The idea for this topic comes to us courtesy of Chus Killalea.
In real sports, there are always guys who promise big results but end up fizzling out. These guys in real sports are the Todd Van Poppels, Ryan Leafs, Glenn Robinsons, Alexandre Daigles and Freddy Adus of the wrestling world. The guys with the big hype who never delievered, or if they did, they fizzled out shortly thereafter. These are in no particular order, i.e., only numbered as a placeholder.
1. Samoa Joe
When Joe came into TNA, he was supposed to be the second coming, the guy who'd lift TNA into direct competition with the WWE. He was the hot prospect, some thinking he was a much hotter one than his longtime rival and WWE signee CM Punk. Yes, he started out pretty hot as well, elevating the X-Division along with AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, and then capturing the TNA/NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Then Kurt Angle happened. Angle signed with TNA, and the emasculation of Joe began. Angle outsmarted him at every turn, beat him for titles, "drove" him to paint a dong on his face and stalk Angle's stable before non-sensically joining said stable.
Right now, Joe stands in a precarious spot. I'm not sure he can rebound in TNA because the company seems to me like a sinking ship. He's not damaged goods, but man, his time in TNA has been a disappointment.
2. Monty Brown
Rob Franklin posted this today about whatever happened to Brown (hey, I think he owes me lunch now... lemme watch the Man vs. Food Detroit episode and I'll get back to him on my order), and it's a disappointing case. Nothing really can be pinned on Brown for his failures himself. He started out pretty limited but he made the most of what he could do well. His finisher was insanely over and he had oodles of charisma. However, for whatever reason, Jarrett wouldn't let him succeed, and then when he went to the WWE, they ran his name through the developmental name generator and man, it was downhill from there. Brown retired due to family business, and he hasn't returned since. Shame.
3. Ultimate Warrior
Yes, I know. Warrior wrestled in three high-profile WrestleMania matches in a row. He beat Hulk Hogan in the SkyDome. His peak is so damn high that it's hard to label him a bust, but the guy's career should have been a lot longer than it was. He should have been the guy to carry the WWF after Hogan left. Instead, he left the WWF hanging with so much potential on the table. Was this a blessing in disguise for us smarky types? Of course it was, because Warrior sticking around would have robbed us of several awesome years of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels at the top of the card, and who knows, maybe business wouldn't have tanked to the point where they needed to push someone like Steve Austin. Still, there's no doubt that McMahon would have wanted Warrior's career to have turned out differently than it did.
4. Ludvig Borga
Maybe the first sign that he wasn't the best acquisition was the blatantly obvious SS tattoo on his leg. I would have told him to go home right there, but I guess Borga's size and likeness to one Dolph Lundgren/Ivan Drago got him a job on the spot. He was terrible from my viewpoint, but the guy had some potential as a monster heel... until he got hurt and then faded into obscurity. He got such a big fanfare too, and poof, he was gone before you knew it.
5. Chris Masters
It's hard to rag on a guy who's performing admirably on Superstars week in and week out nowadays, but at one time, Masters was pegged to be the next big heel in the WWE. He was even in an Elimination Chamber for the RAW title at one point. Wellness was his enemy. It's a shame because as stiff as he was when he was being pushed to the moon, he actually learned how to wrestle and is damn good now. He's the kind of guy who gets drafted really high and has lofty expectations, but ends up having a nice career as a role player. It's not the kind of career that matches the hype at first, but hey, it's something.
6. Ken Shamrock
It's so funny, a move that was meant to boost the Attitude Era cred of the WWF ended up helping what would become its stiffest competition today. Shamrock came into the WWF with a ton of fanfare, first as a guest ref for the epic Bret Hart/Steve Austin match at WM13, and then as a regular wrestler. His career was largely forgettable, with his one highlight being a good whipping boy for Chris Jericho in his early WWF career. Other than that, he ended up just getting more people to check out UFC due to his background in it. I wonder if that's why the WWE downplayed Rampage Jackson's UFC background when he hosted. Hmm....
Photo Credit: TNAWrestling.com
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