The biggest wrestling company in the world, for many fans and haters alike, the WWE is the standard bearer when it comes to professional wrestling. An industry that relies on the talent that goes out to the ring and entertains the masses on a weekly basis, this requires the company to find the best performers they can and turn them into stars. As such, the people in charge of Talent Relations must recruit some of the best wrestlers in the world and bring them on to the roster. As a result, since the year 2010 alone the WWE has signed a number of talented wrestlers to contracts amid huge expectations only to have them fall wildly short. Realizing this inspired us to put together this list of 21 major 2010s WWE Superstars that have been a bust.

In order for a superstar to be up for possible inclusion on this list, they first and foremost need to have appeared on a show put on by the WWE in the 2010s. For the purposes of this list, they need to have been a part of a readily available show like Raw, Smackdown, or 205 Live and we’re also considering the talent that has appeared on NXT TV. Next, there has to have been a perception that they had the potential to be a big deal at one time or another only for them to fall far short of expectations. That doesn’t mean their careers were utter failures as they could be solid or even spectacular performers that did worse than the plans that fans and the company had in mind.

21 Roman Reigns

via wwe.com

Someone that appears on this list solely because of how big of a deal the WWE wants him to be, Roman Reigns has accomplished a lot but still falls short in some major ways. Seemingly set up to headline WrestleMania again at the time of this writing, Roman also competed in the final match of the night at the three previous year’s versions of that event. Each time the end of a year-long plan by the WWE to make him the biggest and most beloved star in the company, by the end of the night he has been on the receiving end of a chorus of boos.

Rejected over and over again, this is a rejection of the company forcing him down fan’s throats. As such, within a few months of WrestleMania ending Roman is pushed down the card in an attempt to stop fans from feeling like he is forced on them. Sad, as he clearly is a charismatic person and he has taken part in several solid matches, he is far more capable then some give him credit for. In fact, if you ask us the WWE needs only to let the fans get behind him at their own pace instead of making him the man in the build-up to Mania each year to make him the star they want him to be.

20 Tye Dillinger

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Someone that was brought up to the main roster in 2017 after he made his debut in the Royal Rumble, it was all too fitting that Tye Dillinger came out tenth in that beloved match. Something that made a lot of sense as he had been referring to himself as a perfect ten in NXT for some time, there is no doubt that his recently redesigned character had begun to take off. That said, we’re also pretty certain that he was added to the SmackDown roster in part because he had been under a WWE developmental deal for more than ten years at that time.

Someone that is extremely talented in the ring and had just been figuring out a character the company might have been able to get behind, he was called up and all that momentum stopped. In fact, if you watch SmackDown week to week we could easily forgive you if you forget he exists until he pops up since he is used so sparingly. If only the company called people up only when they had an actual plan of how to use him.

19 The Dudley Boyz

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A pair of wrestlers that is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of their 2018 class, we couldn’t be happier that The Dudley Boyz are being celebrated as they deserve it. That said, as much as we admire their work for the WWE during their first run as well as what they did in ECW, their 2015 and 2016 WWE comeback was all too brief and underwhelming. Clearly brought back as a nostalgia act that could compete with some less seasoned talent, they were perfectly serviceable in that role.

No matter how consistent the recent run The Dudley Boyz had was we can’t imagine anyone who followed their careers since they last worked for the WWE being happy with it. We say that because they had a long run in TNA and during the last few years of that they went their own ways and recreated themselves to perfection. With both of them dropping a lot of weight and making themselves over into real threats, when Bubba renamed himself as Bully Ray it resulted in most likely the single best run of his entire career. As such, when they returned home to the WWE we hoped they might have at least a short run of real relevance but they were never given that chance.

18 Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas

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Two men that are sons of former wrestling standouts, when we heard the WWE had signed the offspring of Mr. Perfect and IRS we were pretty excited. Then we got to see them in action on a major scale for the first time and we have to say we were disappointed. After all, Curtis started out as a pale impression of his dad while Bo was the aw-shucks good guy that fans were never going to embrace. However, in the case of Bo, he remade his character into a play on an inspirational speaker and his over the top delivery made him extremely entertaining. However, once he became a joke on the Raw roster he yet again was going nowhere. For his part, Curtis was teamed up with Paul Heyman and then Ryback and neither relationship helped him break out.

With both men’s career going absolutely nowhere for some time after various attempts at making them work they became the backup to the infinitely entertaining Miz. Known as The Miztourage as a pair, we can say that they have a place on the show each week at least. Still, considering the excitement we once felt for each of their careers this small success does not live up to expectations.

17 Austin Aries

via WWE.com

A bit of an infamous character, Austin Aries has so many of the characteristics that a wrestler needs in order to become a big star. Extremely capable in the ring and on the microphone, he carries himself with a great deal of bravado and absolutely comes off like someone that knows how good he is. Sadly, that egotism can be a real boon to a wrestler’s career if the company agrees with him but in the case of Austin’s relationship with the WWE, it seems to have been his undoing.

Brought up to the main roster to compete in the WWE’s Cruiserweight Division, most competitors would have been overjoyed with that opportunity. However, Austin seems to believe to his core that he could be among the biggest stars in any division. As such, after he competed as a part of the WrestleMania Pre-Show and he began to feel he wasn’t going to be used in a major role frustration set in. Made all the worse when he failed to even win the Cruiserweight belt from Neville and his Pre-Show match was not included on the Mania DVD, Austin opted to walk away from the WWE. A part of the company for less than two years and never really focused on, Austin fell far short of fan’s expectations.

16 Kurt Angle

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Arguably among the best talents the wrestling world has ever seen, when Kurt Angle debuted we were astonished by how quickly he picked up the business. Fantastic in the ring and somehow just as good on the microphone during his first WWE run, when he entered the main event mix we couldn’t have been happier about it. When he then left the WWE and ended up in TNA for years on end he quickly became the best performer they had on their roster as well which further pointed to how great he can be.

Opting to come back to the WWE for the first time since 2006 when he returned in 2017, to say we were ecstatic that he was back in the fold is an understatement. Of course, we’ve included him on this list so it should be obvious that we think that his run has been far less successful than we’d hoped. Given a role that at one time would have seemed perfect for him, as the Raw General Manager his main job is to speak on the microphone. Sadly, since he last worked for the WWE they have changed things and now he must give carefully scripted promos each week which has not gone well. Constantly flubbing lines and not given the gravitas he deserves, other people have done his job much better which is shocking to us. Additionally, when he made his in-ring return he hadn’t yet gotten into ring shape and he was clearly out of breath very quickly, which was a little bit sad even though it wasn’t his fault.

15 Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

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A tag team that was brought in during the same period of time as AJ Styles, all three of them were a major part of what made The Bullet Club such a success around the world. A trio that many expected to reunite in the WWE before too long, at first their runs could not have been more different as AJ competed in main events and this duo became a comedy act. Forced to try their best to makes some awfully written comedy sketches work, they fell far short of that goal and where we expected them to be. Then, our prayers seemed to be answered when they joined AJ’s act as his muscle and all of them were entertaining yet again. Of course, that lasted a very short period of time as the brand extension broke them up.

On their own on Raw, many hoped that the recently called up Finn Balor who was a Bullet Club founder would be their newest leader but again that was not to be for a long time. Instead, yet again they were left to do very little in the middle of the card and lose matches far more often than not. Finally put together with Finn only recently, their connection is barely explained aside from odd references to being longtime friends and this act isn’t really connecting as of yet either.

14 Damien Sandow

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Someone that was repackaged over and over for no good reason, it seems like the WWE was trying to find a character that Damien would fail at playing instead of how to make him a star. Introduced as an egotistical character that prided himself on being smarter than the unwashed masses, Damien Sandow pulled that character fantastically. Despite that, the company didn’t do much with him and before too long he became a laughingstock that the company dressed up in childish Halloween style costumes. Still, he proved how entertaining he can be by committing to these dumb skits and actually tuning many of them around.

Then one night the WWE had him come out with The Miz who liked to brag about the movie roles he was receiving. Claiming to be the stunt double of the star, Damien mimicked everything The Miz did and it quickly became one of the most entertaining parts of WWE TV. As such, when The Miz began abusing him fans were chomping at the bit to see him attack his jerk of a leader but amazingly when they were broken up the fud we all expected barely took place. Spending most of the rest of his WWE tenure doing one of the worst impersonations of Randy Savage we’ve ever seen, he was then released from the company. Able to spin gold out of everything he was given except his final awful gimmick, Damien should have been a huge star but never was.

13 Bray Wyatt

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If you were among the many that watched WWE throughout 2012 then there is a good chance that you will recall the vignettes that aired introducing the Wyatt Family to the main roster. Unlike anything else we’d ever seen the WWE put together, there was something truly unsettling about them and the backwoods cult-like atmosphere they created. A group that was led by Bray Wyatt, for a time it seemed like we were going to have one of the most interesting and cutting-edge factions in the history of the business introduced. Then they debuted and although we were uncertain of them starting out by feuding with someone like Kane we were sure it was only the beginning of great things for all involved.

Five years after his debut we can now say that Bray Wyatt, the man we once saw as the charismatic Wyatt Family leader, has fallen far short of our expectations. On the losing end of one feud after another, whether Bray went into battle against the likes of John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, or Daniel Bryan he would ultimately lose. As a result, fans across the world quickly began to lose faith in him and even when he won the WWE Championship prior to WrestleMania it was clearly so he could drop the title to Orton. Losing his followers along the way as well, even his once riveting promos are now boring as they sound kind of creepy but there is no substance and they are so repetitive. Someone that seemed like he could have been the next Undertaker in terms of being a vaguely gothic and fearsome character, instead we often roll our eyes when Bray appears on our TV.

12 Evan Bourne

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A wrestler whose charm mostly comes down to one thing, Evan Bourne is capable of doing some truly incredible things in the ring. Signed by the WWE in 2007 and a part of their roster until 2014, it is abundantly clear that many of his fellow stars thought he was capable of becoming a big star. Also buoyed by an underdog character that a lot of fans could get behind, men like Chris Jericho and Randy Orton seemed to be invested in his success. Of course, this is the WWE and the opinion that truly matters is Vince McMahon’s. Seemingly never able to win over the boss, Evan’s did have a run as a WWE Tag Team Champion but after an extended time out of the ring due to injury, he was released once he got healthy.

11 Maria and Mike Kanellis

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A pair that we really hope is able to turn things around at some point in the future, when Maria and Mike Kanellis were signed by the WWE we were very excited. A real-life couple that we’d seen compete all over the world and for other companies like TNA and New Japan in the past, we know all too well how entertaining they can be.

Never able to do much of anything at all since their signing, Mike started a feud with Sami Zayn that went nowhere but has since all but disappeared. While things weren’t going stellar for them on TV it seems their absence came as a result of Mike battling and defeating his addiction issues and Maria becoming pregnant. With Mike clean for a number of months at this point, we thought he’d be brought back onto television in a big way which has not happened at all. We’re still hoping the company is just waiting to make them stars after Maria decides to come back to work but so far, they really have accomplished pretty much nothing.

10 Emma

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Someone that spent months bragging about how she was responsible for the starting of what became the women’s revolution, it was clear that aspect of Emma’s character was meant to annoy. Something that made some fans see her as full of herself, we never quite got it as anyone that paid attention to NXT would know that her claim was entirely true. One half of a match with Paige that showed just how good women's wrestling can be, that idea permeated NXT and then was brought up to the main roster.

Sadly, even though Emma developed a huge fan following in NXT, they organically built her character and her time on the main roster was a study in the exact opposite. Never actually explained and then repackaged multiple times, at no time had the company made who her character was supposed to be particularly clear for fans. As a result of that and her constantly shifting focus she never got any real traction or went anywhere on the main roster before she was released.

9 Enzo Amore

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Introduced to most fans as one half of a tag team with Big Cass, Enzo Amore and his large partner were incredibly popular as a part of the main roster and NXT. An outspoken performer whose entrance involved him speaking on the mic, crowds all over the world yelled their hearts out alongside him as he made his way to the ring. A duo that seemed destined for Tag Team gold, they never won those belts in NXT or on the main roster prior to their pairing exploding.

On his own for the first time since most people became aware of him, before too long Enzo moved on to be the person 205 Live was based around. An interesting part of that show as his in-ring ability was highly suspect and 205 Live is largely based around that, instead, he brought a huge amount of personality. The focal point of that show for a time, that lasted up until his release from the company. Let go because of horrendous accusations against him and how he handled them, it seems hard to imagine Enzo ever returning to the WWE. As a result of that, someone that seemed like he could be someone crowds could rally around for years had only a brief run that resulted in very little.

8 Apollo

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A wrestler we think the WWE has mishandled pretty much from the moment they signed him, Apollo is one heck of a talent. Highly anticipated when he was set to debut in NXT, he’d already built an impressive reputation for his athletic ability prior to that. However, he did seem to need a lot of work on his ability to play a character if he was going to make it in the WWE. Sadly, it seems like Vince McMahon saw how muscular he is and how beaming his smile is and brought him up to the main roster before he was ready for that role.

Barely using him for a time because of his lack of a character after that, the company has tried to give him a personality by teaming him with Titus O’Neil. Unfortunately, while Titus is jammed with the charisma that Apollo is missing and they should be a great pair they aren’t really doing much of anything. This is probably the case because Titus has already been a lesser character on the main roster for years and he is seen at a certain level that now it seems Apollo will also never exceed.

7 Bayley

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At one time the most beloved figure in NXT and arguably the entire WWE, during her time in developmental it seemed like Bayley was a can’t miss superstar. Extremely easy to get behind as she had such an obvious and sincere affection for the business and came across like the ultimate underdog, fans of all ages got behind her. Feeling she was poised for great things we couldn’t wait for her to make the leap to the main roster where she was sure to become a gigantic star. In fact, at one time we thought she had the potential to rival any other WWE superstar in terms of popularity with kids at least.

Finally called up to the Raw roster, for some reason the WWE felt like they didn’t have to build her up for the people in the crowd that had not seen her rise in NXT. As such, longtime fans were still behind her but there were others that were unaware of how to take her which led to her receiving tepid responses in arenas. Worse yet, her character was written to betray the morals she’d always espoused when she refused to relinquish the title after learning her championship match was tainted by interference. In short, on the main roster, they have completely failed at recreating what made her so magical in NXT and her career has suffered for it.

6 Dolph Ziggler

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A former two-time World Heavyweight Champion in the WWE, when Dolph won that title from Alberto Del Rio the night after WrestleMania the energy was simply electric. At the time the wrestler that many wanted to see pushed to the top of the card more than any other, that momentum derailed soon thereafter after he suffered a concussion. Never since someone that seems destined to be one of the company’s biggest stars, Dolph’s character has gone through the same rotation time and time again.

Often used as a talent for other up and coming talent to defeat in order to seem as though they are destined for big things, Dolph will lose on TV for months on end. Then, out of nowhere, it seems the WWE decides they need to make the fans see him as a star again and they have him win randomly and often in fluke fashion. At the same time giving the same promos in which he tries to come off impassioned about how great he truly is, by now fans know he won’t exceed a certain level and don’t buy in. Rinse and repeat. Now, someone that fans have been programmed not to have lasting faith in, it is shocking to remember how behind him so many of us were only a relatively short time ago.

5 Kassius Ohno

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A wrestler that had spent a long time building his name up as a part of the independent wrestling scene as Chris Hero, when he was renamed Kassius Ohno by the WWE it took many by surprise. Don’t get us wrong, it wasn’t shocking at all that they wanted him to change his name as that is what the company did with the wrestlers it signed at the time. However, the cartoonish new name he was given seemed like a harbinger of how the company perceived his talents and all this time later it seems like they don’t see enough in him.

A very talented wrestler who isn’t the muscular type the WWE usually signs, he was even released from NXT reportedly in large part due to his size. Brought back into the fold in 2016, since then he has accomplished very little from a storyline perspective and has wrestled in some of the worst ring gear we’ve ever seen. In fact, we can’t even think of the last time we saw him in any kind of important role on NXT TV.

4 Woken Matt Hardy

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Someone that we fully expect to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame at some point in the future, Matt Hardy has had a pretty incredible career. Best known as a part of The Hardy Boyz tag team with his brother Jeff, by the beginning of the 2010s they’d already accomplished a great deal in the business. Then Matt and Jeff shocked the wrestling world during the final part of their TNA run by completely changing as “Broken” versions of themselves.

Resigned by the WWE while they were the talk of the business to a large degree, for many it was Matt who they especially wanted to see go back to his over the top character. Sadly, at the time legal battles ensured that didn’t happen but after that was cleared up the WWE introduced their version, known as “Woken” Matt Hardy. However, as of yet the only thing that Matt seems to do is have a crazed look in his eye, snap his teeth together, and laugh. That may change in the future as a return to the Hardy compound has been announced but at this point, we don’t have much faith.

3 Kharma

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Say what you will about the WWE during the so-called Divas era but when Kharma first appeared on the scene they were doing a marvelous job of building her up. Previously known as Awesome Kong in other companies, the WWE created a spine-tingling entrance theme for her and had her go out to the ring and beat down one fellow competitor after another. As fans, we sat back in awe of something we’d never really seen the WWE do with one of their female competitors and salivated at the potential of her first in-ring match.

Then one week she came to the ring and the monster we’d come to know became a human being that was going to be taking some time away due to some news in her personal life. Unfortunately, she would go on to suffer a personal tragedy that kept her out of action for a long time and had a major effect on her potential WWE run. Only ever returning to compete in the 2012 Royal Rumble match, Kharma was then released never to be seen in a WWE ring again. Somewhat different than others on this list as her run hit the skids for all too real and sad personal reasons, there is still no doubt that we wanted to see so much more out of Kharma than we did.

2 Hideo Itami

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An international superstar that reigned supreme in Pro Wrestling Noah for a time, when the WWE signed the man that was then known as Kenta they celebrated that fact. Announcing their talent acquisition in the ring at a WWE event in Osaka, when he made his NXT debut and was renamed Hideo Itami the crowd present went totally wild. At first given the kind of push that someone of his stature deserved when he took out The Ascension all by himself while they were still a serious threat, from there things only went downhill.

Continuing to wrestle on NXT events for a time, he began to take part in storylines but it was clear that Hideo seemed to be struggling to find his footing. That said, he was able to compete at WrestleMania 31 in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal which showed the company still had faith in him. Then the injury bug came into play as a damaged shoulder took him out of action followed by his neck being hurt bad enough that he again had to step away. Ultimately spending the majority of two years on the sidelines, he again made his return in April of last year but by then a lot of the excitement had died down. Recently added to the roster of 205 Live, he was not properly introduced to this new show which means many WWE fans have no idea who he is and those that do have largely lost faith in his WWE run.