10 Wrestlers Who Totally Wasted Their Own Potential
At least Randy Orton is a 13-time World Champion...
There's something admirable about Randy Orton's approach to professional wrestling.
The guy figured out how to get maximum results from minimal effort early on, particularly after the RKO took off as a finisher. Rather than over-exerting himself and potentially shortening his career, he forged a safe, low-impact working style calibrated for building towards the RKO pop. Sure, his isn't the most engaging style, but it's always part of why he's able to keep going at such a high level 20 years into his career.
While Orton's philosophies have unquestionably bought longevity, they've also made him a feature in many a "could've been more" argument. He was one of the most promising rookies of all time when he emerged, but hasn't developed into one of the best pure wrestlers of all time, with words like "boring", "grinding," and "lethargic" regular fixtures in his appraisals.
As if he cares, though. The man's a 13-time World Champion and future Hall-of-Famer. Said prosperity is why putting him on lists like this doesn't always make sense. If wrestling is about objective success, not subjective acclaim, surely Orton has more than lived up to his potential?
These guys, on the other hand...
10. Austin Aries
Size is the only thing Austin Aries has ever had going against him as a performer. His diminutive 5'9"/200lb frame meant he'd never be The Guy in a top-level Sports Entertainment organisation. That's a shame, because the rest of his attributes were (and still are) more than worthy of ace status, with his in-ring technicality and versatility, promo work, and ability to play the most loathsome piece-of-sh*t heel in any promotion he walked into all on an elite level.
It's unfortunate, then, that 'A Double' has such a habit of burning bridges wherever he works. Jim Cornette stopped booking him for Ring Of Honor for being, in Corny's words, a "doom and gloom, miserable pr*ck." June 2011 saw him leave Dragon Gate USA and Evolve with the impression that he was retiring from the business, only to show up in TNA four days later. Fast-forward a few years and he left WWE amid reports that he was incredibly unpopular backstage. This led to his Impact Wrestling return, which Aries ego'd himself out of after throwing a wobbly and going off-script after no-selling his match finish at Bound For Glory 2018.
Best of luck to his latest employers, MLW.