Twenty years ago, the pro wrestling landscape was in a completely different place. Take a look at July 1994 and where mainstream pro wrestling was. WWE was in a transitional period; moving away from Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage to pushing new stars like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was acquiring mainstream talent, like Hogan and Savage, that shifted momentum in the world of pro wrestling into their direction. Meanwhile, a little promotion in Philadelphia, Eastern Championship Wrestling, was on the verge of taking things to "THE EXTREME." Here we are in 2014; taking a look back into the annals of pro wrestling history with just one major company in play. While TNA & Ring of Honor are doing what they can to make a splash, WWE is still the mark of excellence in professional wrestling; overcoming the onslaught of competitors along the way. WWE is the place to be. Sadly for the following 14 stars, they chose to leave WWE at entirely the wrong time and have probably been regretting it ever since.
14. Curt Hennig
The former Mr. Perfect was never quite the same after leaving the WWE for WCW. While he returned to the ring and became a key member of the nWo, he also was cast as a character in the West Texas Rednecks. He battled with a young superstar who thought he was perfect, "PerfectShawn" Shawn Stasiak and then started sliding into obscurity. Had Curt Hennig continued to be Mr. Perfect and was able to make his in-ring wrestling return to a WWE ring, he would have benefitted from the birth of "The Attitude Era" in a huge way. With emerging talents like The Rock, Mick Foley and Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mr. Perfect would have been a great addition to some interesting battles. Sadly, Curt Hennig passed away in February of 2003 of a cocaine overdose. He did have a short-lived, solid return to WWE starting in January of 2002 at the Royal Rumble. However, if he would have ran the course with WWE and didn't take the money to go to WCW, he may have had many strong years as Mr. Perfect.