10 WWE Flops Who Nearly Got Massive Pushes

2. Hade Vansen

Unless you're familiar with the British wrestling scene, you've probably never heard of Hade Vansen. The Alex Shane trainee cut his teeth in the Frontier Wrestling Alliance, but picked up worldwide experience -- he competed around Europe and in Puerto Rico -- before being signed to WWE. He began training in Florida Championship Wrestling in 2007, but a knee injury caused him to miss almost all of 2008. When he made his comeback in December, though, big things were planned. On the December 12, 2008 episode of Smackdown, a vignette for Vansen's upcoming debut was aired. Unlike most vignettes, this wasn't a slick clip package designed to showcase a wrestler -- it was a promo, plain and simple, from a man who could carry himself on the microphone. He mentioned a "darkness" in WWE, and while he never referred to the Phenom by name, it was very clear that this newcomer was coming for The Undertaker. No mention of him was ever made again. Why were plans dropped? According to rumor, the feud with The Undertaker (set to culminate at WrestleMania 25) was the brainchild of former creative team member Freddie Prinze, Jr. Vince McMahon himself caught wind of the idea and scrapped it, though (some say it was over Vansen's size, some say it was his rookie status), and the next month, he was released from the company.