10 Wrestlers WWE Gave Up On Too Soon

Brian Kendrick has been in and out of WWE more times than most over the past few years.

First first run came as “Spanky” from 2003-4, before taking a year away from the Stamford giant and returning in 2005. Alongside Paul London, he became the longest-reigning WWE Tag Team Champion of all-time, and while tag wrestling wasn’t exactly at its peak during their reign, London and Kendrick were an exciting, dynamic set of competitors who rarely failed to deliver.

The 2008 WWE Draft sent Kendrick and London to separate brands and effectively ended the team. While London suffered, Kendrick thrived on SmackDown as THE Brian Kendrick. Flanked by his new bodyguard, Ezekiel Jackson, Kendrick adopted a cocksure rockstar-esque gimmick, and reinvented himself as one of the blue brand’s premier heels.

Kendrick enjoyed a short, fruitful singles run during which he actually became WWE Interim Champion at Unforgiven ‘08, though Triple H eventually walked out with the gold.

He faded away shortly after. Though he’d established himself as a great villain, his appearances became increasingly sparse, and he was released in July 2009 amid reports of significant personal problems.

There’s a strong chance WWE will bring the current Cruiserweight Classic participant back to help flesh-out Raw’s new Cruiserweight division, but Kendrick will never reach his old level. Unfortunately, his personal issues got the better of him, and WWE opted to cut him loose rather than help him through them.

A giant shame, as Kendrick looked to be on his way to becoming a major star.