DEVASTATING Acts Of Self-Sabotage That RUINED Wrestling Careers
There's no blaming John Laurinaitis for this...
They used to say that Vince McMahon loved them, but that damn John Laurinaitis had it in for them, and that's why they got fired.
And they called you the mark.
When a talent "falls off" or doesn't get over in the first place, this is usually the result of a combination of things. They might hit a ceiling. They might be good, but not good enough to reach the main event. They might have had the stuff at one point, but were stigmatised as just guys over time, never to be taken seriously.
Is it as simple as "they either have it, or they don't"?
Not really, because Mistico had it, and Sin Cara didn't. They were the same person - sort of! - and Mistico was a super-worker and drawing sensation. In WWE, he was a dud. Every last drip of confidence was drained from him over time after that first critical haemorrhage.
Where does the blame lie? Was he rushed onto TV much too quickly? Was Triple H, with his first big "get" as developmental chief, too impatient to get himself over by proxy? Or did Sin Cara fail to adjust on his own terms?
A lot of the time, it's inconclusive.
Sometimes, a wrestler does it all by themselves...
10. Marty Jannetty Literally Rides Into The Sunset
Marty Jannetty was incorrigible.
When interviewed on his Dark Side of the Ring special, Jannetty referred to himself as 'GAT': God's Amusement Toy. He believes, deflecting accountability entirely, that God himself interferes with his life as a rib. Did God tell Jannetty to steal a cop's bike and ride it into a fountain, just for a laugh?
"I command thee to pop the boys!!"
God wasn't to blame for Jannetty's constant, self-destructive f*ck-ups, but things are always more complex. Jannetty endured a torrid upbringing.
Jannetty must hold the record for the most times Vince McMahon has fired and rehired a talent, and, since he was never a huge star, that says rather a lot about how gifted Jannetty was. On his day, he was an outstanding babyface worker capable of making anybody look good.
He was fired even before the most famous Rockers run because they partied too hard and made a spectacle of himself. Then, God got him suspended and fired, variously, for resisting arrest with force and possession of drugs, being in no condition to perform at the 1993 Royal Rumble, and ending up in jail one week after reuniting with Shawn Michaels in 2005.
Again: Marty was never a huge singles star. Promoters will always overlook behavioural issues when the star draws money. Jannetty didn't do that, but was so great at enhancing his opponents that he received more chances than anybody else.
If it weren't for that ruddy God, Marty would have been employed for about as long as anybody.