12 Modern WWE Monsters That Didn't Succeed

By Justin Henry /

4. Eli Cottonwood

Whomever thought of giving such a name to a seven-foot monster should have been pink-slipped on the spot. Imagine if Undertaker debuted in 1990 as Abraham Hufnagel. He's not starting any streaks with that kind of moniker, is he? 'Cottonwood' was doomed from the start, and that was before his 'eyes' promo from the second NXT season. Ah, the days where NXT was a silly game show instead of the superior brand. Cottonwood had to cut a promo about 'eyes', and showed the improv skills you'd expect a novice wrestler to have. Cottonwood's only other notable WWE footnote is that he was Bray Wyatt's original henchman, standing idly by while the former Husky Harris quickly worked out the kinks of his brilliant character.