10 Most Wasted Talents In WWE History
3. Vader
Vader was so, so good in the early 1990s - easily in the top 5 worldwide talents.
He made suspension of disbelief incredibly easy. His offence looked absolutely brutal. Like fellow big man Bigelow, he was capable, inconceivably, of unleashing a devastating aerial repertoire.
He had a terrifying aura back in the day, too. In a match with Stan Hansen on an AJPW Vs. NJPW supercard, his eye popped gruesomely out of its socket. He reattached it and simply held it in place via his eyelid before continuing the match.
His work with Hansen may well have made Vince apprehensive, but he was able to tone down his act - to a degree. Vader worked safely enough with the likes of Hulk Hogan, who despite (or because of) being welcomed into wrestling with an intentional leg break, was famously averse to working stiff.
McMahon, however, didn't create Vader, who was signed only to be credible fodder for Shawn Michaels' first reign with the WWF title. His push towards their disappointing SummerSlam match was halfhearted at best. He wasn't even booked to appear in a singles outing at WrestleMania XII, relegated instead to a multi-man tag team opener.
Like Cesaro after him, Vince with Vader could have had his cake and eaten it too. He pushed Mabel with more conviction just over half a year earlier.