10 Wrestlers Who Should Have Been Megastars By Now – But Aren’t
WWE seems to be rather fond of placing glass ceilings above its fastest-rising names...
Looking at the WWE’s current crop of talent, it's difficult to identify any one major megastar that the company can hang its hat on.
Based on star-power and crossover appeal, you could make the case for John Cena being that man, but given that he debuted some 15 years ago, he’s hardly what you’d class as the ‘current’ generation. Same goes for Brock Lesnar. Plus, these days neither of them are even full-time performers anyway.
That leaves us with a host of guys who have—or had—all the potential in the world to spearhead the company but for whatever reason, either they weren’t afforded their moment in the sun or their opportunities were allowed to pass them by. And what really baffles is that there’ve been plenty of chances for WWE to come to its senses and elevate guys to a megastar level, only to seemingly drop the ball, lose interest, or simply plough ahead with its own alternative agenda.
Here, we take a look at a number of occasions where the company could—and should—have turned stars into megastars, as well as the moments at which those pushes should have arrived.
10. Wade Barrett
Seven years ago, Wade Barrett was making his main roster debut, leading the Nexus in one of the hottest angles of the past decade. Today, he’s not even a part of the roster anymore.
Barrett left WWE in May 2016, on his own terms and with every right to have felt frustrated with the way the company had used him.
After winning NXT season one to earn himself a world title opportunity, Barrett’s moment arrived not in one-on-one action but in a six-pack challenge at Night of Champions. There, he managed to pin John Cena, the reigning champ, but ultimately it was Randy Orton who left with the belt. That gave way to a brief Orton vs. Barrett feud, but the company still refused to commit to a proper Barrett push.
Propelling Barrett to the world championship just months after his main roster debut would have been the perfect way to capitalise on the Nexus’ momentum. Instead, he ended up being fed to Cena and Orton before a relegation to the mid-card.
Barrett's legacy should have been that of the first-ever British world champion but for whatever reason, the company just never went all-in on the push his talent warranted.