10 WWE Traitors Who Were More Effective After Leaving

4. Lex Luger

At one point, Vince McMahon would have beamed proudly as he declared Lex Luger the 'next Hulk Hogan'. In many ways, Luger had everything McMahon craved in his champion - tall, muscular, fresh-faced and eye-catching, Lex was to McMahon an easy performer to promote, but it didn't prove to be quite that easy. Embarking on a huge promotional tour, Luger even had his own bus, the 'Lex Express'. Touring around North America, the man was pushed heavily by the company as the top name around, but those pulling the strings hadn't banked on one thing, wrestling had changed. Fans had tired of Hulk Hogan, which is why he hadn't been quite the draw he once was, and people now embraced a new generation of WWF star, much preferring the more wrestling-focused styles of guys like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. By 1994, just 6 months into his run as McMahon's pet project, Luger was failing. In 1995, he was still featured on TV as part of a tag-team with Davey Boy Smith, but Lex made the choice to jump back over to WCW, shockingly appearing on Nitro. McMahon must have been outraged, but the fact is that Luger never became anything more than just another bloated contract in Atlanta, so it was actually a good thing for the WWF that they got shot of him.