10 Big WWE Pushes That Were Stopped Dead (And Why)

Chris Masters made his WWE debut in February 2005. With a chiseled physique and arrogant persona, he hit the ground running and remained undefeated for most of the year. During that time, Masters introduced The Master Lock Challenge where he would apply his signature submission hold on an individual to see if they could break it.

Intentionally infuriating, "The Masterpiece" was put in a fully fledged feud with Shawn Michaels in late August. Despite losing a showdown at Unforgiven, the match helped Masters work his way into the World Championship picture.

After a series of good performances, the wheels began to fall off the Master's hype train. Loses at Taboo Tuesday and Survivor Series began to set a trend and it soon became clear that Masters was being overshadowed by the emergence of Edge as the next big main event heel.

Masters earned a few shots at the WWE Championship, namely a Triple Threat match on RAW that saw him apply the Master Lock to a helpless John Cena and the Elimination Chamber match at New Years Revolution.

After being betrayed by Carlito in the Chamber, the two began feuding before becoming a unlikely tag team. The two challenged for the World Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania XXIV but were squashed by Kane and The Big Show.

Feuds with Michaels and Cena prove that WWE had faith in Masters but an injury and Wellness Violation later in his run meant that he was seen as damaged goods from then on.