10 Most Wasted Talents In WWE History

6. Mike Awesome

Vader WWE 1996
WWE.com

Awesome's run in the WWF has been reduced to a trivia question. His only notable accomplishment was striking the first blow in the doomed Invasion angle by wrestling the Hardcore title away from Rhyno.

While he didn't help his cause by celebrating his win in goofy fashion, Awesome was senselessly demoted to Sunday Night Heat shortly afterwards, booked in straight, short matches in which he was unable to unleash his fierce arsenal of aerial and impact moves.

Awesome's reputation was tarnished by Vince Russo's poison pencil in his WCW stint - but not irrevocably. He blew away the rotten stigma attached to him through his Fat Chick Thriller and That 70s Guy personas with just one awesome bout against Masato Tanaka at One Night Stand 2005. There was scope for rehabilitation.

His work in the original ECW was so uniquely brilliant that it might have done him more harm than good in the eyes of McMahon. His awe-inspiring planchas and dives, fairly common for men of his size in this day and age, were once the source of discontent among some members of the old guard. They felt as though a wrestler of his proportions stretched credibility by performing them.

Awesome wasn't just an excellent talent in his own right - he was among the best the ECWCW faction had to offer, and should have been elevated to the top of their ranks in a silent enforcer role.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!