Things change quickly in pro wrestling and it feels like the industry has been turned upside down since 2010. The process of a new decade finds the business in a different place now and we’re not even near to the end of the ten year frame. Since 2010, guys like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have become the new biggest stars in WWE but both have retired already. The Shield and The Wyatt Family introduced a new core of superstars ready to become the next generation of WWE main eventers. Divas are now treated credibly. NXT is booming. So many things have already evolved with more growth coming.
WWE has changed their business and are now looking to sign the best performers from all over the world rather than just failed bodybuilders or fitness models. Their openmind and variety has led to Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, AJ Styles and many others coming in to add new faces with respected reputations. WWE has become more exciting with dream matches taking place more commonly in the past six years. TNA has unfortunately taken a downturn but still has had its fair share of memorable moments. ROH and other independent promotions have grown with their former stars making it in WWE and adding to their reputation.
While many great things have happened since 2010 and the business is better today, there are still plenty of negative stories to have become prominent since then. As with any era, the talent isn’t always going to be perfect. There has been an array of terrible wrestlers to come through every wrestling promotion and leave a very negative impact on the audience. We’re going to take a look at some of those stories and how they shook out. Six years are a long time in the world of pro wrestling and these talents are the worst of the worst. Join us as we embark on the journey of finding the twenty worst wrestlers of the 2010s.
20 20. Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman's WWE career is not even a full year old but the big man deserves a spot as one of the worst wrestlers of this decade. Strowman is a Vince McMahon pet project due to his large size and untapped potential. The company is rumored to have big long term plans for him involving future feuds with Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. While he has worked mostly in tag team action, Strowman is still a disaster in the ring and is guaranteed to give us years of boredom if given the push expected. The big man may be the worst wrestler on the main roster right now and one of the worst of the past five years.
19 19. Velvet Sky
TNA’s Knockouts Division has been among the highlights of the company since it debuted and has delivered high ratings during the early Spike TV years. Velvet Sky and Angelina Love were red hot with The Beautiful People gimmick. Once they split and Velvet started wrestling in singles matches, she was completely exposed for being a terrible in-ring performer. Sky still struggles to keep up and has a difficult time just running the ropes. There are very few performers of either gender that look less natural in the ring. Velvet has been a part of many terrible matches that have helped harm the division.
18 18. The Ascension
NXT has become arguably the biggest story of the 2010s with the developmental promotion becoming a popular product that has created new stars. Many current successful performers like Bray Wyatt, Kevin Owens and Sasha Banks used NXT as a platform to acclimate themselves into WWE before getting an opportunity on Raw. Not all performers could make the jump from NXT to WWE as The Ascension serves as an example of failure. The tag team got over in NXT but were always below average performers at best with their matches failing to leave an impact on the viewer. The duo floundered right away on the main roster and show very little value.
17 17. Matt Morgan
TNA signed Matt Morgan in 2007 and gave him many chances with most of them coming in 2010-2012. Morgan entered the world championship picture for the first time in his career and failed to deliver with lackluster matches against Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson. The big man would enter tag teams with Crimson and Joey Ryan, both of which were dreadfully boring and harmed TNA’s chances at building a credible tag team division. Morgan eventually retired but he has to go down as one of the most aggressively uninteresting wrestlers in TNA history and one of the worst of the 2010s.
16 16. Tamina
Tamina is the daughter of Jimmy Snuka but the ability to excite pro wrestling audiences didn’t carry over. Despite being one of the longest tenured Divas on the roster, Tamina is currently the worst member of the division and has been a chore to watch since her debut in the company. The Divas Revolution saw the introduction of new stars in Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Charlotte. Other members of the roster stepped us such as The Bellas, Naomi, Paige and Alicia Fox. Tamina stood out as by far the worst of the nine. The role of bodyguard for AJ Lee and later Naomi has utilized Tamina well, but when she’s wrestling, there are few as bad as her.
15 15. Adam Rose
Adam Rose has been in the WWE system since 2010 but has yet to establish himself as a standout performer. Between his gimmicks as Leo Kruger and later the party master Adam Rose, he has been in a role that screams jobber. Rose made his debut on the main roster with the “Exotic Express” party gimmick but it couldn’t get over in front of larger crowds and his matches didn’t help the cause. The South African native is currently being used effectively as comedy fodder in the Social Outcasts faction but he isn’t someone you particularly want to watch wrestle. Rose is one of the bigger flops in recent memory and may be the biggest of the 2010s.
14 14. The Great Khali
There’s no doubt The Great Khali would have been at the top of this list if the WWE didn’t realize how terrible he was from 2006-2010. After a few failed pushes as a top singles heel, Khali’s position in the company declined into a comedic face in throwaway segments. Khali was no longer involved in credible segments but any time you were forced to watch him wrestle, it made for a very unpleasant time and killed the momentum of a show. Khali’s comedy still wasn't great for viewers due to his cringe worthy segments with Nattie and Hornswoggle. Luckily, the gentle giant has retired and we don’t have to worry about him anymore.
13 13. David Otunga
The debut of the Nexus was the first big angle in 2010 and featured a group of young stars looking to take over the WWE. Wade Barrett led the group but many expected David Otunga to become the biggest star. Otunga had a great look, was an eloquent speaker and had mainstream ties with his marriage to star singer Jennifer Hudson. Unfortunately, all his strengths couldn’t make up for his glaring weakness in the ring. Otunga was a trainwreck with very little acumen when it came down to having an entertaining and compelling wrestling match. The former highly touted prospect was so bad that WWE moved him into a broadcasting role.
12 12. Mojo Rawley
WWE has taken some chances on former NFL stars with the Performance Center being built in Florida to mold the future stars of the business. The system allows beginners to train daily and learn what’s needed to become successful. Sadly in Mojo Rawley’s case, the wrestling bug just doesn’t seem to be there. Baron Corbin is the prime example of someone learning in the Performance Center and it shows with his growing success in NXT. Rawley has been unable to build any steam and is one of the worst in-ring performers in either brand of the WWE. A dead end tag team with Zack Ryder is likely the best Mojo will be able to do in the wrestling business as he’s failing to grow as a performer.
11 11. Crimson
TNA went through a phase where they tried to push a couple of generic wrestlers who were new to the business because they had a good look and potential. Crimson is the prime example of this as he entered the company with a long undefeated streak. Considering guys like A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels were being used in a smaller role, it was embarrassing to see TNA push someone so undeserving with the hopes of him becoming a main event star. Obviously, Crimson didn’t live up to the company’s expectations and failed rather horribly. Following the end of his undefeated streak, Crimson became irrelevant before departing from TNA.
10 10. Erick Rowan
The Wyatt Family has become one of the more popular WWE factions in recent memory and is most celebrated for the original trio before Braun Strowman joined. Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan created the perfect trio of fascinating yet terrifying characters. Wyatt and Harper truly carried the faction with the former’s microphone skills and the latter’s in-ring greatness. Rowan lucked out by being a tall guy with a beard. Aside from sporting the unique sheep mask, Rowan has done very little to stand out as a performer and it showed during his short singles run. WWE split the Family and tried to push Rowan as a face, but it resulted in nothing but terrible matches until they reunited him with Harper.
9 9. Rosa Mendes
Rosa Mendes has been in the WWE system since 2006. How has she even lasted this long? The beauty continued to try her luck at wrestling but could never pick it up. Mendes was one of the typical Divas of the former era that looked good but couldn’t do anything of note in the wrestling ring. With the company trying to build a credible division, Rosa was moved into more of a valet role with stints managing Fandango and Primo and Epico. She still would appear in the random match but never impressed in the slightest.
8 8. Bull Dempsey
The NXT system has created or helped introduce many of the biggest stars in WWE today but there is another side of it. With every success story like Finn Balor or Kevin Owens, there are ten more stories of failure. Bull Dempsey is the perfect tale of a wrestler completely bombing in NXT despite getting multiple chances to succeed. The agile big man was partially trained by Taz but never showed the intensity that Taz did during his career. Dempsey was already a disaster before taking a terrible risk with the BullFit gimmick. Poking fun as his weight gain with a poor attempt at comedy, Dempsey lost his spot on television and was recently released.
7 7. Brad Maddox
It may be unfair to peg Brad Maddox as one of the worst wrestlers in the business when a great percentage of his camera time came as a referee or general manager. Maddox dropped the ball whenever put in a wrestling match and showed little ability of getting to a higher level in the industry. Given he was technically the guy in charge of Raw and involved in a big storyline involving CM Punk and Ryback, it’s obvious WWE wanted him to develop into a star but the guy didn’t have anything special to offer once the bell rung. Maddox was fired for using the term “cocky pricks” and has yet to continue his wrestling career.
6 6. Cameron
Cameron's story is full of terrible and embarrassing moments. Cameron’s introduction to WWE was getting eliminated on the reality show Tough Enough for dismaying host Steve Austin by saying her favorite wrestling match of all time was Alicia Fox vs. Melina. WWE would sign her and put her on the main roster as she was named one of the first members of the Total Divas reality show cast. Cameron delivered abysmal matches every time she was in the ring and showed no signs of improvement. At one point, Cameron covered her opponent while the opponent was face first on the mat and didn’t understand why the referee didn’t count.
5 5. Sin Cara
The signing of Mexican wrestling icon Mistico and the introduction of Sin Cara was met with huge hype. WWE aired amazing promotional videos, had him skip developmental and the rumors were Triple H expected him to become a huge player for the company. That ended instantly as Sin Cara looked like a complete joke every week with embarrassing botches in each match. The character lacked any definition or purpose and his lack of results in the ring further ruined his chances at success. Mistico was rumored to have an attitude problem so he was let go but the character continued with Hunico under the mask. Things still haven’t improved for the Sin Cara character and it will be hard to top for biggest bust of the decade.
4 4. Ezekiel Jackson
Ezekiel Jackson’s push coincided with the beginning of the 2010s and he was one of the first busts of the time frame. The big man was given a push as the final ECW Champion when WWE closed the doors of the brand. Jackson defeated Christian to hold the title last as a way to set up his future as a star on Raw and SmackDown. The big man would see more noteworthy roles as a member of The Corre faction (a spin-off of the Nexus) and a face run as the Intercontinental Champion. Nothing worked as Jackson was atrocious in the ring and couldn’t get over. Jackson would continue his career in Lucha Underground’s first season but may have been the worst wrestler on the roster.
3 3. Garett Bischoff
Eric Bischoff's ego saw his son Garett Bischoff have a featured spot on TNA television. Eric was one of the more powerful people in the company and Garett debuted as a referee that turned heel to stand up against his father. TNA put him in a position to become a main eventer but it was all laughable. Hulk Hogan said Garett was the future of the wrestling business but a packed Wembley Stadium booed him out of the building. They tried to have him lead a team with stars like Rob Van Dam, AJ Styles and Austin Aries but fans cared about Garett the least. The final resort was having him turn heel in Aces and Eights but it was as lackluster as everything else. Nepotism typically leads to failure in wrestling.
2 2. Eva Marie
Everyone knows just how bad Eva Marie is at pro wrestling, delivering some of the worst matches you’ll ever see. The thing that makes it worse is WWE clearly wants to push her more than most of the other names on this list. Eva is being showcased on NXT with the hopes of her in-ring skills becoming at least competent enough to make it on the main roster. Her great look has led to being a fixture on the Total Divas reality show and getting more mainstream opportunities than the other ladies on the roster. Eva has not shown much signs of improvement and actually forgot to kick out at two in a match on a recent episode of NXT that made the referee look dumb.
1 1. Alex Riley
Alex Riley is an absolute mess. WWE expected him to become a huge star when he was positioned as The Miz’s protégé during Miz’s WWE Championship reign. Riley would turn face by feuding with Miz but his career peaked there. Between sloppy botches and overall poor work, Riley saw his value diminish and was rarely on television. The company would transition him into a broadcasting role until he made his return to the ring last year. Riley’s highlight was getting embarrassed by Kevin Owens and seemingly losing his mind. Today, Riley is working terrible matches on NXT and looks like a caveman that has not seen the invention of the shower. Considering he flopped with a big push and is now failing in obscurity, Alex Riley has to be the worst wrestler of the 2010s.