10 WWE Superstars Who Were Doomed From The Start

“Welcome to the real world. It sucks!”

Finn Balor And Hideo Itami
WWE

WWE make so much money in the current era that some fans will argue beyond their own puce cheeks that the entire organisation is completely beyond criticism.

But tell that to some of the talent that appear substantially more miserable actually earning some of that cash than they did on far less during their developmental days. The lost smiles and tired eyes of countless former NXT prospects have become a tragic ingredient of the weekly product, but - like everything else in WWE - there is no particular pattern for succcess.

Elias is the obvious example of a call-up gone better than anybody could have expected, but even he may yet sink thanks to his crowd-pleasing heel patter’s recent conversion to a charmless John Cena-esque parody of itself.

Ultimately, the gimmick may now crash and burn, but the former ‘Drifter’ has already over-achieved on measured expectations. There is no paved route to safe success. Elias simply found one and followed it as long as he could.

Considering how Vince McMahon used to use the word so effectively as the only cast-iron promise on his product, few superstars are “guaranteed” superstardom. But that doesn’t mean they should feel so hamstrung from the beginning of their journey...

10. Austin Aries

Finn Balor And Hideo Itami
WWE.com

‘The Greatest Man That Ever Lived’ hasn’t been shy about being the most outspoken either during his various stints with virtually every major organisation over the last decade, but much about his time in NXT was so cursed that he probably expected more of the same upon earning a promotion via 205 Live.

His first match was heavily promoted until it was completely outshone. A TakeOver: Dallas debut should have been a squash until opponent Baron Corbin required protection thanks to a surprising main roster call-up planned for the next night. Meanwhile, fellow newcomer Shinsuke Nakamura blew his arrival so far out of the water that the company had no choice but to acknowledge the discrepancy it when the two feuded later that year.

For reasons still unknown considering the stupendous quality of virtually every exchange, both Aries and then-Cruiserweight Champion Neville were underserved during and following their outstanding 2017 programme.

It seemed as though the old cliche was true - creative really did have nothing for them, and it was little surprise that both were gone from screens before the end of the year.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett