahon without the Mr. McMahon character on screen to help him. With McMahon by his side, being his mouth piece he'd've been World Champ by now, because he's got the look and the talent.

Raven is another great shout.

Jamie Noble

Another one i would suggest is Bobby Lashley

Had a huge push but didnt stay around too long, probably why WWE doesnt want to invest/ push people for a while.

I don't know if this would count but I always thought Test would become a big time player but it never happend,

He had feuds with top guys like hhh and taker.

His elbow drop looked awesome, wasn't a fan of the pump handle slam

I think Kane, although his still in the WWE and is still a relevant name that initial character could have and should have done a lot more.

Also The Godfather, as a heel could have been great, imagine the godfather going around the locker room and turning every wwe diva into a hoe, with wrestlers trying to stop him, or fighting to free a diva from the HOOEEEEEEE TRAIIIN

Wasn't Burchills pirate gimmick scrapped because Vince didn't think he was the right kind of pirate, not Johnny Depp style but old time pirate style.

I'de chuck MVP into the equation aswell, had the ability, gimmick, mic skills, for me he was nailed on favourite at Mania 24 to win MITB after Hardy got pulled, instead it was wasted on Punk. Yes you heard me Punk did naff all that year, year after was his time. Shame MVPs past and Linda's senate drive plus poor booking held him back.