10 Awesome Wrestlers WWE Totally Slept On
3. Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett was another success story in the making that WWE shot down through their own desire to "control the narrative" rather than adapt plans to the crowd's organic response.
After a strong run in NXT, Barrett joined Raw in 2010 as the leader of The Nexus, and between his distinctive mic work and strong in-ring abilities, seemed primed for future WWE main eventer status.
After The Nexus fizzled out and follow-up faction The Corre proved hilariously short-lived, Barrett lingered on the mid-card and suffered numerous injuries, until he was repackaged as the wildly popular Bad News Barrett in late 2013.
The gimmick caught on immediately with fans, but according to Barrett himself, WWE ordered him to stop using the "I'm afraid I've got some bad news" catchphrase as it was being cheered too much, and WWE wanted Barrett to be a heel.
As a result, Bad News Barrett died a premature death, and Barrett was reinvented yet again as King Barrett after winning the 2015 King of the Ring tournament.
But in mid-2016, Barrett was released from his contract early, disappointed that WWE had given up on the Bad News Barrett gimmick so hurriedly.
Barrett remains one of the most infuriating examples of WWE's nonsense approach to character work and story booking.