10 Wrestlers Who Suffered For Being Too Good
Because being great at your job obviously doesn't mean you'll always be rewarded for it.
In a fair and just world, being great at what you do would result in the rewards and plaudits that should naturally accompany being excellent at something. But the world isn't always just and fair - and even more so, the professional wrestling business isn't always just and fair!
Wrestling fans love to throw shade at superstars who they feel don't have the talents and abilities needed to match the spot that they've been afforded, but the other side of that coin are the performers whose abilities far succeed the success levels that they've achieved.
Whether that's one of Vince McMahon's imaginary brass rings, the famed glass ceiling of WWE, or political BS, so many superstars have never been afforded the chance to truly shine as bright as they can. And elsewhere, there are those wrestlers who have simply been too good for their own good.
Labelling somebody "too good for their own good" is almost a backhanded compliment, yet it's something that can truthfully be said about so many names over the decades, and for a wide variety of reasons.
Here, then, are ten such examples of wrestlers whose own brilliance ended up being a hindrance to them.
10. Ted DiBiase
Like so many others featured in this article, Ted DiBiase was a performer who could get a great match out of anybody. And like so many of those others, DiBiase was the one who paid the ultimate price for this.
Could Ted DiBiase have been a credible WWF Champion during the late '80s and even possibly into the early '90s? 100%. Instead though, the Million Dollar Man's in-ring smarts and brilliant character work meant he was largely utilised to make other performers look better than they were.
Need somebody to bump around and make Ultimate Warrior look like a beast? DiBiase was your man. Need somebody to go up against uber-babyface Hulk Hogan? DiBiase was your man. Need a credible heel to be on the losing end of the final of a title tournament? DiBiase was your man. Need somebody to go 45 minutes in the Royal Rumble? DiBiase was your man.
At the time that Ted DiBiase was in his prime, it was a time when the wrestling world was all about making the hulking larger-than-life grapplers shine. As such, somebody as smooth as DiBiase was viewed as the perfect person to be there-or-thereabouts towards the top of the card - but always with the intention of making others end up taking the spotlight.
Sure, the Million Dollar Man got his own Million Dollar Title, but still, we all know DiBiase should've at some point been handed the biggest ball in the yard to run with.