10 Major Signings That WWE Totally Wasted
7. Steve Williams
One of professional wrestling's foremost real-life "tough guys," 'Dr. Death' Steve Williams is best known for his work in Japan, where he became one of the most iconic gaijin wrestlers of all time. A former AJPW Triple Crown holder, he was extremely successful as both a singles wrestler and one half of the Miracle Violence Connection with Terry Gordy, with the bulk of his greatest accomplishments coming on that side of the Pacific.
Sadly, Williams' career unravelled as soon as he set foot in WWE. It's impossible to mention his name without bringing up the Brawl For All, and his fate goes hand-in-hand with that of the company's disastrously ill-conceived shoot fighting tournament.
The competition was, by all accounts, designed specifically for Williams to win. There were even reports that WWE were so confident in his success that they'd paid him the $100,000 winner's prize ahead of time, but 'Dr. Death' was ultimately embarrassed. He defeated Pierre Carl Ouellet in the first round, but suffered a torn hamstring against Bart Gunn in the second, and was promptly knocked out cold.
Williams' badass reputation was in the gutter. The injury kept him out for months, and while 'Dr. Death' did return to TV, his main event hopes were dashed, and his career was never the same again.