10 "Add-On" Wrestling Signings That Became Major Players
When background noise takes centre stage.
It was a massive wrench in WCW's plans for 2000 when WWE lured away Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn. In one fell swoop, the competition in Atlanta had been robbed of four supreme talents, one of which had just won their World Title. They'd never recover from such a mass exodus, though that wasn't the sole factor behind the company's systemic omni-failure.
After an initial flirtation with the main event scene, every member of The Radicalz but Benoit began dwindling down the card. There was a reason for that: Vince McMahon wasn't sold on three quarters of the group, and he wouldn't be for years.
To him, three members of the incoming quartet were add-ons.
Others carrying this tag have fared better over the years, especially at first. If there's one thing wrestling has made clear, it's that having friends in high places pays well, as does coming in as part of the right gimmick or with the right wrestler.
When talent are willing to go out and find other talent to complement them, why would promoters intrude? It makes their job easier when workers do the scouting for them...