10 Times WWE Missed Opportunities To Create Lasting Main Event Superstars
Who was on the brink of superstardom - but failed to break through?
When opportunity knocks, it's best to answer the door. In WWE though, sometimes it's deadbolted.
In many cases, a true chance for a wrestler's career to change forever presents itself only once; if the opportunity is missed, the talent may not see another. Throughout WWE history, there have been several matches in which blown opportunities could've, instead, been star-making moments had the finish been different; an opportune outcome that was worth a lifetime.
Many talents on the losing side of these matches have gone on to make great careers for themselves, but never quite at the level they could've been had WWE pulled the trigger at the right time. Some of these superstars sniffed the main event, but were shunted back down the card. Their time to remain at the top had passed.
As we look at these moments and matches in which WWE failed to pull the trigger and missed on opportunities to create new stars, remember that just because the match appears on this list doesn't mean that the finish was the wrong decision. In many cases, it's actually the opposite, but it doesn't change the fact that had WWE went the other way, certain talents' career trajectory would've been completely different.
10. Crush Vs. Randy Savage (WrestleMania X)
If there's one thing Vince McMahon has been consistent with throughout his 30+ years as promoter of WWE, it's the way he books aging talent on their way out the door. Typically, they go out on their backs, losing like like Hogan did in '93, Bret in '97, Austin in 2003, Michaels in 2010, or The Undertaker in 2014 and 2015.
Ironically, that wasn't the case with Randy Savage; his WWF in-ring career had already wound down by the time he defeated Crush at WrestleMania X. Crush had the look and size that WWE typically scouts as a headliner, but the company missed their biggest opportunity with him at WrestleMania X.
Before his legal troubles in 1995, Crush had been built up strongly, especially since turning heel in late '93. A victory over the Macho Man, especially at WrestleMania, could've catapulted Crush to the main event.
McMahon had no plans for Savage and no longer viewed him as an active competitor, so the decision to put Randy over, and not Crush, stands out as unique.
Crush was abysmal - but then so was Mabel. Workrate wasn't his primary concern in the New Generation era.