A lot of the time, WWE pushes a wrestler and gives up on their push pretty quickly. Sometimes that happens due to unfortunate events such as injuries, while other times Vince McMahon just loses his interest in that superstar and moves onto something else.
Many talented wrestlers, for this reason, have not been able to reach their full potential in WWE. After the company stops pushing them, they typically adopt a different gimmick and rarely get screen time. The following are a few examples of when WWE pushed a superstar but then ended their push early, giving up on them quickly in the process.
8 Andrade
There were initially strong rumors that Vince McMahon was high on Andrade. When Paul Heyman was Raw Executive Director, Andrade was getting decent screen time too.
But after Heyman lost his position in WWE, El Idolo stopped getting pushed. Then reports emerged that Vince was no longer interested in Andrade. After Zelina Vega left him and Angel Garza for her singles run, Andrade was never the same again. Some time ago he requested his release and now he is a free agent.
7 Ricochet
Ricochet was one of the guys Paul Heyman really liked and wanted to make him a huge superstar in the company. He gave the one and only shots to show off his amazing agility and power. But Vince buried him with a squash loss to Brock Lesnar at Super ShowDown in 2020.
Ever since then, Ricochet hasn't been able to rise up again. His feud with Retribution was also a failure and he lost many pointless matches. It is quite obvious that Vince doesn't see anything special in the former NXT Champion and that's the reason he doesn't push him.
6 Humberto Carrillo
Humberto Carrillo never really made a huge splash on the main roster, but he did face several top wrestlers in the company. Carrillo even teamed up with Cain Velasquez in Mexico and gained a huge victory against The Good Brothers.
Once again, after the Paul Heyman regime came to an end, Carrillo struggled on the main roster. It wasn't too long before WWE gave up on him and he became an afterthought. This was a shame, especially considering Carrillo's high standing in the Draft and his initial feud against AJ Styles.
5 Chad Gable
When Chad Gable became Shorty G, many thought it was a ridiculous idea. But pretty soon, rumors emerged that this was one of Vince McMahon's plans to push the wrestler. Allegedly, Vince saw a younger Kurt Angle in Gable and wanted to push him purely on the basis of his in-ring abilities.
But even after several impressive performances in the ring, it seemed like WWE wasn't as high on Gable as they were a short time ago, especially McMahon. While his current tag team with Otis is getting him some television time, it's evident that WWE has given up on the singles push they originally planned for Gable.
4 Bo Dallas
Bo Dallas was a top-tier heel in NXT, even winning the NXT Championship. But ever since he joined the main roster, Dallas has never been quite the same. For some time though, he did maintain an undefeated streak on the main roster, but Vince soon lost faith in him. After Dallas lost to R-Truth on Raw in 2014, it ended his momentum permanently.
Since then, he has worked only as a lower mid-card wrestler for most of his run. He has not even been seen on WWE television for a long time and at this point, it seems like the company just doesn't care about him anymore.
3 Keith Lee
Last year, Keith Lee scored a huge victory over Randy Orton at Payback. It seemed like the beginning of a push, and Lee did receive one, but it didn't last for long.
There were some rumors last year that Vince McMahon doesn't see a lot in the former NXT Champion. While he may change this mind later, it's clear that right now, McMahon doesn't see Lee as worthy of a top push. Even before he was written off the television, Keith wasn't doing extraordinary things on Raw.
2 Otis
Otis got his WrestleMania moment last year after he defeated Dolph Ziggler at the Shows of Shows and won over the love of his life. But since then, Otis hasn't done a lot.
When he won the Money in the Bank briefcase, fans thought Vince was giving him another push, especially considering the fact that there were several reports suggesting he was a fan of the big man. Despite winning the briefcase, WWE did nothing to push him. He ended up dropping his contract to The Miz, and now it seems like Vince doesn't consider him a priority anymore.
1 Retribution
A group filled with rising stars led by Mustafa Ali, Retribution had everything it needed to succeed. It was the hottest storyline for some time in WWE, but the company messed up once again. It didn't take long before things went south.
It started last year when Retribution started losing matches and it became obvious that Vince had zero interest in the group. The faction has now ended but if WWE had done things differently, it might have become successful. Unfortunately, it will be chalked up to being another short-term experiment to try and boost ratings for the red brand.