10 WWE Stars Who Briefly Flirted With The Main Event

If Knox was the Strowman of his day, then Kozlov was the Rusev: a vaguely Russian (technically Ukrainian, just as Rusev is technically Bulgarian) brute, with a giant chip on his shoulder. Incidentally, both Kozlov and Knox were being pushed at precisely the same time, and ultimately neither of them were successful in filling the giant-monster-shaped hole in Vince McMahon's heart.

In the case of Kozlov, it certainly wasn't through a lack of trying: incredibly, the 'Moscow Mauler' will go down in the history books as one of the only wrestlers to record a clean victory over The Undertaker. He also fought for the World Heavyweight Championship on pay-per-view twice - both at Survivor Series 2008 in a triple threat, and in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber at the following No Way Out.