The WWE have been around for decades now, and have given us such top stars like Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, John Cena, Stone Cold and others. Their star power has never really been lacking, but a good wrestling roster needs much more than that, including depth in the tag team and women’s division, but that’s something that the company has always struggled with. That is evident in this list, as we are going to talk about 12 WWE stars from the early 2000s that we have already forgotten, whether it be to their poor, boring gimmicks, or the fact that they’ve completely stepped away from wrestling.
On the other hand, there are those from these times that left, and have remained in fans' minds ever since, and that’s also a list we are going to look at today, and while it may feature some of my biases towards my favorite stars, we find it may be a somewhat universally accepted list.
So sit back and read as we look at 12 WWE superstars from the early 2000s that we’ve forgotten, and 10 that we’d dearly love to see on our TV screens once more.
22 Forgotten - Chris Nowinski
Tough Enough was one of WWE’s biggest talent competitions (let’s be fair, that’s not hard when your biggest competition is the legendary Divas Search), and brought us stars such as Ryback, The Velveteen Dream, John Morrison and The Miz, but one that you will be hard pressed to remember is Chris Nowinski. He was a finalist alongside Maven in the first ever Tough Enough competition way back in 2001, and it looked like he could be a future star in the WWE, but with so many more guys ahead of him, he just wasn’t utilized that way. He retired from wrestling in the early 2000s due to severe concussion problems that he received in his time with the WWE, and he’s gone on to great success since as a concussion specialist, but as a wrestler, he’s very hard to remember.
21 Return – Justin Gabriel
Justin Gabriel came to the WWE in FCW, and he competed in the first ever season of NXT, a season which also included the likes of Heath Slater, Ryback, Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan. Although he wasn’t the biggest name of the Nexus, he was among the most talented, and one of the best high-fliers we have seen in WWE over the past few years. Reverting back to PJ Black, he’s been fantastic in Lucha Underground and many smaller promotions around the world, and with the right character and situation, a return to WWE would be phenomenal. Whether it be 205 Live or the true main roster, Gabriel would be perfect if treated right, but unfortunately the WWE didn’t know how to do that last time, so it’s very unlikely that this would happen.
20 Forgotten – Kenzo Suzuki
Japanese wrestling is one of the oldest and best forms of wrestling in the world, but despite this, the WWE has never managed to utilize a Japanese performer properly (fingers crossed that Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka can successfully change this trend), and Kenzo Suzuki is certainly no exception. He wrestled for the WWE briefly in the mid 2000’s, and although he has never been a top talent, he deserved more than the WWE gave him, and as we all expected, they saddled him with the foreign comedy gimmick, a signal that your time in WWE is limited. He was released after injury concerns and just not treating him properly, and he has wrestled all over the world since, but he has never been the worldwide name that he potentially could have been as a result of working with WWE.
19 Return – Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio just returned to compete in the Royal Rumble, and he received a thunderous ovation, and ever since that point, it’s been all but confirmed that he’s interested in a permanent return to the WWE, and we couldn’t be more excited. Obviously it hasn’t been officially announced by anyone, as he’s set to wrestle Jushin “Thunder” Liger at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Strong Style Evolved show in Long Beach, but the belief is that it will definitely happen before the end of 2018. He’s been wrestling for such a long time, so we aren’t going to see the old Rey Mysterio, but even so, he brings a lot of experience, star power and he’s a merchandise mover, so this makes complete sense for WWE, and we can’t wait to see it.
18 Forgotten – Chuck Palumbo
Chuck Palumbo started wrestling in the worldwide eye way back in 1998 with WCW if you can believe it, but his most notable runs in WWE were when he reformed the FBI (Full Blooded Italians) from ECW, Billy and Chuck, and his role as a biker upon return in 2006, so it’s surprising that someone with so many gimmicks and chances wasn’t memorable in any fashion. He was a big guy, and wasn’t very good in the ring, and there have been plenty of those guys in the WWE over the years, so perhaps that is the reason for being so forgettable, but it’s still astounding. He isn’t in wrestling anymore, instead he works at a garage with choppers (akin to his last WWE gimmick), and that’s somewhat sad considering all those chances he was given, but in a world of larger than life stars, he just couldn’t hack it.
17 Return – Trent Barreta
Trent Barreta is a name that most WWE fans wouldn’t remember, but he showed immense amount of talent and promise during his runs in the WWE, whether it be alongside Caylen Croft as The Dudebusters, or with his solo runs, but he never even got a chance. Since being released, he has transformed his career. Since that point, he’s gone on to much success in PWG, Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling, and although it’s very unlikely he’d leave New Japan, given the success he’s had and the recent move up to the heavyweight division (seems to be all the rage these days, huh?), and especially considering the way he was treated in WWE previously, it would be great to see him in NXT, or maybe even on the main roster.
16 Forgotten – Mason Ryan
The WWE have obviously always had an obsession with big, sweaty, muscular men (mainly Vince McMahon), and often they’ve been pushed despite a lack of talent, and the best example we can think of for that is Mason Ryan, who WWE tried to push several times, despite constant failures. Those chances came several times in NXT, and then on the main roster when he joined CM Punk in the new Nexus, but it never clicked, and the WWE eventually released him when their hiring policy began focusing more on work rate and skill, rather than simply size. These days, you can find Ryan in Cirque De Soleil, portraying the Chief Archer of Ka, and to be completely honest, that’s more memorable than anything he did in the WWE.
15 Return - MVP
We saw the return of Montel Vontavious Porter to the WWE at the 25th Anniversary of Monday Night RAW, and although there is plenty of depth in the mid-cards of today’s main roster programming, they could always use more, so why not someone as popular and charismatic as the former United States Champion, Half Man, Half Amazing, MVP? He left wrestling for a while after leaving WWE, but then returned to TNA and now various independent promotions, and the fans clearly desire the nostalgia factor in wrestling, so if he can be booked properly, he’d be a star today. Very few performers in the WWE today were active when MVP was last in the WWE, and we’d love to see him battle the likes of Bobby Roode, Finn Balor, Dean Ambrose and others, so when the upcoming Superstar Shakeup/draft inevitably occurs, he could be a valuable pickup for the WWE.
14 Forgotten – Charlie Haas
Charlie Haas made it to the WWE due to his fantastic amateur background, and made his debut alongside Shelton Benjamin as a part of Team Angle, and despite the success the pair had together in the WWE, Haas is about as forgettable as anyone we’ve ever seen in the WWE, and we wouldn’t blame you if you truly didn’t remember him at all. Since the team broke up, Benjamin went on to great success as "The Gold Standard," but Haas faded off into obscurity, and despite returning as a team on the independents in past years, Haas is still very forgettable. With Shelton returning to the WWE, Haas isn’t too involved in wrestling anymore, and let’s be honest, if it wasn’t for his return lately alongside Benjamin, we wouldn’t have even remembered him for the purposes of this list.
13 Return – John Morrison
John Morrison is one of the biggest missed opportunities in WWE history, because he has the look, charisma and in-ring athleticism and ability to be a World Champion, but the WWE never went fully in on him, and other promotions are now reaping the rewards of WWE’s missed successes. He currently competes in Lucha Underground as Johnny Mundo, and Impact as (surprisingly) Johnny Impact, and although neither of these can match up to WWE, he looks to be enjoying himself there. It’s unlikely for him to return in the near future (it’s almost an inevitability one day, even if it’s just for one final run), but he has mentioned the amount of dream matches awaiting him in the WWE recently, so anything could happen.
12 Forgotten – Simon Dean
There are many wrestlers throughout history that have jumped from gimmick to gimmick looking for success, and some run into that success, and others unfortunately all fail, and one of those is Mike Bucci, who worked in ECW as Nova, but was most well-known for his role in WWE as fitness guru, Simon Dean. His gimmick was actually quite an entertaining one, but it wasn’t treated that way, and the WWE had no interest in using him as anything but glorified enhancement talent, and he ended up becoming nothing special at all. He would ride to the ring on a Segway, and would tell the fans to try his "Simon System" to better themselves, and something like that should be memorable given how good a performer he actually was, but it has been forgotten like so many other gimmicks from this time.
11 Return – Chris Masters
Chris Masters, like Bobby Lashley and so many others were pushed way too hard, way too early, and it resulted in major failures, but he has reinvented himself on the independent scene as Chris Adonis. Like EC3 and Bobby Lashley, he has just left Impact Wrestling, and it seems like a certainty that he’ll be back soon. He improved his in-ring performances, and most importantly his promo ability over the years he’s been gone. The WWE is in some dire need of depth on both their rosters, so Adonis/Masters would be a great fix. We don’t have many top heels in the WWE, so Masters would also be a great fix to that problem, but either way, a return for one of WWE’s biggest failures would be a great way to receive redemption.
10 Forgotten – Elijah Burke
Elijah Burke should have been a lot better than he was in WWE, because while he feuded with the old school ECW guys plus CM Punk he looked like a future star. Unfortunately they didn’t stick with him, and he eventually petered out and was released with little to no fanfare. He resurfaced a while later as The Pope, D’Angelo Dinero in TNA, where he was a wrestler, later turned commentator, but his most well known work was that in The New Breed with ECW, and even that was fairly forgettable. The story didn’t have any huge payoff, and thus the fans never bought into this being a true "new generation" of ECW, and the brand itself was scrapped not long later, for Burke to become just another forgotten name on the independents.
9 Return – Bobby Lashley
This one is all but done after Lashley left Impact earlier in this year, and although he wasn’t very good in his original go-around with WWE, he has improved in almost every single way in his years away, which means he could finally be the top star that WWE and Vince McMahon so desperately wanted him to be so many years ago. His latest run in Impact proved that he could be both a top heel or a top babyface, and his promo work has improved out of sight, and if the WWE treats him right, he could potentially be the biggest star in the company. We’ve reported on the rumors that Lashley could be Brock Lesnar’s final WWE opponent if he does indeed extend his contract for a final story, and that would be incredible to see, because Lashley could become a full-time Brock Lesnar-type monster in WWE, and that’s exactly what they need him to be.
8 Forgotten – Braden Walker
There are plenty of wrestling promotions around the world to find success in these days, but sometimes, success somewhere else doesn’t translate to the WWE, and unfortunately, that’s what Braden Walker found out first hand when he appeared on the rebooted ECW in the mid 2000s. Using his real name, Chris Harris, in TNA, he was one half of arguably the greatest tag team in TNA history, America’s Most Wanted with James Storm, but he came to WWE out of shape, and his gimmick was basically dead on arrival. He looked out of shape, he had no character, and without the partners behind him and the small TNA arena, he just didn’t do well to stand out, and you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who actually remembers Walker appearing with the WWE.
7 Return – Carlito
Carlito is one of the most talented performers to step foot inside a WWE ring, but it was that talent and heritage that turned out to be his downfall, as he apparently got lazy and complacent behind the scenes, and while we all predicted that he could be a main event player, it was these problems that not only kept him down, but had him released by the company. He’s been away for quite some time, and although fans haven’t been that vocal about wanting him to return, we’d personally love to see Mr. Caribbean Cool return one more time. With so many fresh, unique matchups awaiting Carlito, his return would be exciting, and give the WWE some much needed depth on whichever roster they’d put him on.
6 Forgotten – Orlando Jordan
Orlando Jordan had all the potential in the world when he was with the WWE, most notably he spent his time as a part of JBL’s Cabinet when he was the longest reigning champion in SmackDown history. Although he did have a reign as United States Champion, he was mostly forgettable, and hasn’t done anything since leaving WWE to change our minds about that. He went on to wrestle in TNA, where he was an overtly bisexual character (and while there’s nothing wrong with being that way, the character itself was dreadful), and was released after again, doing nothing of note. He still wrestles here and there on smaller independent shows, but he’s one of the least memorable wrestlers in WWE history (one’s with extended time in a promotion).
5 Return - Batista
The rumors surrounding Batista’s return have been consistent for quite some time, as he is becoming one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, so why wouldn’t WWE want that star power to return to the ring? The Animal has addressed these rumors too, saying that he’d love to return to the WWE to have one final story with his old friend and rival Triple H, and even if it’s just that one story, it would be great to see one of the 2000s' biggest stars in a wrestling ring again. His last run didn’t do too well, but that’s mainly due to Daniel Bryan and his rise overshadowing The Animal, but this time around, it could be done right, and we’d love to see Batista back in the WWE for one final run.
4 Forgotten – Mike Knox
ECW was great… until it wasn’t. That point in time came when WWE attempted to revive the once (and still to this day) iconic brand, and while it was great while they had the legends around, but Vince McMahon wanted to keep it going with new stars, it just didn’t work. As such, many of those performers are incredibly forgettable, and one of those is Mike Knox. His most memorable qualities were that he would hang around with his onscreen partner, the incredibly beautiful Kelly Kelly, and while he’s continued in wrestling with TNA as Knux and now over in Japan with the Inoki Genome Federation, most fans won’t remember anything about him. That’s completely understandable, and it’s likely he’ll never be a household name.
3 Return – CM Punk
This one is quite obvious, but CM Punk is one of the biggest stars in the history of WWE, and is arguably the best all around performer to ever step foot inside Vince McMahon’s ring, and even though the split didn’t go too well, the fans still beg to see CM Punk back inside a WWE ring. It’s unlikely to happen anytime in the near future, as Punk still has his heart set on MMA (and it’s likely if he does return to wrestling, it will be on the independents potentially with ROH, New Japan or Bullet Club in some capacity), but it would be an incredible sight to see. He tore the house down every night with WWE from 2005-2014, and we know it’s not going to happen, but we will continue dreaming of the moment that "Cult of Personality" blasts through WWE arena’s again.