When a new wrestler makes it into the big leagues of the WWE, there's always a level of anticipation and a degree of expectation on them and what they'll achieve during their career. A lot of wrestlers have had a ton of expectation on their shoulders, being labelled the 'next big thing', only to have crumbled under the weight or by not quite living up to the hype. On the flip side, there's WWE stars who begin their careers without the same fanfare and backing, but go on to have tremendous careers, comebacks, matches and more. Some wrestlers have achieved more than ever anticipated, reaching higher levels of popularity, success and achievement than first thought; blowing everyone's expectations of what they'd become out of the water, going on to be the celebrated stars that they are today. Here's my list of ten wrestlers that shocked us by being better than we expected.
10. Ricky Steamboat
How He Exceeded Expectations: His Excellent Performances in 2009 Ricky Steamboat's abilities in the ring were always apparent, with his match against Randy Savage at Wrestlemania III being considered on of the best matches of all time. However, when it was announced that Steamboat would be in a match at Wrestlemania XXV, more than 20 years later, there wasn't much expectation on his wrestling ability. Steamboat teamed up with WWE Legends Jimmy Snuka & Rowdy Roddy Piper to take on Chris Jericho in a handicap elimination match. Jericho had been badmouthing all the washed-up legends, and so the match was established. Going into the match, everyone expected the legends to be just OK in the ring, and just serving as a shot of nostalgia. As anticipated, Snuka & Piper were quickly eliminated by Jericho, leaving Steamboat alone. Most expected him to be eliminated pretty quickly too, but defied everybody by having a great showing and a great match overall; hitting a diving cross body, a plancha to the outside and even skinning the cat at one point. Steamboat's performance at Wrestlemania, and later in a tag team match on Raw, was so well received that he was granted a one-on-one match with Jericho at Backlash. Steamboat put on another great show at Backlash, evoking 'You Still Got It' chants from the live crowd. The Dragon proved to be an example of never underestimating a wrestler because of their age, which brings us nicely to...
How He Exceeded Expectations: His Excellent Performances in 2009 Ricky Steamboat's abilities in the ring were always apparent, with his match against Randy Savage at Wrestlemania III being considered on of the best matches of all time. However, when it was announced that Steamboat would be in a match at Wrestlemania XXV, more than 20 years later, there wasn't much expectation on his wrestling ability. Steamboat teamed up with WWE Legends Jimmy Snuka & Rowdy Roddy Piper to take on Chris Jericho in a handicap elimination match. Jericho had been badmouthing all the washed-up legends, and so the match was established. Going into the match, everyone expected the legends to be just OK in the ring, and just serving as a shot of nostalgia. As anticipated, Snuka & Piper were quickly eliminated by Jericho, leaving Steamboat alone. Most expected him to be eliminated pretty quickly too, but defied everybody by having a great showing and a great match overall; hitting a diving cross body, a plancha to the outside and even skinning the cat at one point. Steamboat's performance at Wrestlemania, and later in a tag team match on Raw, was so well received that he was granted a one-on-one match with Jericho at Backlash. Steamboat put on another great show at Backlash, evoking 'You Still Got It' chants from the live crowd. The Dragon proved to be an example of never underestimating a wrestler because of their age, which brings us nicely to...