10 Failed WWE Pushes One Tweak Away From Excellence
8. Ryback
Why it failed: For all the reasons any wrestler fails if and when they lose an undefeated streak - far too many underlying weaknesses are exposed. Throughout much of 2012, Ryback squashed geeks without recourse and never once looked like he couldn't handle the midcarders put in front of him when he was tested.
This was the case when he received a sudden elevation thanks to John Cena picking up an injury before October's Hell In A Cell pay-per-view. Undefeated, untouchable and unbelievably over, Ryback was an easy choice to slot into the position because fans were going barmy for him - but it was as though the company hadn't considered the ramifications of the decision until the show itself.
One Tweak: Keep him the f*ck away from the WWE Championship until you're 100% ready to put the thing on him.
The show with him on top drew one of the last decent buyrates, highlighting just how thirsty fans were for his act and for a change at the top of the card in general. Unfortunately for 'The Big Guy', Punk had a Royal Rumble date with The Rock three months later. He was a speedbump compared to that. Saving him for the traditional post-WrestleMania the following year really wouldn't have been that difficult.