10 Big WWE Pushes That Were Stopped Dead (And Why)

Vader becoming WWE Champion in 1996 seemed like a no brainier. Not only was he a star all over the world, he was a legitimate monster inside the ring. With an almost scary combination of power and agility, Vader debuted at the Royal Rumble before immediately entering in to a feud with Shawn Michaels.

The program between the two was marred by numerous problems. Michaels was at the height of his backstage power and took exception to Vader's aggressive, realistic style, whilst Vader alienated himself backstage when he complained about numerous aspects of the product.

Vince McMahon seemed to have no idea how to book Vader in WWE and it became more obvious as time went on that he was never going to be seen as Championship material. Stories of weight clauses in contracts and a proposed name change to "The Mastadon" only further illustrate how doomed Vader was from the start.

Vader was easily one of the best wrestlers in the world in 1996 but WWE simply didn't know what they had. They took away a lot of what fans had loved about Vader over fears that if audiences cheered or held up the V finger sign, his heel run wouldn't come off like they wanted.

Backstage politics, Kliq animosity and a feeling of detachment from management due to him not being made in the WWE, meant that Vader went from white hot prospect to jobber in the space of a year.