10 WWE Superstars Who Were Doomed From The Start

8. Titus O’Neil

Finn Balor And Hideo Itami
WWE.com

Here’s hoping Titus O’Neil keeps a job in WWE forever, because if he’s as nice as literally everybody that’s ever spoken about him claims he is, somebody should be there just to try and give the organisation a conscience.

He certainly can’t realistically keep his spot on talent alone.

Plucked from developmental when the concept was paradoxical, O’Neil suffered as much as anybody on the original NXT. He foreshadowed his most infamous moment by falling on his face during a stupid immunity points contest, failed to get over multiple catchphrases and that weird dog noise that confuses Dave Meltzer to this day, and even struggled to noticeably improve on the morbidly fascinating NXT Redemption.

The drop-off rate of those that came through that system is huge, and it’s a credit to Titus for sticking at it and lasting this long. But for all the reasons he’ll never be World Champion (or half the time, even a featured performer), the instant rejection that came with his maiden offerings put him on a slope as slippery as a Saudi Arabian stage.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett