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Stars who were made for the big time but didn't last long - Part One



Over the decades there have been countless wrestlers who have shown the skills or the signs that they were big time material, but never made it because of unfortunate circumstances, bad booking, or just simply didn't stay in the main event for long enough. So here in Part One of this new series, we are going to name just some of the wrestlers that were made for the big time, but didn't make it to the level they should have been.

1. Rob Van Dam


Whilst Rob showed real potential when he first joined the WWF ranks, from there he never truly got a foothold in the main event scene where he truly could have belonged. RVD would have a great career nonetheless, but one that could and should have been even greater. His abilities and skills in, and in his case, outside of the ring were truly one of a kind [pun intended], He truly put on a whole F'n show any time he competed, which really was surprising considering management didn't go with a serious push for World titles.

2. Chris Benoit & Eddie Guerrero

The Rabid Wolverine and the Latino Heat had a great moment at WrestleMania 20, with both greats of the ring ending the grandest show of them all with the most memorable emotional display arguably ever shown, but both of their career trajectory's were going to go down. As for Guerrero, he would go on to have a feud with Batista which would be a success, but then prior to his passing, a very silly storyline feud with Rey Mysterio instead of having a realistic and wrestling related beef with one another, but the matches would remain at the high level that Guerrero would specialize in. Then for Benoit, Despite prior his passing being slated to become the first ever WCW, WWE and ECW World Heavyweight Champion, Benoit would go on from being World Champion at WrestleMania 20 to slumming it with the likes of MVP, Chavo Guerrero and JBL in the undercard for the better part of the remainder of his life, where a man of his exceptional skills did not deserve to be. This is no knock to the three as they were each talented stars, but a knock to the positioning of Benoit's status in the company.


4. Vader

The mastodon known simply as Vader looked to become the new Big man of the WWF, but that was not to be. Vader truly could have been up there among Kane and Undertaker during the Attitude Era, and would have had some classic feuds with the likes of Austin, Undertaker or Foley. Vader's remarkable skills alone that a big man in wrestling could only dream of doing made him a standout talent, but he also had a look of his own, and a gimmick that WWE could have built upon with a main event run as the heel of the company, or at least a solid heel in the midcard. This was a waste of what could and should have happened.

5. Kane

Kane has had more than a few runs in the main event, but he didn't really stick around for long in any of them, before heading back to the mid card and later on in his career undercard. Kane during the late nineties and early naughties was a top dog in the company, even holding the World title on several occasions, but he was never truly respected as a true candidate to carry the company like Triple H or The Rock did, which I truly believe that a man of his skills could have done. Kane's ability, much like the Undertaker to change with the times and modify himself to prevent his character and ringwork from becoming stale was really impressive, such as the removal of the mask, and the unlikely partnerships he had formed over the years with the likes of X-Pac, Daniel Bryan and Rob Van Dam. While Kane may have dropped from the positions that he should have hung around in for much longer, But he is still WWE's answer to a solid and loyal feud for up and coming stars and a dependable hand in the ring even in his late forties!

6. Scott Hall


He was involved in one of the major factions in pro wrestling history, and is as beloved as Hogan and Nash were in the group, but Hall would never be World Champion, which a man of his caliber was more than prepared for. His charisma, in-ring abilities and popularizing appeal could and would have made for an interesting era in WCW history had Hall captured the World title instead of or aswell as Hogan and Nash. Scott Hall's incredible talent to be over as a top heel and a top face made him one of the most untapped gold mines in the history of the sport. Although it wasn't just WCW that missed the chance, WWE did too when they had Scott in the early nineties when he was the Cuban Badboy Razor Ramon.

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