10 WWE Champions Who Wouldn't Make It In Today's Developmental System
They wouldn't even make it to the big leagues.
The WWE developmental system is the envy of the wrestling world. With its world-class coaches and state of the art performance center, there's supposedly no better place on the planet to learn the craft of professional wrestling.
However, it is also worlds apart from the more traditional paths to WWE stardom, such as the now-extinct territory system and even the older developmental promotions like OVW or SMW. Sure, NXT is doing a phenomenal job of developing the next crop of great superstars, but how many stars of yesteryear would slip through the cracks of today's developmental without their territorial experiences to draw upon?
This article looks at ten men, all of whom held WWE's richest prize, and asks whether they'd pass muster in 2015's NXT. Keep in mind, this is no condemnation of their careers or their overall worth as performers; indeed, all of them were over enough at some point to become champion.
Rather, it's an examination of how different criteria for stardom can be from era to era, and a meditation on the powerful role that contingency plays in how careers unfold. The appearance of an otherwise unassailable legend on this list confirms only that times change, and even the greatest developmental league yet invented can fail to make stars of its students.
10. Stan Stasiak
Stan Stasiak is undoubtedly the least notable WWE champion of them all. The man known as "The Man" held the WWE championship for all of 9 days way back in 1973, defeating Pedro Morales before being toppled by Bruno Sammartino. He's barely remembered today, and there's little to his legacy beyond mutton chops and a WCW midcarder.
Stasiak seems to have arrived in WWE for the first time shortly before his defeat of Morales, a 36 year old 20 veteran who had spent most of his career wrestling in the Pacific Northwest territories. Realistically, he was one of dozens of heel challengers shipped in to battle WWE's babyface champs, but he just happened to be in the right place at the right time to be a transitional champion.
WWE recently brought Samoa Joe into developmental, who is of similar age and experience to Stasiak, but Joe has a decade of main event experience in another national promotion under his belt, as well as a truly unique physical charisma. Stasiak had a heart punch and Honky Tonk Man facial hair.