10 WWE Disasters That Saved Themselves
Snatching glory from the jaws of abject failure.
Cody Rhodes left WWE a stifled, frustrated midcard burnout in 2016.
Requesting his release when his employers refused to let go of the failed Stardust gimmick, he bet on himself, did the work, and made himself the star he never could have become in Vince McMahon's machine, and now, with All Elite Wrestling's televised debut looming, he is legitimately one of the most influential figures in the sport. His transformation over the past few years is borderline remarkable.
'The American Nightmare' is an excellent example of a performer who valued himself more than the McMahons and willed his way back to relevance. Still, it'd be a stretch to call his WWE run a "disaster." Yes, it ended poorly, and yes, he failed to fulfil his full potential, but he left with eight championship reigns to his name. That's more than 99% of pro-wrestlers will ever accomplish in the game.
Not that this should detract from the comeback story as few are truly able to rebound when a WWE run doesn't pan out as planned, and while the wrestlers within haven't all hit the same heights as Cody over the past couple of years, each arguably clawed themselves out of a darker abyss...
10. Hideo Itami
His signing may have helped kickstart WWE's indie talent raid, but Hideo Itami was never a good fit for several reasons:-
1. An inability to cut promos in English.
2. Having to abandon signature moves like the Go to Sleep and Busaiku Knee Kick because other WWE wrestlers had already adopted them.
3. Being made to tone down his bruising, concussive style to fit WWE's safer mould.
4. Debuting as a babyface. KENTA excels as a d*ckhead piece of sh*t. Why wouldn't you let him be a d*ckhead piece of sh*t?
Throw his rough injury record into the mix and you have a recipe for disaster that was only slightly assuaged with his late-run NXT heel turn, before Itami left to enter a listless period on 205 Live, where he was visibly out of shape and disinterested.
Negotiating an early release from his WWE contract may have saved KENTA's career. Departing in January, he re-emerged in NJPW in June, embarking on a G1 Climax run rife with flashes of his former badassery. A jaw-dropping heel turn to join Bullet Club preceded the year's most emotional memorable angle as he scrapped with training partner Katsuyori Shibata on finals night and while he'll never be the wrestler he once was, the new NEVER Openweight Champion hasn't felt so alive since leaving Pro Wrestling NOAH.