10 Wrestlers Too Big To Fail (That Failed Anyway)

A legitimate hardman, a mixed martial arts pioneer and one of the first true UFC stars, Dan Severn entered the WWF in 1998 as the National Wrestling Alliance world heavyweight champion.

The former pro wrestling monopoly had fallen on hard times since the eighties, and had inked a deal to have talent appear on WWF shows. Severn, paired with motormouthed manager Jim Cornette, seemed destined for the top there too. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, despite an initially solid hard push on his behalf from the WWF.

Part of the problem was that the NWA/WWF arrangement fell apart very quickly: it’s unlikely that Vince McMahon’s heart was really in it. This left Severn as a world champion of a promotion that WWF were no longer interested in promoting on the air - and that, plus Severn’s mixed martial arts and UFC background, were the basis for the character.

Without Cornette to speak for him, Severn found himself adrift - promos were never his forte, and his most memorable feud during this time was with MMA rival Ken Shamrock, who was also mediocre on the stick. Despite his legitimate fighting background, he withdrew from the infamous Brawl For All tournament after taking out the Godfather in the first round.

The last straw came when the office requested that he draw a 666 on his forehead and join the Undertaker’s acolytes. Stung by the utter indifference to his character after the cracking start he’d received, Severn requested his release in January 1999.