7 ECW Stars That Failed In WWE

4. Mike Awesome (2001)

WWE.comWWE.comMike Awesome's finest moment in a WWE ring came years after his contract ended. When he first came to the WWE, he was already somewhat damaged goods. WCW had taken their big acquisition, ECW World Champion Mike Awesome, and turned him into "That 70's Guy" / "The Fat Chick Thrilla". For a performer who cut his teeth in the business through incredible battles in Japan's FMW as "The Gladiator" against Masato Tanaka, Hayabusa and W*ING Kameura, his time in WWE - wrestling mostly on Jakked and Velocity - was rather tame. His breakout moment came during the first ECW One Night Stand PPV when he reprised his career-defining daredevil spotfest with his finest opponent - ECW's and FMW's Masata Tanaka. That night they stole the show with table spots, chair shots and obligatory dives. Awesome entered WWE as part of the invasion, but an injury took him off television in October 2001. In his return match in July 2002, he lost to Tajiri. It was a sign that he wasn't going anywhere in the company. He retired from wrestling in February 2006 and sadly was found dead a year in his home in what is believed to be a suicide.
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I'm a professional wrestling analyst, an improviser and an avid NES gamer. I live in Saint Paul, Minnesota and I'm working on my first book (#wrestlenomics). You can contact me at chris.harrington@gmail.com or on twitter (@mookieghana)