8 Times WWE Dropped The Ball With Alex Riley

Alex Riley was bound for big things in WWE. Was.

alex riley
wwe.com

One of the biggest mysteries among WWE fans for years has been: What the heck happened with Alex Riley?

Once a breakout babyface on the rise, he seemingly fell out of favor with officials in mid-2011. Rumors ran rampant that John Cena played a part in Riley's demise, and the former NXT standout responded to the speculation on a recent episode of “The Ross Report” by claiming an incident with Cena had indeed “changed the path of his career.”

What those cryptic comments might entail remains unknown, but don't be fooled: regardless of what happened between Riley and Cena behind the scenes six years ago, there were plenty of other instances where WWE missed the boat with him. Riley appeared to be primed for big things during his time in developmental, but upon his arrival on the main roster, WWE was never truly able to tap into his full potential.

Following his departure from the organisation in May 2016, fans were left to wonder what might have been, had they utilised him the right way.

These are just eight times where Riley could have amounted to more - but didn't due to bad booking and other unfortunate circumstances...

8. Feud With Jerry Lawler

alex riley
WWE.com

Interestingly enough, The Miz's first real rivalry as WWE champion came against Jerry Lawler, and Alex Riley was by The Awesome One's side every step of the way. Miz and Lawler battled over the WWE Championship for months, culminating at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in a surprisingly great match, won by Miz.

Riley received a rub simply from being in the corner of the champion during Miz's many months as WWE champion, though in addition to coming down to ringside for Miz's main event match against John Cena at WrestleMania 27, he should have been in action on the card as well.

For months, it had speculated that Lawler would face Riley at WrestleMania, allowing him to achieve his lifelong goal of competing on the grand stage. It was also a seamless transition from Lawler vs. Miz, and although Lawler ended up wrestling at 'Mania that year, it wasn't against Riley. Rather, he did battle with his fellow Raw broadcast partner, Michael Cole.

It wasn't a major deal that Riley vs. Lawler never came to fruition, but at least it would have spared us from one of the worst 'Mania matches of all-time.

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Contributor

Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.