10 Wrestlers Too Big To Fail (That Failed Anyway)

There are two scenarios where a wrestling promotion will give someone the huge, dramatic push out of nowhere: when they’re building a potential new star, and when they’re bringing in a new star from outside of the company.

That’s when you get the God-push - that sudden, dramatic shove to the top of the pyramid, displacing whoever’s already there on the way. That spot’s yours now. No one can lose it except you.

The thing is, that’s not necessarily the case: because a dozen other things can get in the way of a wrestler’s personal ambition and drive to make it to the top. Outside circumstances outside of their control, personality clashes, office politics, silly mistakes that get blown out of all proportion - the list goes on.

So what happened to those wrestlers everyone thought were set for stardom, that got the big push - and then failed anyway? This isn’t about the performers who the company buried, or never really got behind to begin with, but rather the pro wrestlers that everyone thought were too big, too much of a sure thing to fail.

Back in 2006 and 2007 in his first run with the WWE, Bobby Lashley wasn’t the proven quantity he is now. Pro wrestling fans are always suspicious of the football stars, amateur wrestlers and bodybuilders who lose their dreams, opt for pro wrestling as a second best and are prioritised by the office over the guys for whom pro wrestling is a passion.

That was the case for Lashley, whose debut on Smackdown in September 2005 came ten months after his training in OVW began, following a knee injury that killed his Olympic wrestling dreams. He had the look the company loved at the time, huge and dramatic like a superhero.

WWE threw their weight behind the rookie, handing him the United States Championship in May 2006 and the ECW Championship a year and change after his debut. Although the fans still weren’t entirely behind him, the company was, high profile feud following high profile feud.

What went wrong? A number of things: scuttlebutt (like gossip in a bad relationship) was that Lashley’s then-girlfriend, WWE Diva Kristal Marshall, had been released in late 2007 for objecting to the storylines she was involved in. Supposedly Lashley had stepped in on her behalf while at home rehabilitating long term from a shoulder injury.

No longer the McMahons’ favourite son, Lashley was released in February 2008 before he was cleared to return: a case study in the importance of keeping the office sweet when their good opinion is the sole reason for your push.