10 Fan Favorite Wrestlers Who Will Never Get Their Big Breakout Match
We clap, we cheer, and we hope... but for these guys, it's nothing but consolation prizes.
Three seconds. That's all it takes. For years now, announcers have been telling the same story over and over during pro wrestling matches: three seconds is long enough to make someone famous, to make them an icon.
That's not entirely true, though. Yes, a big victory can certainly put you on the map, but it won't make you the top guy overnight. It'll probably take a series of big wins as part of an ongoing underdog or rising babyface story arc to anoint the new guy. And at the very least, you'll need a full match as the catalyst.
WWE calls it "grabbing the brass ring." And your brass ring moment, your big breakout match, has to be something special.
In the major companies, like WWE and New Japan, your big breakout match can't simply be a kickass wrestling bout that sets the fandom buzzing. It has to be a bout where the machine is behind you, ready to use that kickass match as the launching pad to send you into the stratosphere.
Fans are always hoping that their chosen favourites will have their big breakout match and rocket to the top of the card. It's nice to dream, and it's hard to resist fantasy booking these sorts of things, but unfortunately, for some fan favourites, it's simply never going to happen.
(One caveat before we start: yes, if management changes in a major way, perhaps some of these big breakout moments could finally happen. But for now, under the current regime, it's a no-go.)
10. Lio Rush
Lio Rush was in NXT for a cup of coffee before leaping to the semi-main roster as part of flippy-doo dead-end 205 Live, and sadly, it's hard to believe he'll ever ascend higher than a potential Cruiserweight title win or a random tag title win as one-half of WWE Generic Makeshift Tag Team #841.
No matter how blistering his speed is, how cut he is, or how well he snarls during his babyface comebacks, he's still a small guy in Vince's machine, and there are small guys with far more merchandise potential (like Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles) ahead of him in line.
He didn't even get the buzz of a Cruiserweight Classic appearance or an NXT title run before being thrust onto the D-show.
Tide yourself over with: some of his indie classics, like Lio Rush vs. Ricochet at PWG's Only Kings Understand Each Other event.