Over the years, WWE has failed to capitalize on someone's potential when they are at the peak of their powers. A lot of wrestlers won a title, especially a World Championship, far too late into their careers. Furthermore, sometimes a late-career renaissance has worked out, and sometimes it has failed miserably.
WWE tries to rectify the issues with pulling the trigger too late in someone's career. Still, there are simply far too many talents who only win their biggest accomplishment too late in life.
9 Mark Henry
Mark Henry had been a mainstay in the WWE since September 1996. The World's Strongest Man's best work was when he turned heel in 2011 and started his Hall of Pain gimmick. Henry's 15-year odyssey finally ended when he upset Randy Orton at Night of Champions 2011 to win his sole World Heavyweight Championship.
No one expected Henry to win a World Championship in his career but it was a shame it happened so late. Another brilliant heel turn in 2013 by Henry was when he faked his retirement and feuded with John Cena over the WWE Championship.
8 Sami Zayn
Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn has had an inconsistent WWE career since moving to the main roster from NXT. The Great Liberator had an incredible feud with Kevin Owens and also formed a successful partnership with The Prizefighter.
Whilst injured, Zayn improved his mic skills in his alliance with Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro. Thankfully, Zayn's injury woes have gone away and he can now push on and embark on a successful career on Smackdown. The Great Liberator won his second Intercontinental Championship in an outstanding Ladder match at Clash of Champions 2020 against Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles.
7 Rob Van Dam
One of the best things to come out of the dreadful Invasion angle was the emergence of Rob Van Dam in 2001. Initially a heel, RVD received huge pops from fans and immediately turned face after the Invasion storyline. Rob's 2002 and 2003 were simply sensational and had some classic Intercontinental bouts with Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho.
Van Dam had to be incredibly patient to get the push he deserved years earlier. Rob won the Money in the Bank Ladder match at WrestleMania 22. A couple of months later, RVD defeated John Cena at ECW One Night Stand 2006 to win his first WWE Championship in front of a passionate crowd at the Hammerstein Ballroom.
6 Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt is one of the most inconsistently booked superstars in WWE history. Wyatt was destined for greatness when he suffered back-to-back losses to John Cena and The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX and 31 respectively.
However, in 2017 he finally clinched the WWE Championship and it seemed as though he would push on there. His reign ended rather abruptly to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33. Nevertheless, Bray has reinvented himself as The Fiend with Alexa Bliss by his side. Wyatt is already a two-time Universal Champion but his current run on Raw run could be Bray's final chance to impress the powers that be.
5 Booker T
Just like Rob Van Dam, Booker T was one of the most high profile stars from WCW and ECW to join the WWE in 2001. Booker was a heel but turned face and feuded with Triple H in 2003. Booker was in prime position to win the World Heavyweight Championship and he should have at WrestleMania XIX but he was another victim in Triple H's reign of terror.
Nonetheless, Booker's most successful run in his WWE career was when he turned heel in late 2005 and sided with his wife Sharmell on Smackdown. Booker won the revived King of the Ring and was rechristened as King Booker. He went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Rey Mysterio at The Great American of Bash 2006, which should have happened years earlier.
4 Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston made an instant impact in the WWE in 2008. He upset Chris Jericho at Night of Champions to win his first Intercontinental Championship. That same year, he even won the World Tag Team Championship with CM Punk. Kingston had multiple reigns as Intercontinental and United States Champion but a World Title was missing from his resume.
In 2014, Kofi formed New Day with Xavier Woods and Big E, who went on to become the most successful trio in WWE history. It seemed increasingly unlikely that Kingston would ever win the WWE Championship. With a slight piece of luck, Kingston's moment arose at WrestleMania 35 when he dethroned Daniel Bryan. Kofi has always been an incredible worker and has been very successful in both singles and tag team competition.
3 CM Punk
Pre-2011, it's easy to forget that CM Punk had three World Heavyweight Championship reigns to his name. Punk was the leader of the Straight Edge Society in 2010, which was one of the worst years in his WWE career due to injuries, which saw him at the commentary desk for a month.
Punk's newfound popularity and success began in 2011. The Straight Edge Savior unseated John Cena as WWE Champion in front of a raucous hometown crowd of Chicago at Money in The Bank. He dropped the title to Alberto Del Rio at SummerSlam under a Money in the Bank cash-in. Nevertheless, he regained the title from Del Rio at Survivor Series in an underrated WWE Championship match, thus his historic 434-day reign as champion was underway.
2 Christian
Christian is one of the most underrated superstars in WWE history. Captain Charisma's departure from the WWE in 2005 was surprising but he was constantly overlooked in the World Championship title picture. He went on to join TNA and spent three and a half successful years there, where he won multiple World Championships.
Once Christian returned to WWE in 2009, he was booked more seriously. He claimed the ECW Championship twice and was the longest reigning ECW Champion under the WWE banner. Christian's destiny was finally fulfilled at Extreme Rules 2011 when he defeated Alberto Del Rio to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Captain Charisma turned heel and traded the title with Randy Orton in a brilliant rivalry that carried Smackdown. No doubt, Christian should have been a World Champion earlier but with the plethora of talent he had to contend with, it's no wonder it did not happen sooner.
1 Roman Reigns
The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns has overcome plenty of adversity in his WWE career. It was evident that out of himself, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose from The Shield, that Reigns was going to be the standout star. However, WWE constantly got cold feet when they were poised to make Reigns the face of the company.
Fans knew it was coming which is why they booed Reigns' victory at the 2015 Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 31 in his WWE Championship match with Brock Lesnar. The Big Dog finally claimed his first WWE Championship at the 2015 Survivor Series but Sheamus cashed in Money in the Bank and took the title from him. However, Reigns is now under the tutelage of Paul Heyman and is the reigning Universal Champion. The Tribal Chief is finally in the position to dominate the WWE, which should have happened years ago.