10 WWE Stars Who Peaked Too Early

Few WWE Superstars have been mishandled like Drew McIntyre over the past decade. His recent NXT debut gives him a shot at redemption after rebuilding his reputation on the indie circuit, but the Scot’s career was systematically eviscerated by WWE creative throughout his first run, which peaked with a lengthy Intercontinental Title run.

Debuting in August 2009, Drew was quickly branded Vince McMahon’s 'Chosen One', with the Chairman personally introducing him as a "future world champion". This seemed to immediately set McIntyre up for a humongous push, and his IC Title victory in December compounded this impression. Unfortunately, Drew’s career was already on the downswing six months later, when he entered a needless feud with Teddy Long, during which he was made to beg for his job.

McIntyre slid down the ladder, and by 2012, he joined the equally listless Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal as one third of 3MB. The trio were always entertaining, but they were total jobbers, and McIntyre’s position in the group was particularly depressing given how strong he’d looked upon debuting. Drew was released from his WWE contract in June 2014, and soon become one of independent wrestling’s hottest commodities.