Highlights
- WWE has a history of signing talented wrestlers and failing to utilize them effectively, resulting in wasted potential and failed careers.
- Wrestlers like Chris Hero, "Wildcat" Chris Harris, and Awesome Kong were signed by WWE but never given notable opportunities or storylines.
- Many of these wrestlers have found success elsewhere, such as in AEW, and there is still a chance for them to shine in the future.
There is rarely ever a shortage of talent in the world of professional wrestling. Sadly, over the years, there have been countless instances of wrestlers not being used to their full potential upon being signed to the massive WWE. Audience fan favorites have often proved to not be favorites of backstage creative minds for one reason or another, be it politics, creative differences, or countless other reasons. These stars never see the push that they may deserve. In the end, their WWE runs ultimately fail and in some instances, the careers of these individuals struggled to recover.
WWE has developed a bit of a notorious reputation over the years for signing big names and potential future superstars and doing nothing meaningful or memorable to enhance their careers and often firing them shortly after. Let's take a retrospective exploration mission into the past and look at 10 instances where the WWE has signed wrestlers to contracts and gone on to do nothing with them, wasting plenty of potential along the way. Some of the following names were able to reinvent themselves in a big way elsewhere, whereas others faded into obscurity.
10 Chris Hero
Chris Hero has been at it for over two decades. A naturally gifted worker who possesses some lethal, hard-hitting elbows, Hero has achieved huge amounts of success on the independent circuit over the years. He first started to capture the audience back in 2005 as a member of 'The Kings of Wrestling' with Claudio Castagnoli, later known as Cesaro in the WWE. Hero's most notable WWE stint began in 2016 when he was given the name Kassius Ohno.
While the WWE Universe was excited to see Hero in WWE, nothing notable ever came from his run. He was rarely featured in major storylines and was mostly used as an enhancement talent over in NXT. The WWE Universe sadly never got to see Hero and Castagnoli work together as a team on a grander stage, but Cesaro did form another great team with Sheamus known as The Bar. Both Hero and Castagnoli are currently employed by AEW, so there is still a chance for a reunion down the line.
9 "Wildcat" Chris Harris
Chris Harris was white-hot in the 2000s. As one half of 'America's Most Wanted' alongside "Cowboy" James Storm, Harris was one of the most over acts in TNA Wrestling. With a chip on his shoulder, a killer in-ring move-set, and a genuine superstar look, Harris looked poised to take the wrestling world by storm. Harris was signed to the WWE in 2008 and the wrestling world was excited to see what was coming next in his career. Unfortunately, that was Braden Walker.
Under his new name, Harris wrestled only two matches on the revived ECW brand before being released from the company. Harris has talked publicly about his failed WWE run being 'doomed from the start' as the company chose to wipe the slate clean on his career and have him start over, despite him being a hugely over act in TNA. The problem with that was that they gave him no direction and nothing to work with, and had zero plans for him ultimately resulting in his run failing. Other than a few cameo stints in TNA afterward, Harris seemingly disappeared from wrestling completely.
8 Awesome Kong
Back when women's wrestling was first gaining mainstream traction in the United States thanks to the introduction of TNA's Knockouts Division, Awesome Kong made the jump to America and took the world by storm. Her strong style of in-ring technique was unheard of in women's wrestling at the time, and she was turning heads in all corners of the globe. She became white-hot and must-see TV in TNA Wrestling from the moment she joined the promotion in 2007, and she went on to have a great run.
However, she made the jump to the WWE in 2010 and was given the name 'Kharma', and then everything went wrong for her. She took a leave of absence after only one appearance due to becoming pregnant and would later return as an entrant in the men's Royal Rumble match in 2012 before being released from the company. She thankfully managed to rekindle her reputation after a return to TNA years later.
7 Lance Archer
Before Lance Archer was making headlines and dominating the competition in Japan, he enjoyed his first mainstream exposure in TNA Wrestling under the name of Lance Hoyt beginning in 2004. He possessed the superstar look and an intense presence. His ring work, which is so over today, was just starting to develop. Archer had 'the WWE look', and by 2009, he was snapped up to a developmental contract.
Archer made his debut for WWE on the revived ECW brand in late 2009 and was made to look strong, but he had the rug pulled from under his growing momentum after the ECW brand folded. He had a short and forgettable stint on the SmackDown brand before being released from his contract in 2010. Today, Archer is a huge name in Japan and is a popular act in AEW when he chooses to work in the United States.
6 Buff Bagwell
At the time WCW was purchased by Vince McMahon in 2001, Buff Bagwell was one of the most over acts in the company and on his way to the main event. However, Buff disappeared into obscurity after being fired after his first and only match under the WWE banner. On July 2, 2001, Buff Bagwell wrestled Booker T for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
This was the WWE testing the waters on potentially reviving WCW, which would have been the original brand extension war that would pit the stars of the WWE versus the stars of WCW. Plans were scrapped after the match, which was not well received, and Buff ultimately got fired. Jim Ross has since gone on record to say that Vince McMahon didn't see a big star in Buff Bagwell and that contributed to his sudden release. Buff disappeared from the mainstream after this but continued to work on the independent circuit.
5 The Sandman
The Sandman was one of the biggest and most popular acts in the original ECW promotion. Known for his violent matches and crowd interactions on his way to the ring, Sandman became known as a "hardcore legend" who symbolized everything that ECW stood for. Of course, one of ECW's biggest critics was none other than Vince McMahon, so when Sandman was announced for the One Night Stand pay-per-view back in 2005, the news rocked the wrestling world.
Sandman was part of an angle at the second One Night Stand pay-per-view a year later, where he beat up Eugene with his Singapore cane much to the delight of the ECW faithful. The fans could never get enough of The Sandman, but other than his ONS appearances, Sandman was never given the ball to run with and instead became a comedy relief act. Sandman has stated that the WWE took his beer drinking gimmick away from him ahead of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's return, and that pretty much signaled the beginning of the end for his short stint in the company. Sandman went on to have a few successful stints in TNA after his WWE release and continued to work on the independent circuit.
4 Ultimo Dragon
Ultimo Dragon is a Japanese wrestling legend whom the American audience may be most familiar with for his time spent in the Cruiserweight division of WCW. Dragon was known for his recognizable, bright-colored costumes and masks, similar to Rey Mysterio. WWE bought Dragon into the company in 2003 much to the overwhelming support of the audience, but his stint would only last a year, and he wouldn't see any major successes in his run.
He left the company in 2004 and has stated that WWE Creative wanted to remove his mask and change his character, which Dragon wasn't willing to do, which explains why his stint on SmackDown lasted less than a year. Ultimo Dragon is an icon and could have been a major name for the company, but WWE really dropped the ball hard on this one. Dragon returned to Japan where he still wrestles actively to this day.
3 Terry Funk
By the time Terry Funk returned to the WWE in 1997, he was already a legend and one of the most popular active veterans in the world. He had made headlines for his flawless work in ECW despite his age catching up to him, and further headlines for his endless retirements and returns. Funk is a true hardcore icon who inspired the likes of Mick Foley, and it is a complete mystery how the WWE could have ruined his run as badly as they did. When Funk returned, he was given the name Chainsaw Charlie, although he was often referred to as Terry Funk, making the gimmick completely pointless.
WWE mostly had him teaming and feuding with Mick Foley, but he was turned into a glorified jobber and unsurprisingly, he left the company a year later. Thankfully, WWE learned their lesson with their portrayal of legends after fumbling with Funk, and the likes of Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan were given much more special treatment than Funk when they made their returns, but there is no hiding how they squandered the talent of the original Hardcore Legend.
2 Shane Douglas
Shane Douglas made history in the 1990s when he threw away the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and declared himself the first-ever ECW World Heavyweight Champion. This shift in gears for Douglas and ECW was monumental. Douglas proclaimed to the world that he was done with terrible gimmicks and that ECW would stand for pure, gritty wrestling in its finest form. Douglas went on to become a massive star in ECW, but just a few years later, he was eating his words when he left ECW and joined the WWE. He was given the name Dean Douglas and a truly awful gimmick of a college Dean.
Unsurprisingly, his WWE run failed, and he was back in ECW by 1996, picking up where he left off. This is yet another case of the WWE sniping someone who was white-hot in another company and completely burying their momentum. It should have been impossible to waste the talent of Shane Douglas in the mid-90s, but WWE gave it their best shot.
1 Christopher Daniels
Today, "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels is one of the most loved and respected independent wrestling veterans of all time, but before that, he had a short and forgettable run in the WWE. It would appear that the WWE didn't see the potential that Daniels possessed and while he became a popular name in wrestling in subsequent years, before that, he was signed to the WWE in 1998. His role in the company was nothing more than an enhancement talent, and he left in 2000 but made a handful of other appearances as a jobber in 2001.
Thankfully, Daniels found a home on the independent circuit and later in Ring of Honor and TNA Wrestling. For whatever reason, Daniels, despite being one of the best all-around workers in the business, has never had a good run in the WWE. Daniels currently works for AEW in a backstage capacity but occasionally laces up the boots to get in the ring, and hasn't missed a beat in his offense.