All wrestlers will not get the same opportunity to prove their greatness when working for WWE. There is a show business element where the people in charge make the decisions on who they believe deserves an opportunity to thrive and which wrestlers don’t get those chances. However, it doesn’t always work out as planned since WWE is often criticized for how they book talent, especially in recent years.
We will look at instances from both sides of the coin with WWE’s poor judgment. The wrestlers have high expectations and disappointments proved that the company’s choice will not always work out whether due to their lack of talent, bad luck, or other variables. Meanwhile, there were some extremely talented wrestlers that just never had a chance to show it when working for the big stage. Find out which five wrestlers were the biggest disappointments in WWE history along with the five that deserved more.
10 Disappointment: Sin Cara
It is easy to forget just how much WWE hyped the signing of the original Sin Cara. This was one of the first big signings influenced by Triple H when he signed Mexican wrestling star Mistico and brought him over to the United States to portray the Sin Cara character in WWE.
The fit was a bad one as he would develop a reputation for botching in almost every match early in his career. Sin Cara would lose all the luster from the months of hype and injuries would further slow him down. WWE eventually released Mistico and allowed Hunico to work as Sin Cara to this day.
9 Deserved more: William Regal
William Regal is currently getting respect today as the General Manager of NXT. WWE views him as an important figure backstage as well when it comes to scouting talent that gets offered contracts to join the promotion. Unfortunately, we missed out on a potentially great run by Regal.
WWE primarily used Regal as a mid-carder or lower card act during his prime years as an in-ring performer. Given his influence on many of today’s top stars, Regal certainly could have been used way better and deserved a few more chances in the upper tier of WWE.
8 Disappointment: Lex Luger
Vince McMahon viewed Lex Luger as WWE’s next Hulk Hogan in the mid-'90s after Hogan left the company. Luger was a proven top star for WCW that made WWE sign him away, especially with McMahon’s preference for wrestlers with his physique.
The huge push for Luger in 1993 was to see him dethrone Yokozuna for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 10 and become the new face of the company. Fans, however, showed no interest in Luger as a top star and preferred Bret Hart. WWE went with Hart over Luger and Luger’s WWE tenure is viewed as a huge disappointment looking back.
7 Deserved more: Raven
Raven deserves consideration when discussing the most underrated wrestlers of the late '90s. Despite working for all three major promotions of the time, ECW was the only one to push him to the top. Raven had arguably the greatest ECW Championship reign that helped the company grow.
WCW used him as a mid-carder with some memorable feuds with Diamond Dallas Page and Goldberg. WWE sadly would put the least effort into booking Raven as he was a lower card act for the hardcore division. Raven’s great promo skills and entertaining matches deserved to be showcased in WWE instead of being a forgotten member of the roster.
6 Disappointment: Carlito
WWE had high expectations for Carlito when joining the main roster. Vince McMahon loved the athletic ability of Carlito along with his charisma and background as a second-generation wrestler. The first appearance for Carlito on SmackDown would see him defeat John Cena for the United States Championship to show his value.
Carlito received a few chances to move up the card specifically during a program with Triple H. Backstage rumors were confirmed when Triple H and later Ric Flair called out Carlito in their promos for his lazy efforts as a performance. WWE viewed Carlito as being complacent which led to his demise in the company.
5 Deserved more: Summer Rae
Summer Rae is not a name that stands out right away when thinking of the recent underutilized wrestlers in WWE. However, the runs she had in NXT and FCW showcased an impressive level of charisma that should have led to more success on the main roster.
FCW would showcase Summer as an authority figure and NXT would have her often outshine her stablemates Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair on the microphone. There was even a great promo when Summer verbally destroyed Rusev for ending their storyline when getting engaged to Lana. WWE sadly never cared to do anything of note with her following it.
4 Disappointment: Scott Steiner
The signing of Scott Steiner in 2002 provided a huge story for the wrestling world when he joined WWE. Steiner was coming off a break after WCW ended with him as one of the final top stars for the promotion. WWE expected him to find similar success when joining them with a world of momentum.
Steiner had an incredible debut with Madison Square Garden fans adoring him. A horrible introduction feud with Triple H killed all momentum. Steiner believes Triple H intentionally had bad matches and tried to bury him, but the WWE legacy of for Big Poppa Pump remains an all-time disappointment.
3 Deserved more: Paul London
WWE has developed a reputation for signing the most talented wrestlers from the independent circuit and pushing them to the moon. Names like Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, and Kevin Owens all showed WWE’s new philosophy on signing indie stars.
Paul London was one of the original stars made in ROH to get a shot in WWE. Sadly, this was before WWE was ready to push smaller wrestlers that made a name elsewhere. London had a nice run with Brian Kendrick in a tag team, but WWE had no interest in using him to his potential.
2 Disappointment: Mr. Kennedy
WWE had multiple huge plans for Mr. Kennedy to become a top star for the company after a great first few years to earn momentum. Kennedy won the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2007 with plans to become a future world champion. Injuries forced him to lose the briefcase to Edge who became the champion instead.
Another moment of bad luck came when he violated the Wellness Policy during a storyline that would see him revealed as Vince McMahon’s son. WWE’s suspension took it away from him and he was released not too long after that.
1 Deserved more: Goldust
Dustin Rhodes (aka Goldust) clearly had a Hall of Fame-worthy career, but he could have done so much more for WWE. The character of Goldust was a huge hit in the late '90s as he continued to gain momentum with something that was never done before.
WWE, however, did not view him as anything more than a mid-carder. Dustin’s incredible match with Cody Rhodes at AEW Double or Nothing had the wrestling world talking. The fact that arguably his best match ever took place at 50 years old outside of WWE proved they missed the boat.