10 WWE Superstars Who Were Pushed Way Too Early

6. RVD

Rob Van Dam is one of the most well-known and popular wrestlers in the world, but he was almost ruined by WWE when he first arrived in 1997. For those too young to remember, RVD was part of an angle WWE and ECW ran where the smaller promotion "invaded" the leader in pro wrestling. Jerry Lawler was at the center of this storyline, and after showing up at an ECW event, he kayfabe stole RVD from Paul Heyman and brought him to WWE as a heel. The problem with this was that most WWE fans had no idea what ECW was, and therefore had no idea RVD was supposed to be a turncoat. Due to his exciting style in the ring, he eventually started receiving cheers despite being aligned with the heel Lawler. His time in WWE lasted just a few months, with his return to ECW being lauded by fans. It took RVD four years to find his way back with a new invasion angle that included WCW and ECW talents who no longer had a promotion to call home. His popularity has grown over the years, but his first run with WWE was cursed from the moment they tried to book him as a heel.