10 Wrestlers WWE Tried To Push To The Top (But Failed)

5. Wade Barrett

The Lancashire native was the winner of the initial NXT competition, where ten 'rookies' would compete for a WWE contract, aided by a WWE pro. Of course the whole thing was treated as a giant joke, with Daniel Bryan paired up with pro The Miz in a move that was designed clearly to p*** off the IWC. WWE immediately gave Barrett a pronounced role on television as the leader of the Nexus. He targeted John Cena and looked like a threat in the process. The Nexus invasion storyline lead to a 7 Vs. 7 Nexus versus WWE elimination match at SummerSlam 2010 and most expected The Nexus to get a victory. They needed it more than the WWE wrestlers did and there was a lot of potential in the storyline and feud. Unfortunately, the Nexus were pretty much buried at the big event. It came down to Barrett and Justin Gabriel against John Cena. After surviving a vicious beating (including a DDT on the concrete floor) Cena came back to beat the Barrett and Gabriel far too easily. The Nexus was pretty much dead in the water but WWE still had high hopes for leader Barrett. Barrett competed for the WWE Title at Night Of Champions in September, beat Randy Orton at Survivor Series and lost to John Cena at TLC. That was about it for Barrett's run on top. WWE tried to push him hard and make him look like a threat to Orton and Cena but, against the WWE's top two babyfaces, Barrett looked a little out of his depth. He just couldn't match their star power, a case of 'too much, too soon'. Barrett is a great talent, no doubt, but after some questionable start/stop booking in recent years it looks like his main event dreams are over.