Hiya!
The WWE is making a lot of big moves these days. After so many years, they reverted RAW back to just being a 2-hour show instead of the mind-numbing 3-hours it was for so long. They also made a huge deal with Netflix to start broadcasting RAW worldwide next year. It also looks like the roster under Triple H‘s watchful eye seems a bit happier as of late.
Unfortunately, there were some WWE Superstars who, despite being super popular during their tenure with RAW, Smackdown or NXT, had already left the company before Triple H could do anything. Some had found greener pastures in other wrestling companies thankfully. It still doesn’t change the fact the WWE did not take advantage of these wrestler’s fan clamor while they were white hot. So, let’s take a look at just five Superstars the WWE dropped the ball with.
I really miss Cesaro. He was one of those WWE Superstars who had a lot of star quality to him thanks to his freakish power and sheer athletic ability. He managed to combine these qualities with his showmanship abilities, leading him to become a big fan favorite.
Although the WWE did show Cesaro some respect by giving him several belts, such as the United States Championship and several Tag Team Championship runs, he was never in the running to be the top guy in either RAW or Smackdown. While he would participate in matches for the top belts in the company, the WWE could never envision him actually holding either the WWE Universal Championship or the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt. It’s a shame because I know a lot of fans would’ve been behind him winning either of them.
Thankfully, Cesaro, who is going by his original wrestling name, Claudio Castagnoli, has found much bigger success in both AEW and Ring of Honor, even winning the ROH World Championship a couple of times now. Good for him!
Just because you’re a Superstar during the early days of NXT, that doesn’t mean you can’t be wasted talent. Case in point: Kassius Ohno. When he was signed to the WWE, the then Chris Hero was a big deal in the independent circuit but that didn’t matter because, in the WWE, your previous history wasn’t canon. Even without any knowledge of his past glory, there was just something special and, well, real about Kassius Ohno’s way of working the ring and the mic.
Unfortunately, despite having a couple of runs with the WWE in NXT for around a decade or so, it just seemed like the Creative team couldn’t really figure out what to do with Kassius Ohno. Essentially, he was left to flounder around for months until he eventually split and became a trainer and producer for AEW.
I have the sneaking suspicion the old WWE doesn’t like it when someone they never thought would get over with the fans take it upon themselves to get over. This is definitely true for Rusev. During his start with the company, the WWE strapped the hype rocket to his back, leading him to have an undefeated streak as well as winning the United States Championship. Unfortunately, things took a downturn when that undefeated streak was broken when John Cena beat Rusev for the aforementioned United States Championship at Wrestlemania 31. After this, Rusev didn’t really do anything memorable. Sure, he was still treated as a monster but, without his undefeated winning streak, he didn’t seem unstoppable anymore.
Rusev would, however, accidentally strike gold when “Rusev Day” became a thing. Now pretty much a “joke” wrestler, Rusev teamed with Aiden English and, when the mayor of Rusev’s kayfabe town declared the date to be called Rusev Day, somehow that clicked with WWE fans all over the world and everyone started to celebrate Rusev Day… which just so happened to be every day!
According to Miro himself, Vince McMahon couldn’t believe Rusev Day was becoming a thing and even tried to gaslight him into believing the fans were just joking around despite all of his merchandise getting sold out! This was one indicator on how the top guy in the WWE just didn’t care for Miro and probably why, after the partnership with Aiden English ended, Rusev was saddled with very depressing storylines until he also left the WWE.
Sadly, Miro never did find success afterwards. He moved to AEW but was used very sporadically throughout this tenure with the company. As of now, there’s really no word regarding what he’s doing now. Well, that was depressing!
Tyler Breeze is an example of how a WWE Superstar can get himself over twice and still never find any real success with the company. Starting out in NXT, Breeze made a name for himself as “Prince Pretty,” a very narcissistic model type. Even while saddled with this gimmick, people did notice his spectacular in-ring work and his penchant to really selling moves.
This made him a fan favorite in NXT but this was ultimately his initial undoing. While he was super successful in NXT, this didn’t translate when he was moved to the main roster of Smackdown. It was as if the WWE downplayed Tyler Breeze’s in-ring ability and designated him to be the “jobber to the stars” instead of the big star he could’ve been.
However, despite being a jobber, Tyler Breeze bounced back when he teamed up with another “jobber to the stars,” Fandango. The duo became a tag team collectively known as Breezango and gaining their own segment on Smackdown called the Fashion Files. Initially, the Fashion Files had the dimwitted duo critiquing the outfits of other WWE Superstars. Although used just for comedy, Breezango was a hit with fans.
Sadly, despite becoming popular with the WWE Universe, Breezango was sent back to NXT. Although the team did win the NXT Tag Team Championships, this was essentially Fandango and Tyler Breeze’s last hurrah with the WWE as they were future endeavored soon after. Although he still performs on the independent circuit, WWE fans can still easily see him as he’s a regular host of Xavier Woods/Austin Creed‘s gaming YouTube channel, UpUpDownDown.
This is more of an assumption because, as of right now, Tay Melo is currently out of action in AEW as she gave birth to a baby. However, during her short stint as an AEW performer, Tay Melo managed to hit all of the right buttons and it looked like she could have been a huge star in the WWE if the WWE just recognized her Superstar potential while she was in NXT. However, looking back at her early matches, yeah. I can see why they passed her up. She wasn’t that good.
The thing is her later matches in AEW, she shown she has improved a lot. Tay Melo seems to be willing to take more risks in her matches and she’s willing to take some rough bumps as well as dealing them. She’s a much better wrestler than she was in the WWE… before she had to go on hiatus.
I do have to consider Taynara Conti’s stint in the WWE as a missed opportunity for the WWE to mold her into the Superstar she could have been. She looks so much better in AEW and I can’t help but feel the WWE messed up by not really giving her the attention she deserved while she was with the company.
BONUS: Cody Rhodes
He’s the current Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. He’s the top guy of Smackdown right now. So, how can I say Cody Rhodes was wasted while in the WWE? Well, that’s because the WWE didn’t really care for Cody Rhodes during his first stint with the company! It took Cody Rhodes leaving the company and becoming a megastar over at AEW for the WWE to realize what they had!
Well, hindsight is 20/20 so the WWE made amends with the Son of a Son of a Plumber and Cody, without missing a beat, rejoined the company, complete with the gimmick he cultivated while he was in AEW. Genius.
Byee!
What other WWE wrestlers do you think the WWE wasted? Let me know in the comments section below!
3rd World Geeks 